Despite album sales suffering a steep decline over the past years, single sales have conversely & steadily reported upward trends since the advent of download services such as Itunes, Amazon, and more.
And while pop acts like Rihanna, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, & Lady Gaga have seen their names atop many a digital tally in months past, a rap act has acted as a silent dominator – boasting almost double single sales of many of his nearest hip hop competitors.
With Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and others consistently reigning as hip hop heavyweight champs over pop and urban charts, see who Billboard recently named the best selling rapper of the ‘digital age’ (comprised of data reviewed from 2003-2012). It may come as quite the surprise…
It’s Flo Rida!
Via MTVNews:
“…on the list of all-time best-selling digital songs from 2003 to the present, Flo has five entries in the top 200. Leading the pack is “Low” (#7, 6.4 million), “Right Round” (#28, 5.2 million), “Good Feeling” (#99, 3.4 million), “Wild Ones” (#123, 3 million) and “Club Can’t Handle Me” (#165, 2.9 million).”
In addition to holding the record for most digital downloads in a week( ‘Low’ with 636k), the hip pop star also saw his latest #1 ‘Whistle’ recently pass the 4 million mark – thusly cementing Flo’s status as digital rap ruler. Note: His collective albums sales, contrarily, have yet to pass the 2 million mark.
What does this all mean?
Much like the Nelly‘s of yesteryear and Drake’s of today, Flo Rida has earned much critique from devout hip hoppers that his sing/rap style lends little (street) credibility. The pop fusion of his offerings, much like Ushers, Chris Browns, and co. have left fans wondering if it takes ‘selling out’ to land a hit. It’s no secret that despite filling albums with bass-thumping urban cuts, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and more have seen their biggest hits be the product of poo pop persuasion.
An interesting turn as 10 years ago saw hip hop be the route many-an-artist (some awkwardly or unsuccessfully so) take to land themselves atop charts. But, now with Flo Rida being the king of riding the line between hip hop and pop, it begs the question: does having a multifaceted (fused) sound make one a sell-out?
When does being “different (or experimenting)” turn into “selling out”?
54 COMMENTS
king z
August 24, 2012 at 9:20 am
wtf? wack ass flo rida? well i shudnt b surprised. since gaga hit it big, ppl cant get a hit without doin electropop! or as i call it electropoop!
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Damn
August 24, 2012 at 11:41 am
Flo-rida is an extremely smart rapper. He knows his market and therefore deliver. he might be a ‘lyrical rapper’ but he plays to his strengths. he knows this, and i doubt he even wants to be a lyricists. he wants that paper. i salute him
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YESIDIDBITCH....THE KING IS DEAD,AND BITCHYONCE IS Alive and a flop!!
August 24, 2012 at 4:21 pm
@ Damn i agree you can’t hate the man for playing towards his strengths.
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JENNY JONES!!!
August 25, 2012 at 10:25 pm
BOY HE NEEDS THAT HAIR BACK………JENNY JONES!!!!
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sam
August 25, 2012 at 9:48 am
britney did electro pop before gaga.
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ty
August 24, 2012 at 9:26 am
FLORIDA IS A POPSTAR WHO HAPPENS TO RAP INSTEAD OF SINGING WHO CARES ABOUT DIGITAL SONGS ANYWAY ITS NOT LIKE IT COSTS A LOT TO BUY A SONG OF iTunes HENCE Y HIS ALBUMS AIN`T SELL SHIT LIKE SO MANY OTHER SO CALLED SUPERSTARS
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RICHANDBLACK11(UNLIKE RIHANNA, BUT RICH LIKE BEYONCE 300+MM)
August 24, 2012 at 9:29 am
WILL THAT HAPPEN TO RIHANNA YOUR REFERING TO
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RICHANDBLACK11(UNLIKE RIHANNA, BUT RICH LIKE BEYONCE 300+MM)
August 24, 2012 at 9:31 am
Is that rihanna your taking about?
