HO WHY IS YOU HERE?: ALBUM REVIEW
Flo Milli knows how to make a hit. She became a star even before her debut album Ho, why is you here? when the two singles “In the arty” and “Beef (FloMix)” blew up to a startling degree, becoming staples on Tik Tok and Twitter this summer. Both songs had so many quotable lines that it was nearly impossible to keep them out of your head. It’s hard to forget opening lines like “I like cash in my hair to my ass” or “dicks up when I step in the party,” but on Flo Milli’s debut project she moves past the quotable lyrics to create a cohesive album full of fun bangers.
Ho, why is you here? is an unrelenting project. Flo Milli never stops flowing over the course of the album’s 30-minute runtime. Most songs see Flo Milli employing a simple but endless flow, with bars running into other bars until it feels like she has filled up every little open space in the beat. This flow works best on songs like “Send the Addy,” where Flo Milli finds the groove in the beat effortlessly and effectively.
Flo Milli does a great job of switching up the vibe of the project just enough to keep listeners interested. For example on “Weak,” one of the highlights of the album, Flo Milli uses a slightly different flow and slows the beat down. On this track, she raps about a variety of different men and how little she cares about their opinions. She switches it up again on the song “May I” rapping over a sample of African drums, getting rid of any traditional hi-hats in favor of claps and stomps. These slight variations in the traditional Flo Milli format do so much to make Ho, why is you here? a more cohesive project and showcase the potential of Flo Milli’s sound. They keep the album moving forward and prevent the music itself from ever seeming repetitive.
The hooks on this album are insanely catchy. Almost every song has a memorable hook but my favorite appears on “Weak” as Flo Milli flows, “these niggas weak. They’ve been texting me all week just let me be” in a sing-song, catchy way. Hooks like these take Flo Milli’s music to a whole new level and showcase the talent she has for finding the pocket in any beat. The hook on “In The Party” is what got Flo Milli famous. That “Yeah, bitch I got your ma-a-an, since you bad hoe come catch him if you ca-a-an” is already legendary. It just exudes cockiness and fun which is what any good anthem should do.
Musically and lyrically, Flo Milli is killing it on this album, but her subject matter really doesn’t evolve much. She clearly isn’t aiming for the lyrical-miracle lane of hip-hop, but she chooses to address the subjects she raps about in the same way on every single song. At some point, it becomes almost a meme how similar the subject matter on each song is. Although most don’t have a real focus, the ones that do are where Flo Milli shines through most. What makes “In the party” so fun is that it centers around a specific event which brings all of the bars together. The same thing happens in the song “19.” The song is centered around her age while she flexes on anyone older for being broke. The whole concept of "19" is hilarious and contextualizes all the bars. Without this context, Flo Milli becomes exactly like Lil Yachty or any other rapper who failed because they didn't have much to say.
Ho, why is you here? is one of the most fun albums of the year. Hopefully, this is just the beginning for Flo Milli, and she certainly shows that she has the talent to do big things in the industry.