FLO RIDA
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, 1925 Blanshard St.
When: Wednesday, Sept. 4, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $69.50-$199.50 from the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre box office (250-220-7777) or
It has been an endless summer for pop rapper Flo Rida, whose itinerary in recent months has taken him to both sides of the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½-U.S. border for an array of state fairs and music festivals.
The 44 year-old Floridian (born: Tramar Lacel Dillard) still has a few ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ stops on his to-do list, including a concert Wednesday at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. There is much about his inaugural Vancouver Island appearance that remains unknown, however, as Dillard did not make himself available for an interview in advance of his performance, nor does he have an official website.
It’s an odd approach for someone who has 4.6 million followers on Twitter and 15.7 million followers on Facebook, though the five-time Grammy Award nominee does not appear to be lacking in appeal. His appearance on Aug. 29 at the New York State Fair was attended by 42,000 people, the fourth-largest concert crowd in the U.S. fair’s history, and he continues to be a streaming presence despite a distinct lack of new music.
“I get two-for-one,” Dillard said of his live concerts, during a recent interview with New York’s NewsChannel 9 network. “I get a chance to party and I get a chance to watch my fans party. It’s so surreal. Every time I get on stage it feels like the first time.”
Dillard hasn’t released a full-length album since 2012, and his run of singles since 2018 have missed the charts entirely. But what he accomplished during the early part of his career remains impressive. He earned five Grammy Award nominations in as many years, starting with a pair of nods for his 2007 single, Low. The song has been streamed on Spotify nearly 1.2 billion times, one of a handful of club hits that have maintained their grip on audiences more than a decade after their initial release.
The others — Right Round, My House, Good Feeling, and Wild Ones — have been a streamed a combined 4 billion times. He’s also branched out into country music (including collaborations with Walker Hayes and members of Florida Georgia Line) and has joined forces with club music maestros David Guetta and Far East Movement.
“I’m just living life and trying to be versatile,” he said during an interview with New York Post in May.
He has been well compensated for his efforts — in addition to the $82.6 million he won in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the U.S. energy drink company Celsius — and has been active in a variety of charities, even donating some of his settlement to causes he supports.
“I’m so happy about the philanthropic things I can do. I have my Big Dreams For Kids charity. I have a youth football league with over 10,000 kids,” he told TMZ last year, after news of the settlement was made public.
“Now, I’m thinking about generational wealth and how I can continue to open doors for other people.”
