R.O.O.T.S.

For other uses, see Root (disambiguation).

R.O.O.T.S. (short for Route of Overcoming the Struggle) is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 24, 2009, by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records.^[2]

R.O.O.T.S.
Studio album by Flo Rida
Released	March 24, 2009
Recorded	December 2008–February 2009
Genre	Pop-rap[1]
Length	50:50
Label	Poe Boy Atlantic
Producer	Travis Barker Benny Blanco Mike Caren DJ Montay Dr. Luke Dre & Vidal Eric Hudson Happy Perez Jim Jonsin JRock Kool Kojak Christopher "Spitfiya" Lanier Ne-Yo Oligee Sounwave Stargate will.i.am
Flo Rida chronology
Mail on Sunday (2008) R.O.O.T.S. (2009) Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)
Singles from R.O.O.T.S.
"Right Round" Released: January 27, 2009 "Shone" Released: February 24, 2009 "Sugar" Released: March 17, 2009 "Jump" Released: July 17, 2009 "Be on You" Released: October 6, 2009 "Available" Released: November 23, 2009

Background

In an interview with Billboard Magazine, Flo Rida stated the inspiration for the album comes from his success and knowing that it wasn’t an overnight thing. "It also takes inspiration to turn an album, so I had to really get everything together."^[3] Flo Rida has also stated that the album cover was done this way because he admittedly has an 'addiction to being shirtless' and he wanted to show his body, and show his addiction to the world.

Singles

"Right Round" was released as the album's lead single, and became Flo Rida's second number-one hit. Released on January 25, 2009, the song debuted at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 18, 2009. The song sold a record breaking 636,000 digital copies in its first week,^[4] breaking his own record that he had set with his hit single "Low".^[5][6] Though uncredited the song with singer Kesha as a guest vocalist. The song jumped to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Billboard Pop 100. In its second week, the song sold another 460,000 downloads, the third highest one-week record, topping the one million mark in paid downloads in just two weeks, and becoming the fastest million-selling download ever in the United States. It ended up staying at number 1 for six consecutive weeks.

"Shone" was released digitally as the album's second single on February 24, 2009, and it has peaked at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[7]

"Sugar" was released as the album's third single on March 17, 2009. It debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 25, making it Flo Rida's highest debut to date, and peaked at number 5 in the United States, also it has peaked at number 18 in the United Kingdom. The song features R&B singer Wynter Gordon as a guest vocalist.^[8]

"Jump" is the album's fourth single and was released on July 27, 2009 in the United Kingdom, and July 28, 2009 worldwide.^[9] The song features Canadian singer Nelly Furtado as a guest vocal. As of August 13, 2009 it has peaked at number 54 in the United States, number 27 in Canada, number 21 in the United Kingdom and number 18 in Australia.

"Be on You" was released as the album's fifth single on October 6, 2009. The song features American singer Ne-Yo as a guest vocalist. When the album was released the single debuted at number 90 in the United States. The song has received airplay since the album's release, and has since peaked at number 19 in the United States, and number 51 in the United Kingdom.

"Available" featuring fellow singer Akon, was released as the album's sixth single in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2009.^[10]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Billboard	(favorable)[13]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[14]
The Guardian	[15]
Los Angeles Times	[16]
The New York Times	(mixed)[17]
USA Today	[18]

Initial critical response to R.O.O.T.S. was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews.^[19] The album was nominated for best rap album at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but lost to Relapse by Eminem.

Sales

R.O.O.T.S. debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 55,000 copies in its first week.^[20] As of August, 2009, the album has sold 223,000 copies in the United States. Closing the year, the album sold 300,000 copies becoming the eighth best-selling rap album of 2009.^[21]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Finally Here"	Tramar Dillard Mark Spears Sly Jordan	Sounwave Christopher "Spitfiya" Lanier for The Bullets Production Team	4:03
2.	"Jump" (featuring Nelly Furtado)	Dillard Mike Caren Travis Barker Oliver Goldstein Nelly Furtado Ester Dean	Mike Caren Oligee Travis Barker*	3:28
3.	"Gotta Get It (Dancer)"	Dillard Caren Goldstein Mark Knopfler	Caren Oligee	4:00
4.	"Shone" (featuring Pleasure P)	Dillard James Scheffer Richard Butler, Jr. Andre Harris Vidal Davis Rex Zamor	Jim Jonsin Dre & Vidal	4:13
5.	"Right Round" (featuring Kesha)	Dillard Lukasz Gottwald Allan Grigg Justin Franks Philip Lawrence Bruno Mars Aaron Bay-Schuck Peter Burns Stephen Coy Michael Percy Timothy Lever	Dr. Luke Kool Kojak	3:22
6.	"R.O.O.T.S."	Dillard Jean Borges	JRock	3:45
7.	"Be on You" (featuring Ne-Yo)	Dillard Shaffer Smith Mikkel Storleer Eriksen Tor Erik Hermansen	Stargate Ne-Yo*	4:03
8.	"Mind on My Money"	Dillard Eric Hudson Noel "Detail" Fisher	Eric Hudson	3:32
9.	"Available" (featuring Akon)	Dillard William Adams Aliaune Thiam Harold Clayton Sigidi Abdullah	will.i.am	4:25
10.	"Touch Me" (featuring Kesha[upper-alpha 1])	Dillard, Gottwald Benjamin Levin K. Sebert	Dr. Luke Benny Blanco	3:11
11.	"Never"	Dillard Nathan Perez	Happy Perez	4:22
12.	"Sugar" (featuring Wynter Gordon)	Dillard Montay Humphrey Carlos Battey Steven Battey Maurizio Lobina Gianfranco Randone Massimo Gabutti William Jones Mike Caren	DJ Montay Mike Caren	4:13
13.	"Rewind" (featuring Wyclef Jean)	Dillard Theron Thomas Timothy Thomas Kobe R Wyclef Jean Maurice Carpenter Leigh Elliott Johnny Mollings Lenny Mollings	The Inkredibles	4:29
Total length:				50:50

