If hip-hop stands for anything, Flo Rida ain’t it.
His entourage sets about warming the crowd while he’s getting ready backstage. Fair enough but it’s 10.15 by the time he appears, bejewelled, bespectacled, bemuscled and ‘Ayer’ pumps out. ‘Rida connects early with Irish contemporary affairs giving us a taste of Snoop’s ‘Gin’n’Juice’ (“I’ve got my mind on my money and my money on my mind”) and then we all play a big game of “loudest side of the room’’.
Two songs in, the Floridian reveals a white muscle vest and, having hardly cracked a sweat, dumps a full bottle of water over his flexed and oiled torso, which is clearly his favourite asset. Damp, signed towels are flung to the crowd, almost winning us over – but as the gig progresses, the formulaic music remains unconvincing, offering a Disney-fied version of ghetto culture.
Flo’s floor filla ‘Low’ sees him fill the stage with girls handpicked from the crowd. He gets "low low low" with the giggling girlies.
Next he takes out his iPhone before singing a song about iPhones and you wonder: is he being paid for this? Sweaty towels fill the night sky and for ‘Touch Me’ he gets into the crowd so people can touch him. Finally, 'Rida introduces ‘Spin My Head Right Round’ by telling everyone to buy his album.
The encore is comprised of one song, ‘I Wanna Be On You’, and it’s all over by 11pm.
Who said the revolution will not be televised?