100% Flo Milli: Alabama’s new rap royal
Follow Cardi B’s lead: listen to Milli’s Ho, Why Is You Here? mixtape and “turn that shit up!”
Music
Words: Jade Wickes
Flo Milli (real name Tamia Monique Carter) tore into the music industry last month with her debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here? and it’s a masterclass in confident, attention grabbing rap lyricism, punctuated with galvanising hooks.
Hailing from Mobile, a port city hanging off the edge of Alabama’s Gulf Coast, the 20-year-old started rapping at 11-years-old and has been honing her craft ever since.
Listening to Jill Scott and watching the women in her family singing in church choirs shaped Flo Milli’s early ascent into music. Later on, she was largely influenced by Nicki Minaj’s vibe and in-your-face flow. The result? Southern trap music like you’ve never heard it before.
Flo Milli’s first solo tune No Hook was released in 2015, but her success story began after her single Beef FloMix (a freestyle over a Playboi Carti and Ethereal track) became a viral TikTok sensation in 2019.
Since then, Missy Elliot has taken to Twitter to express her appreciation for the mixtape (“Flo Milli is dope”) and Cardi B has blasted it on Instagram live, urging viewers to “turn that shit up!”
We caught up with the viral star to get our 100% fix.
10%: Where were you born, where were you raised, and where are you now based?
I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. That’s all I’m going to tell you!
20%: At what point did you realise you’d be able to do what you love for a living?
When I was 11-years-old, which is when I started writing my own songs. I saw other people doing it and that inspired me to do it too.
30%: What’s a piece of advice that changed your life?
Always dream big.
40%: What kind of emotions and experiences influence your work?
Anger.
50%: What can you tell us about your next project?
It’s gonna be very vibrant and fun, like the upgraded version of what I already put out. I actually have been doing work in quarantine, it’s been a productive period for me.
60%: What’s a bad habit you wish you could kick?
I don’t think I have any bad habits!
70%: Finish this sentence: dear diary, today I…
… will shit on all of my haters.
80%: What is the most pointless fact that you can share?
I don’t think any fact is pointless – something will always be helpful to someone out there.
90%: You rule the world for a day. What goes down?
Everybody will be rich! It’s dumb, but I would probably get a money-maker, learn how to make money and give it to everybody. I would buy a big ass mansion in Africa or something, and then I would buy two houses: one in LA, because I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, maybe one in Hawaii, and then I would probably buy a boat.
100%: What’s your no.1 holiday destination?
I really want to go on the Polar Express.
