''R.O.O.T.S.'' (short for ''Route of Overcoming the Struggle'') is the second studio album by American rapper
Flo Rida
Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...
. It was released on March 24, 2009, by
Poe Boy Entertainment and
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
.
[iTunes Countdown to R.O.O.T.S.]
''iTunes.'.' Retrieved February 16, 2009.
Background
In an interview with ''
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...
'', 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."
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
"Right Round" is a single performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring guest vocals from American singer Kesha. It was released as the lead Single (music), single from his second studio album, ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009). It was released to radio ...
" was released as the album's
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
, 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,
breaking his own record that he had set with his hit single "
Low". Though uncredited the song with singer
Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round".
Kesha's music and ima ...
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.
"
Sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
" 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.
"
Jump" is the album's fourth single and was released on July 27, 2009 in the United Kingdom, and July 28, 2009 worldwide. The song features Canadian singer
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado ( , ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted ...
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
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...
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
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
, was released as the album's sixth single in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2009.
Reception
Initial critical response to ''R.O.O.T.S.'' was generally positive. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, 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.
The album was nominated for best rap album at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but lost to ''
Relapse
In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or r ...
'' by
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
.
Sales
In the United States, ''R.O.O.T.S.'' debuted at number 8 on the
''Billboard'' 200, selling 55,000 copies in its first week.
In August 2009, the album has sold 223,000 copies in the United States. Closing out the same year, the album sold 300,000 copies becoming the eighth best-selling rap album of 2009.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
External links
Flo Rida interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2009
{{Authority control
2009 albums
Albums produced by Benny Blanco
Albums produced by Dr. Luke
Albums produced by Dre & Vidal
Albums produced by Eric Hudson
Albums produced by Happy Perez
Albums produced by Jim Jonsin
Albums produced by Sounwave
Albums produced by Stargate
Albums produced by will.i.am
Atlantic Records albums
Flo Rida albums
Albums produced by the Inkredibles