Since the turn of the millennium, few hip-hop artists have been more popular than Flo Rida.
Hip-hop superstar Flo Rida rocked thousands of fans at Pacha Macau in Studio City on Saturday night and we were there not only to catch the high octane gig but to interview the music icon too. We got some time with Rida before the concert began and he told us he loves his fans in Macau. He said, in Macau, there is ‘great hospitality’. “The fans here are amazing,” he said. “I love to see the joy and the smiles.”
Four-and-a-half hours after the doors opened at Pacha Macau nightclub to the giddily excited selfie-obsessed clubgoers, the hype man for Grammy-nominated Flo Rida’s show decided the assembled crowd was sufficiently packed and warmed up to bring out the main act himself. As it turned out, the main highlight was Low, Rida’s 2008 debut single, who the hype man boasted for several hours as having sold 100 million records worldwide. Low was performed with a bevy of girls who had been invited on the stage for selfies with the star as he sported a tank top that showed off his buffed biceps and tattoos. Low is like the unofficial anthem of every nightclub in Ibiza with singalong lyrics so ingrained in people’s heads that it singlehandedly makes Rida worth the wait (in fact, in our interview he said: “I love performing my first record, Low. That record really stands out.”). The fact that Low was third on the setlist and not last speaks volumes. It also shows his confidence that his growing repertoire of dance hits, including Club Can’t Handle Me and Where Them Girls At, both of which featured the midas touch of DJ and record producer David Guetta, and the chart-topping Whistle, is enough to carry him when he is not singing about ‘apple bottom jeans’ and ‘boots with the fur’.
All in all, it was a pumped-up gig which was worth heading over to Macau and waiting for. Rida is, after all, a man of the people. He said, in our interview: “I’m the guy who embraces the fans as much as they embrace me,” and that he ‘still feels like it’s day one of his career’. He added that, after this tour, he’s heading back to the USA to finish up his next album. “And I have a lot of charitable stuff I’m doing and I’m always trying to take advantage of that as well,” he said.
As for Macau, apart from loving his Macanese and Hong Kong fans? “I would love to come out here a lot more,” he said, “touring and just embracing the love. The love is very organic and it brings joy to myself and my team.” We appreciate that. “As for what the future has in store,” he added, “it’s up to my passion and my drive.” Elizabeth Purvis