Flo Rida

Hailing from Carol City, on the outskirts of Miami, Flo Rida blends bass-fuelled Southern crunk with a borderline LL Cool J pop-rap sweetness. After nearly a decade of honing his craft on mix tapes and demos, the rapper hooked up with powerful local label Poe Boy, which snowballed into a contract with Atlantic Records. MAIL ON A SUNDAY, the dynamic MC's debut, is highlighted by his collaboration with crooner and fellow Sunshine State native T-Pain on "Low," a smash crossover hit that ruled the airwaves upon its release. No one-hit wonder, Flo Rida would cement himself as a regular on both pop and hip-hop radio by the end of the '00s.

• hip hop/rap