Album Review: Flo Milli, ‘You Still Here, Ho?’

It seems like just yesterday that Flo Milli changed the directory of social media fancams with “Beef FloMix.” In actuality, we’re a little over two years removed from that moment and the release of Milli’s debut mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here? Several memorable hits and one mainstream breakthrough later, Flo Milli has finally unleashed her debut studio album, You Still Here, Ho?

For her debut album, Flo Milli dives even deeper into the “delightfully bratty mean girl” persona that she’s carved out for herself while also finding time to experiment with different shades of dance music. Conceptually and musically, You Still Here is a marked improvement from Milli’s debut mixtape — even if the album has fewer obvious high points. In a move that tends to be less common than it should, Milli’s proper debut wholly embraces the foundation set by her mixtape. In fact, the titles of the two projects display an attention to detail and branding that sets Milli apart from her peers. Her mixtape’s title was a reference to reality TV star Joseline Hernandez’s “ho, why is you here” quip from Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, and her debut album expands the concept tenfold. Commencing and concluding with spoken word cameos from reality TV legend Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Milli carefully curates an album listening experience that is steeped in the melodrama and bombast of reality television. Dripping with vanity and humor, You Still Here, Ho finds Milli at her most confident and, at times, most impressive.

RCA

Flo Milli’s flows have been tight since her debut, but the second half of the first verse of “Come Outside,” the album’s first proper song, is a dizzying display of her rap prowess. Opening an album with a menacing beat and a minute or so of shit-talking is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but Milli breathes new life into the approach with her rapid-fire delivery and bars like “Levels to this, I'm a different student on a pedestal, that's what you not bitch / Play my positions so my money different, new electric Porsche with the box shift.” In fact, “Come Outside” feels like what a song-version of the “come outside, nobody finna jump you” Penny Proud meme would sound like — yet another connection between Milli, social media, and the grandeur of television.

Throughout her debut album, Milli focuses on covering familiar lyrical territory. Her sexual power and attractiveness are central lyrical tenets, as are her money, her fame, and her commitment to devaluing the influence of men in her life. Seeing as most of the album’s songs fall into this category, the record can get redundant quickly. “Do It Better,” “Tilted Halo,” and “No Face” are welcome additions to Milli’s oeuvre, while “Bed Time” shows off a more aggressive side of the rapper that fits nicely against her clean flow switches. That aggression also bares its teeth on “Conceited,” yet another Flo Milli track that has gone viral on TikTok. On this track, Milli takes a page out of Nicki Minaj’s book and really hams up her animated vocal delivery on lines like “please don’t bark cause Milli bite back.” Moments like these help reignite the album’s fire, which is necessary on a record that doesn’t have particularly interesting beats or outstanding contributions from featured artists. Perhaps the most intriguing thing that Milli does on her debut is dip her perfectly manicured toes into dance music. The Babyface Ray-featuring “Hottie” evokes Ghost Town DJ’s’ seminal “My Boo,” while pre-release single “PBC” incorporates elements of bounce. Outside of Doechii and Bree Runway, there really isn’t a mainstream female rapper that’s so boldly embracing dance music in their own songs, and Milli wears the sound well. There’s also “Pretty Girls,” a Cyndi Lauper-interpolating track that features a hollow stock guitar and a relatively new sing-rap approach from Milli. She often employs a sing-songy tone when she raps, but “Pretty Girls” finds Milli legitimately trying her hand at crooning — and it kind of works.

Flo Milli’s commitment to details and her willingness to steadily expand her sonic profile make You Still Here, Ho a winner even though it, by and large, is not as consistent or as interesting as the mixtape that preceded it.

Key Tracks: “Come Outside” | “Bed Time” | “Conceited” | “On My Nerves”

Score: 70