Flo Rida Tries To Overcome The Struggle Of Being A Two-Hit Wonder

Our look at the closing lines of the week’s biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle), the second album by record-breaking MC Flo Rida:

• “His genius lies in pitching his records just right: he injects these songs with enough grit to interest hip-hop fans, without scaring the pop audiences his catchy hooks are designed to ensnare. It’s ruthlessly effective, though difficult to love.” [Angus Batey, The Guardian]

• “Even the title song, a narrative of Flo Rida’s gritty rise, is swathed in mammoth R&B hooks, baying ad-libs, dollar-sign synthesizers. There’s an almost geometric symmetry to R.O.O.T.S.‘ pop precision, one that lends it a ruthless efficacy and anoints Flo Rida the first anonymous rap superstar.” [Jeff Weiss, LA Times]

• “He’s hip-hop’s Dr. Phil. The problem is that he shows no growth – besides realizing, along with his producers, that if you throw every hook known to man into the pop ocean, you are bound to catch something. In this case, it will catch a lot of listeners. How long they stay on the line is debatable.” [Ken Capobianco, Boston Globe]