Flo Milli is Pure Self-Confidence. On Her New Album, She Gets Vulnerable For the First Time
FLO MILLI SHOWS UP at Rolling Stone’s New York office one August afternoon and holds court for an hour. After a spirited discussion about Raising Cane’s chicken — Flo has a hack that involves mixing tenders with sauce in a cup — the 23-year-old Alabama rapper lets us in on her newest album, Fine Ho, Stay. It’s the final LP of a trilogy, following 2020’s Ho, Why Is You Here? and 2022’s You Still Here, Ho? Flo (born Tamia Monique Carter) has consistently been one of the most fun listens in rap, rhyming with the candy-colored zeal of a Clueless character — albeit one who spits fire like “I cook like a chef and you bitches my dinner.” Flo has a headlining tour starting next month, and Fine Ho, Stay (due this fall) is her most personal album to date, as well as a more expansive version of her vibrant sound. Amazingly, much of it was recorded in one extremely productive night.
You seem to have overwhelming self-confidence. What do you attribute it to?
Being the underdog. Ever since I was younger, I’ve always been sure of myself. Even sometimes when I wasn’t, I still came off like I was. I always been a lit bitch. Some people have that star quality, and people would try to make me feel like I shouldn’t have been shining like that. But all that did was make me stronger.
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You recorded a big part of Fine Ho, Stay in one night, right?
It was almost, like, what, 10 songs [that night]? It was me feeling it. I don’t know how to explain it.
Was it 10 beats from a specific producer?
Yeah, it was one producer named Fyre.
What makes this album more personal than some of your other work?
I feel like I’m allowing them to see a vulnerable Flo. And it’s personal because I always have something to prove to myself and others. Every time I expect myself to get better. So it’s always going to be personal when you’re working to be better than your last self.
You’re going to be inhabiting four different alter egos in the videos and other creative for this album. How does that work?
I’m giving different versions of myself so that people know that I’m multifaceted. I have Florence Million, who’s the pop star. She has aspects about her that’s very girly and feminine, and I’m sure you’ve seen my Flo Milli flip. That’s her hairstyle.
And then Dirty Floana is sexy, mysterious, savage. And Flo Ski is who I was for “Flo Milli,” the Lil Wayne tribute. She has dreads, and she’s the cool hipster girl — skateboarder, tomboy, but also unpredictable. And then last but not least, Flo Jo. That’s my favorite one. What the fuck? Flo Jo is like the hood bitch. That’s the one from Mobile [Alabama]. A bitch [throwing] a chair.
You released your breakthrough hit, “Beef (FloMix),” while you were still in college. What was that like?
I told my professor, literally as all the labels were reaching out to me, that I was switching classes. I was like, “My song is blowing up. I don’t know what to do.” He was like, “Make the right decision,” and I never went back.
Tell me more about the “Flo Milli” freestyle. What made you want to rework Lil Wayne’s “A Milli”?
I wanted to do it years ago, but I was scared. I was like, “Dang, this is a big song. And he’s a GOAT.” I wanted to wait till the right time. [It felt like] that time was now, plus it’s the 50th year of hip-hop, so I wanted to pay tribute to him.
Has Wayne heard it?
He did post it on his [Instagram] story, and my manager talked to him. He said he loved it.
A lot of women in rap, historically, were the protégées of a male rapper. But now it seems like everybody’s standing on their own. Why do you think that dynamic’s shifted like that?
I feel like what goes around comes around. So if men feel like they could degrade women in music, then it’s time we learn their ways and flip it back on them. It’s about women becoming stronger and having a voice and being unapologetic about who they are. We’re applying ourselves. Not to say that women before weren’t, but I think it’s more accepted now.
You see a lot of men supporting the Sexyy Reds, the GloRillas, the Lattos, the Ice Spices. We have to put a lot more work and money into it. We got to spend money on hair and makeup and all that. A guy could just throw on a chain, get a little haircut. A couple years ago, rappers would say crazy shit, and it would go viral. But for a girl, that would not work [in the past]. But I feel like now, girls can do that.
You tweeted, “I wish y’all would stop with this tired narrative y’all like to push about my career.” What is that narrative and what made you talk about it?
Them saying I’m underrated, or the colorism thing. They want me to be insecure about my skin tone, which is never going to happen. I want people to understand everybody does not hate themselves. I think I’m a bad bitch, and there’s nothing you could say that’s going to make me think otherwise. So please stop. And I was also telling them to stop using my name to degrade other people. I want y’all to support me, but don’t try to bring another woman down in the process because that don’t make me feel good.
I see that all the time. Especially with women rappers.
And here I am thinking I’m living my best life. [But] you projecting what you think my life should be like. I went from not having shit to being where I’m at. So when you get on the internet and see people like, “Oh my God, I feel so bad for her,” like, bitch, I’m not a charity case. That’s all I be saying. If I’m not complaining, I don’t think nobody else should be.
How do you feel about the overall landscape of sampling, especially sampling classic hip-hop songs? Some people it’s becoming oversaturated as artists do it with less intention, but then some people feel like it’s paying homage. Where do you fall on that spectrum?
I definitely fall on the paying homage. I didn’t know about this whole sampling thing until recently, but I do feel like it’s halfway on the artist. But majority of the time, it’s on the producer. We don’t tell them, “Hey, go put a sample on this beat.” They give me the beats. Sometimes I don’t even know the sample because it’s so old or I don’t know the song and I’m writing to it, but then I find out it got two samples on it or whatever. So it’s up to the artist to be like, “Hey, don’t give me no song with no sample. Give me all original.” I can see why people are annoyed because they want original music.
Does that affect how you navigate choosing beats now?
I mean, yeah. I did a couple [songs with samples], so they got to eat that shit when it come out.
You grew up doing theater and drama club. What do you remember about it?
My first plays were in church when we were doing the Easter program and the Christmas program, so it was more so stories in the Bible. When I got in the school drama club, the first play I did was Peter Pan, and I was a star, literally a star in the sky. I had a part, I said something, but I was in a big-ass star suit on the wall.
What do you do when you have a free day?
I like to read or go to the beach or go out to eat or get a massage. Oh, and I like to go to the rage room, too. I did it maybe four times last month. It’s very therapeutic.
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