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Before the streams, Billboard charts, accolades, and other quantitative things the music industry obsesses over, an artist’s enjoyment in their occupation should proceed all else. When undeterred by these industry pressures, it’s a wonderful thing to see an artist enjoying their spotlight and that’s exactly what Flo Milli is doing. With her debut project, Ho, Why Is You Here? the 19-year-old Alabama native has no plans to be anything besides her most authentic self and flaunt it enthusiastically for the world to savor.
Born in a state that isn’t quite known for birthing hip-hop acts outside of YBN Nahmir, NoCap, Yelawolf, and Mick Jenkins, Flo Milli first hit internet stardom with her daring take of Playboi Carti and Ethereal’s track “Beef,” one she dubbed as a Flomix. Landing on her debut project, it’s easy to see why her take of “Beef” went viral on practically every social media app. An explosion of hair-flipping teenage confidence, Flo Milli shows impenetrable zeal for being the most fly, bougie, top-notch woman around. “He love my confidence and that’s what you lack,” she proclaims. “If you think I’m stealin’ swag, b*tch, come and sue me.”
Flo Milli didn’t just stop there. In fact, her debut project Ho, Why Is You Here? is twelve songs of finger-snapping confidence at the highest levels. Maintaining a fierce attitude for the project’s half-hour duration, the Alabama-native is bold in her approach to anything that isn’t herself, something she highlights on “Like That B*tch.” Arriving in the first quarter of the project, Flo walks in with authority and quickly distances herself from those who incorrectly believed they competed with her. “I buy shit with straight cash, b*tch, you broke, you financed,” she brags. “Big top, small legs, b*tch built like a wine glass.” The sharp attack disqualifies all parties from the competition and allows her to stand atop the Olympic podium of elite women.
Ho, Why Is You Here? questions the audacity of others to stand in the same space as Flo Milli. “None of you b*tches is f*ckin’ with me” she repeats on “Pocket Bigger” while sending a brash reality check on “May I” rapping, “I’m not your bestie, not your sis / I’m not the one, I am that bitch / It’s slow for these hoes.” However, as she makes clear on several instances on the album, the guys are not excluded from her reign, one that plays more like a boastful trip. “I smoked all his weed and I told him to leave,” she says on “In The Party. “Use him for his money, that’s all that I need.” Flo Milli refuses to be brought down from her self-built cloud-grazing pedestal, taking a loss is something the Alabama native has unheard and even if it were to happen, the bounce-back would practically erase it from existence.
Flo Milli is a believer in all things herself and her debut project is living proof of that. There is nothing she can’t accomplish and she’s the only person who can get in her own way. The Flo Milli that struts with infectious confidence will be damned if her progress is stunted by someone listed as a nobody in her books. The self-proclaimed “head b*tch in charge,” as she reveals on “Pussy Cat Doll,” assumes her throne and brings order to her people while banishing those opting to talk down on her instead.
Ho, Why Is You Here? finds Flo Milli arriving with a heavy dose of valiance that presents her infectious confidence in a lightly comical tone. Flo Milli is here to establish her position in the rap game and do so firmly, but not without enjoying it in the process. Just like it did for Cardi B, many of the Alabama native’s punchlines bring a smile to the face of listeners all while getting the core message across. Within hours of the project’s release, many of music’s prominent women boosted the young rapper’s album, aiming to spread the word on Flo Milli and ensure she received the moment she truly deserved. Supporting Flo Milli’s rise is nothing short of essential as she holds the talent and charisma to be one of her generation’s next stars.
Ho, Why Is You Here? is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.