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 9:32 am
OMG Don’t start…as much as I can’t stand the crack bitch the rihanna stans will come in this post and start spouting trash.
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Lax
August 24, 2012 at 11:22 am
Cough*
http://www.officialcharts.com/albums-chart/
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ty
August 24, 2012 at 12:27 pm
LOL I SHALL NOT NAME NAMES HAHAHA
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RICHANDBLACK11(UNLIKE RIHANNA, BUT RICH LIKE BEYONCE 300+MM)
August 24, 2012 at 9:37 am
OK I will keep it cute lol
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 9:26 am
NEXT!!!!
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pat
August 24, 2012 at 9:31 am
not surprinsing if you count him as a rapper…he’s the biggest example of a singles artist
..but i wanna know who the top “real” rapper is digitally….has to be drake or wayne
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truth tea
August 24, 2012 at 12:07 pm
drake and lil wayne arent “real” rappers. their lyrics are garbage! eminem and jay z and kanye are much better than them
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RICHANDBLACK11(UNLIKE RIHANNA, BUT RICH LIKE BEYONCE 300+MM)
August 24, 2012 at 9:33 am
SHE GOT THAT FACE PAINTED DOWN BOOTS
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JJFan1814
August 24, 2012 at 9:38 am
Congrats Flo! He debuted with a unique sound. Rapper flowing effortlessly on rap hooks with a strong hook & he’s stuck with it! Might not be a great album seller but at least he’s banking on other ventures such as his clothing line, touring, endorsements. (if any) & digital sales.
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Musiclova
August 24, 2012 at 9:38 am
Smdh why flo rida ???? Should been Wayne
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Ny
August 24, 2012 at 9:38 am
ERRR FLO RIDA? THATS ONLY BECAUSE HE IS THE MICROWAVE MEALS OF RAP, HE DONT HAVE 1 SOLID SONG WITH INTEGRITY, WASTEMAN
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White girl mob
August 24, 2012 at 9:41 am
*Wait this monkey looking n***** gets it lmoa ya just wait til kreayshawn drops her debut album you will be seeing kreayshawn single flying around all over billboards. Like come on flo tho he is trash man put some talented artist on there man.
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 9:47 am
GIRL SHUT UP with crapshawn she is irrelevant and shitty. She is at the bottom of the food chain.
KELLY ROWLAND
kERI HILSON
KELIS
MYA
CASSIE
EVEN LIL KIM
CRAPSHAWN
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White girl mob
August 24, 2012 at 10:09 am
I see TGJ has a lot of kreayshawn haters ya don’t think she can pull off the 200k first week sales ya don’t think so huh… Man ya just wait man once kreayshawn first week sales are revealed and she lands at number 1 on billboards I’m gonna be all over this site laughing in ya faces. KREAY will get this number one album.. Hey 2chainz did it on his debut kreayshawn gonna do it to so HATERS sit you’er asses back and wait for sept. 18 a classic in the making
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 10:21 am
2 chains is shitty just like crapshawn. Good god you’re probably her only fan on this site.
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MJ Lover
August 24, 2012 at 10:23 am
White girl mob you fucking piece of trash. Shut the fuck up bicth I am so motherfucking tired of your shit c***. You and that Flopshawn bicth are fucking irrelevant. You know damn well that nobody besides you and Kreayshawns family members are going to buy her album. Who is paying your psycho fucking ass. What kind of drugs are you consuming ? Whatever kind of drugs you are taking you need to stop that shit becuase these drugs are making you look crazy. You ugly dumb ass irrelevant ass bitch. Dumb fucking stupid ass slut c*** bitch.
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White girl mob
August 24, 2012 at 10:30 am
I can tell you a nicki Minaj fan by the way you wrote that hate comment you’er language is awful. It left a nasty KFC chicken taste in my mouth.
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 10:36 am
@girl mob lmaoooo DEAD!!!!! but still don’t like you
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Dan
August 24, 2012 at 9:57 am
How can he sell out when thats how he started out?
