Music
Pretty Influential: 4 tracks that inspired Flo Milli
Rapper Flo Milli shares her playlist of inspiring and empowering songs by trailblazing female artists.
Flo Milli is a force to be reckoned with. The 22-year-old from Alabama—given name Tamia Monique Carter—has been making lots of noise since her 2018 song “Beef FloMix” became a viral hit via TikTok. Its 2019 follow-up, “In the Party,” has had more than 125 million plays on Spotify, and her debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here?, arrived in 2020 to critical acclaim. Her latest single, “PBC”—Pretty Black Cute—celebrates Black women and highlights the microaggressions they face day to day. “I think it’s extremely important for young girls to have strong women to look up to for inspiration,” she says. Here the rapper turns the spotlight on four female musical trailblazers whose songs most inspired her. flomilli.com
Keri Hilson, "Pretty Girl Rock" (2010)
Keri Hilson – Pretty Girl Rock
© Interscope
“‘Pretty Girl Rock’ was such a strong and necessary anthem at the time it came out. Everything that [Hilson] was saying was very empowering to me. When I was a little girl, I needed to hear those words—they added to my confidence. This song taught me not to be afraid of being confident about myself, or to feel like I have to dim my light around others because they feel uncomfortable.”
Missy Elliott, "Work It" (2002)
Missy Elliott – Work It
© Goldmind/Elektra
“Every time this song plays, it brings back memories from when I was a little girl, and how I wanted to be a star. My favorite part is when Missy reverses her words—I thought that was so creative. Missy impacted me a lot growing up. She, of course, is a dark-skinned female, and I really admired that she was a badass woman. Everything she wrote was just so creative.”
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Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean, "Hips Don’t Lie" (2006)
Shakira – Hips Don’t Lie
© Sony
"I must have been about 6 when I first heard this, and it’s one of the first pop songs I really fell in love with. I remember sitting in front of the TV watching the video and doing the little hip thing Shakira used to do. It opened up my tastes in music. Shakira had her own lane; she was so different from everybody else. I loved her accent, her energy and her videos.”
Fergie, "London Bridge" (2006)
Fergie – London Bridge
© A&M
“Fergie definitely brought something different to the game, from her beats to her demeanor and attitude. When I was in daycare, I’d take my own CDs, and this song [from Fergie’s solo album, The Dutchess] was on one of them. I made a whole [dance] routine for it, showed it to the girls in my class, and we did it at a talent show. I feel like that’s what sparked my love of performing.”
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