iTunes Store bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Ha" (featuring Brisco and 4 Mill)	3:54

Amazon bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Yayo" (featuring Brisco, Billy Blue, Ball Greezy, Rick Ross, Red Eyezz, Bred, Pitbull and Ace Hood)	7:53

Rhapsody bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Balla" (featuring Brisco and Billy Blue)	3:32

Napster bonus track

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Nobody" (featuring Brisco and Ball Greezy)	Dr. Luke Kojak	3:28

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 6 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[23] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 21 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 19 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 55 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 6 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 69 French Albums (SNEP)[29] 25 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 21 Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 13 Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 99 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[33] 7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 13 Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 14 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 5 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[38] 1 US Billboard 200[39] 8 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] 6 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[41] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[42] 98 US Billboard 200[43] 144 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 82

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[45]	Gold	40,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[46]	Gold	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47]	Gold	100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[48]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Kesha provides uncredited vocals.

References

1. Jones, Steve (1 April 2009). "R.O.O.T.S. (2009)". USA Today. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
2. iTunes Countdown to R.O.O.T.S. iTunes.'.' Retrieved February 16, 2009.
3. Star Pulse Entertainment Blog (2009-03-04). "Flo Rida Says Chris Brown Track Axed Due To Time Constraints, Not Scandal". Star Pulse. World Entertainment News Network. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
4. Silvio Pietroluongo. "Flo Rida Topples Single-Week Download Mark". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
5. Bronson, Fred (2009-02-19). "Chart Beat: Flo Rida, Atlantic, Mac McAnally". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
6. Paul Grein, Week Ending Feb. 15, 2009: Taylor Swift Gets Last Laugh - Chart Watch, Yahoo.com
7. Acharts.us - Flo Rida and Pleasure P. - Shone - Music Charts
8. "Flo Rida Goes Back to His R.O.O.T.S.; Record-Breaking Single Right Round Continues to Reign at #1 on Billboard's". Reuters. 2009-03-30. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
9. "Radio1 - UK Forthcoming Singles". Radio1.gr. Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
10. McAlpine, Fraser (November 17, 2009). "Chart Blog: Flo Rida ft. Akon – 'Available'". BBC. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
11. "Reviews for R.O.O.T.S. by Flo Rida". Metacritic. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
12. Jeffries, David. "R.O.O.T.S. (Route of Overcoming the Struggle) > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
13. Wood, Mikael (11 April 2009). "R.O.O.T.S." Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
14. Greenblatt, Leah (1 April 2009). "R.O.O.T.S. (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
15. Batey, Angus (27 March 2009). "Urban review: Flo Rida, R.O.O.T.S". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
16. Weiss, Jeff (30 March 2009). "Album review: Flo Rida's 'R.O.O.T.S.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
17. Caramanica, Jon (April 5, 2009). "New CD's". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
18. Jones, Steve (1 April 2009). "R.O.O.T.S. (2009)". USA Today. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
19. "Flo Rida:R.O.O.T.S (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
20. "Keith Urban Soars To No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
21. DeVaughn Douglas (2009-12-30). "AllHipHop ChartWatch: 2009′s Top Selling Hip-Hop Acts". AllHipHop.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
22. "Australiancharts.com – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
23. "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". Ariacharts.com.au. Archived from the original on 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
24. "Austriancharts.at – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
25. "Ultratop.be – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
26. "Ultratop.be – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
27. "Flo Rida Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
28. "Dutchcharts.nl – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
29. "Lescharts.com – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
31. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Flo Rida". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
32. "Italiancharts.com – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
33. "Japanese Albums Chart". Oricon. Archived from the original on April 4, 2009.
34. "Charts.nz – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
35. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
36. "Swisscharts.com – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (Route Of Overcoming The Struggle)". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
38. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
39. "Flo Rida Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
40. "Flo Rida Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
41. "Flo Rida Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
42. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
43. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
44. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
45. "Canadian album certifications – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S." Music Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
46. "Japanese album certifications – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S." (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 10, 2013. Select 2013年11月 on the drop-down menu
47. "British album certifications – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S." British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
48. "American album certifications – Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 28, 2024.

External links

• Flo Rida interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2009