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tudde
August 25, 2012 at 5:10 am
haha exactly what i was thinking.. Flo Rida has always been a “pop artist who raps”. He doesnt even write his own lyrics..
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Perry Power
August 24, 2012 at 10:00 am
I’ve never seen Flo Rida categorized as hip-hop. I’ve always put him in pop. He is the definition of a singles artist. Each album has had a big hit but I don’t think any have gone gold. Actually, I thought Pitbull would be #1 on this list
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DOSSOME
August 24, 2012 at 10:24 am
UMMM…OK..so where is he in terms of album sales??
I REALLY MISS TUPAC SHAKUR,he is the one true definition of hip-hop,EMINEM is more of a rap act than hip hop,NELLY is tooo RnB,FLO RIDA & PITBULL are nowhere close to hip hop in fact PITBULL is just horrible….True Hip Hop doesn’t just sell singles but albums too…(see 2PAC,B.I.G,DMX,JAY-Z)
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Lisa
August 24, 2012 at 10:45 am
But yet your a Nicki fan.
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Crow LeNz
August 24, 2012 at 2:02 pm
LOL the shit just don’t match talks about real rap but stans for nicki? I’M DONE
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DenimJunkieKidd
August 24, 2012 at 10:46 am
I would agree, but everybody you named was an artist in the 90′s….back when people bought albums….there are a few artist the still sell today but very few and their numbers are not like the numbers in the 90′s and early 00′s (Jay Z, Nicki, Wayne, Drake, Kanye). We are in a changing age of the music industry
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POP ROYALTY ( Fuck Yo Fav)
August 24, 2012 at 11:48 am
the only comment that made sense to me.
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MJ Lover
August 24, 2012 at 10:27 am
Flo Rida? Flo Rida is as Irrelevant as White girl mobs existence. Just like that irrelevent FLOPshawn character.
White girl mob stay away from TGJ you psycho trash can looking ass bitch. I getting on my last fucking nerve. weird ass whore.
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White girl mob
August 24, 2012 at 10:32 am
WOW you are a racist man.. And people always calling me one lol
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OMG A SITE FULL OF c***S
August 24, 2012 at 10:38 am
Reply to this post if you want @white girl mob to GTFO TGJ with Flopshawn!!
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MJ Lover
August 24, 2012 at 10:58 am
yes that lady needs to leave.
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ASAP (As Sincere As Possible)
August 24, 2012 at 11:05 am
Congrats to him, but who cares? Alright, he’s sold millions of 1-dollar singles. What about his albums though, because they never sell? And I don’t think he’s a major touring act either. The money is not on the singles or on VEVO views. It’s all about album and ticket sales and last time I checked Flo Rida is flopping at both.
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BitchICan'tEvenSpellWelfare
August 24, 2012 at 11:35 am
One thing that I’ve always respected about Flo Rida is that he knows he’s a pop artist, he has always done pop, and he will continue to do pop.
Now, just because you are “rapping” over a track does not make you a rapper.
Flo Rida is a pop artist.
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POP ROYALTY ( Fuck Yo Fav)
August 24, 2012 at 11:46 am
i won’t even bother commenting.
2pac and biggie why you Left us with Those Pop hoodrats ?!!
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JohnVidal(RIP Whitney-truegreat)
August 24, 2012 at 11:52 am
It really doesn´t matter. He is still irrelevant. A singles artist doing generic shit is just irrelevat. Nobody will remember him. I didn´t even knew his face until I saw this post
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mob: operation kill the b!+@#
August 24, 2012 at 11:57 am
Wow, “f*ck outta here” intimating that Chris Brown is a “sell out” in anyway! Have you listened to this boys collection of music throughout the years? He enjoys experimenting with different sounds from time to time. WHAT’S WRONG with that? Funny, you love FRANK OCEAN and his music is not traditional R&B on any level. Didn’t see his name listed however…….ummm (◣_◢)
Anyway, Flo Rida is a TRUE SELL OUT if you insist on using that term. He went from songs like “Sweat” to ” Whistle”. BUT lets be honest shall we? In this high-stakes game of POP MUSIC being the “premier” form of music in the media’s eyes, why not? He was going NO WHERE as a traditonal rapper. He is a “speed rapper” but with Busta Rhymes “refusing to die” followed by Twista, the game didn’t have a need for another in that lane. He found his niche. I don’t care for his new music – with the exception of “Wild One”, I LOVE THIS SONG – but he’s doing what he has to do to stay relevant in the game. He’s low CD sells surprised me considering he sell’s Singles like crazy and his CD sold for $4.99 from the start. It has since been discounted to $2.50!
