Flo Rida Albums (2)
'R.O.O.T.S. (Route of Overcoming the Struggle)'
Release Date 3/31/2009
Tracks 13
Label Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Standing for "Route of Overcoming the Struggle," R.O.O.T.S. is Flo Rida's follow-up to Mail on Sunday, the album featuring megahit "Low." The autobiographical opener, "Finally Here," seems bemused by life's journey, and closer "Rewind" centers around a "turn back time" metaphor supported by Wyclef's pathos for hire. Of course, the reason you're here is for the numerous poptastic club tracks, all delivered in true ringtone rapper style. The Dead or Alive interpolating "Right Round" is "Low"'s heir apparent, an infectious single created by producer Doctor Luke (who previously worked for Lily Allen) plus Koool Kojak (who previously worked for Andy Milonakis). "Sugar" is shameless enough to "incorporate elements" of Eiffel 65's Euro-trash earworm "Blue (Da Ba Dee)." The upbeat call-and-response hook of "Jump" is delivered by an Auto-Tuned Nelly Furtado, and if you're expecting Fergie or Gwen Stefani to show up during this pop-rap spectacular, you instead get decent shots from Ne-Yo and Akon. R.O.O.T.S. is hip-hop like Nas never happened, an album owing more to Lady GaGa than to Public Enemy. If you enjoy the hook, you enjoy the song, and if you're headed to the club in a fine ride on a Friday night, you'll likely fall for some of what's on offer here. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
If you've heard the Billboard Hot 100 number one single "Low," a DJ Montay-produced track featuring T-Pain, you know the deal: Flo Rida is not a new female member of the Ruff Ryders, but a male rapper with a husky but not imposing voice who has obvious pride for the state he calls home. On Mail on Sunday, he shows flashes of virtually every point in the history of Florida hip-hop, from Miami bass, 2 Live Crew, and Poison Clan to Trick Daddy and Rick Ross. Though Flo Rida has his own identity -- for all the tough talk and the automotives fixation, he does come off as big-hearted, and he could just as easily make an R&B album -- and covers more bases than what is typical from other mainstream-yet-street rap albums of 2007 and 2008, he's not nearly as distinctive as any of his predecessors. Here, he doesn't offer much more than a couple worthy singles and a handful of decent album cuts, and those highlights, such as the Timbaland-produced (and hogged) "Elevator," tend to be memorable more for the beats and the hooks than the rhymes. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
