Tramar Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida, was a Miami native who became a rapper at age 43 on December 16, 1979. He had to work hard to distinguish himself from his seven sisters. In a local group, some of them sang gospel, and he soon developed a love for music.
However, he joined the local rap group GroundHoggz as a teenager, which included a variety of music lovers. Together, as a quartet, they began making home recordings while also giving small performances in inconspicuous venues.
Fresh Kid Ice, the lead singer of the group 2 Live Crew and widely considered the first Asian-American rapper, caught his eye during one of those performances. Fresh Kid Ice offered him the opportunity to participate in some of the group's shows in Hawaii.
He participated in the recording of "Freaky Chinese", 2 Live Crew's fourth album (2004), due to the friendship that developed between the two rappers. He was able to enter the professional music industry and network thanks to all the knowledge he gained during this period.
In doing so, he attracted the attention of quartet member RandB Jodeci and rapper DeVante Swing, who helped him find a record label to back his work. He made the decision to leave the music industry, finish his education, and seek employment outside of the music industry after being rejected by several record labels.