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the real xoxo
August 24, 2012 at 12:09 pm
flo rida and the entire YMCMB collective are pop rappers.
in hip hop, sales dont mean anything. they do in pop.
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Black kupid
August 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Biggest selling rappers of all time 1) EMINEM 89 million 2) tupac 75million 3) Jay z 65 4) 50 cent 65 million soooo fuck the rest!!!!!
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BlUE
August 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Biggest selling rappers of all time 1) EMINEM 89 million 2) tupac 75million 3) Jay z 65 4) 50 cent 65 million soooo fuck the rest!!!!! And since when Fli Rida s a rapper my ass
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RoyalKev
August 24, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Wow, I guess Flo found his lane. I’m not here for his music, but good for him. Selling out is hopping on trends without adding anything new or interesting. It’s like when the 99th person jump on the bandwagon and recycle that same thing everyone else exhausted just to make a hit (instead of pushing themselves to do something unique or creative). It also have something to do with compromising who you are and presenting yourself as a gimmick. It’s sad but every other person in the music industry has sold out these days.
http://www.thepagewithroyalkev.com
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CzarM
August 24, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Fuck digital single sales. Flo Rida is trash. He’s the type of “rapper” who is perfect for iTunes…nobody has to face the embarrassment of actually taking his CD to the checkout counter. But again, fuck digital single sales. If you ain’t selling albums, I’m not impressed.
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Biting Truth
August 24, 2012 at 1:18 pm
What in the world is happening to the music industry? I think it’s ridiculous that sales of MP3 singles and VEVO video views are what’s now considered a “success.” The criteria for success today is a complete parody.
Flo Rida is nothing but a latter day version of Tag Team/Whoomp There It Is. Corny and totally disposable.
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Suicide Blonde
August 24, 2012 at 1:24 pm
I never like him, he’s generic and still my husband Eminem is the best selling rapper of all times, deal with it bitches.
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Gladly
August 24, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Flo Rida caters to 9 year olds. I’m not at all impressed.
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Theman
August 24, 2012 at 4:25 pm
He’s really just a pop artist, with a hiphop twist to him. What good is having cheap digital singles do good, if the album doesn’t sale. The album sales are much more important.
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YESIDIDBITCH....THE KING IS DEAD,AND BITCHYONCE IS Alive and a flop!!
August 24, 2012 at 4:25 pm
First of all i like pop, and some hip-hop. WTF is wrong with a black PERSON doing POP music???? TAlk about racist blacks! I happen to like flo-rida, and he is a rapper who does pop music, and SOOoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Can we not like different types of music, or experiment. SO many simpletons!!!
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BitchICan'tEvenSpellWelfare
August 24, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Are you serious?
I don’t think that ANYONE said that there was anything wrong with a black person doing pop music.
See these masterpieces: Prince-” Purple Rain,” Michael Jackson- “Thriller,’ “Janet Jackson-” The Velvet Rope,” Roberta Flack- “Killing My Softly.”
See. All black & all pop & all brilliant.
This has absolutely nothing to do with racism (side note: please learn what racism actually IS before you erroneously use the term again). This has to do with people labeling Flo Rida a “rapper” when he is actually a pop artist.
Yes, we CAN like different types of music. I like Tupac, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Miles Davis, Anita Baker and Britney Spears.
But Flo Rida is STILL pop…. got it?
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