Mail on Sunday (album)
Mail on Sunday is the debut studio album by American rapper Flo Rida, and was released on March 18, 2008 under Atlantic, and Poe Boy Entertainment. It spawned three singles; the first, "Low" was number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks. The second, and third singles, "Elevator", and "In the Ayer", were successful as well, being top 20 hits. "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston was not an official single, but it managed to peak at number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital sales in both countries.
Mail on Sunday | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 18, 2008 | |||
Recorded | 2007–08 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 53:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Flo Rida chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mail on Sunday | ||||
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Music
T-Pain, who laced the first single, is only one of the many featured guests throughout the album. Timbaland, who produced the second single "Elevator", is also featured on the track. Rick Ross, and Trey Songz made appearances as well.[1] Lil Wayne has also been added to the list[1] with assistance by young Memphian, Jamil Smith, while Sean Kingston appears on the J. R. Rotem-produced "Roll" the concept was created, and co-written by Compton rapper Spitfiya, from The Bullets Production Team, Various other guests include Birdman, Brisco. The third single is "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am. The fourth single was scheduled to be "Money Right" featuring Brisco, and Rick Ross, but was canceled due to the release of his upcoming second studio album R.O.O.T.S. His second collaboration with T-Pain, "I Bet", his collaboration with Trina, named "Bout It" and as well as his second collaboration with Sean Kingston named "OG", all three didn't make the final track list, but were recorded. As for production, J. R. Rotem, DJ Montay, and Timbaland all provided tracks for Mail on Sunday, among others.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 54/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
HipHopDX | [6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
NOW | [8] |
RapReviews | [9] |
Robert Christgau | [10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
Slant Magazine | [12] |
Mail on Sunday garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 54, based on 12 reviews.[2]
Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album for containing great production and tracks that are potential singles but found the artist on said album lacking in identity, concluding with, "When you try to come up with positive comparisons to other artists, you realize just how derivative Flo Rida is. He's a little bit Twista, a little bit Trick Daddy, and a whole lot Nelly. None of those things are negative, but the fact he can't distinguish himself from any of them isn't a positive. I'd like to see Flo Rida convince me why he's special with his next album - until then he's just another MC with a well produced album who came out of a cookie cutter hitmaking mold."[9] Joseph Barracato of Entertainment Weekly also praised the production for having "ferocious beats" and "infectious hooks," and gave credit to Flo Rida for delivering female anatomy metaphors in a creative way.[4] Billboard writer Jeff Vrabel said that, "Flo Rida's flow is an engaging/ringy-dingy/he-sounds-like-Nelly thing. But his hooks can be rock-solid ("Ack Like You Know") and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism (opener "American Superstar" comes into "Tubular Bells" territory, really) helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South."[13]
AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that, "Though Flo Rida has his own identity – for all the tough talk and the automotives fixation, he does come off as big-hearted, and he could just as easily make an R&B album – and covers more bases than what is typical from other mainstream-yet-street rap albums of 2007 and 2008, he's not nearly as distinctive as any of his predecessors."[3] Robert Christgau graded the album as a "dud",[10] indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[14] Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard found the album trying hard to replicate the success of "Low" but found the tracks to be "generic pop rap" and both the production and vocal delivery "standard-issue."[11] Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine criticized the record's tired use of party tracks, phoned in contributions, and misogynistic lyrical content, concluding that "unless he can once again catch the coattails of T-Pain or some other hit-magnet, odds are that he’ll be beginning his descent back into anonymity very soon."[12]
Sales
Mail on Sunday debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 86,000 copies in its first week.[15] As of May, 2009, the album has sold 390,000 copies in the US.[16] It has been certified silver for sales in the UK.[17]
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "American Superstar" (featuring Lil Wayne) |
| Honorable C.N.O.T.E. | 3:40 |
2. | "Ack Like You Know" |
| Deputy | 3:45 |
3. | "Elevator" (featuring Timbaland) |
|
| 3:50 |
4. | "Roll" (featuring Sean Kingston) |
| J. R. Rotem | 4:00 |
5. | "Low" (featuring T-Pain) |
| DJ Montay | 3:50 |
6. | "Priceless" (featuring Birdman) | 3:52 | ||
7. | "Ms. Hangover" |
| J. R. Rotem | 3:57 |
8. | "Still Missin" | Kane Beatz | 4:40 | |
9. | "In the Ayer" (featuring will.i.am) |
| will.i.am | 3:40 |
10. | "Me & U" |
| DJ Frank E | 4:30 |
11. | "All My Life" |
| FATBOI | 3:33 |
12. | "Don't Know How to Act" (featuring Yung Joc) |
| Honorable C.N.O.T.E | 3:33 |
13. | "Freaky Deaky" (featuring Trey Songz) |
| Gorilla Tek Drum Majorz | 3:17 |
14. | "Money Right" (featuring Rick Ross & Brisco) |
| Javon "4Mill" Thomas | 3:16 |
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Gotta Eat" | Young Juve | 3:52 |
16. | "Make a Wish" | Firstborn | 4:06 |
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Low" (featuring T-Pain) (Travis Barker remix) |
| 4:15 |
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Birthday" (featuring Rick Ross) | The Runners | 5:04 |
16. | "Low" (featuring T-Pain) (Travis Barker remix) |
| 4:14 |
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
17. | "Gotta Eat" | Young Juve | 3:53 |
18. | "Make a Wish" | Firstborn | 4:07 |
19. | "Fast Life" | 3:27 | |
20. | "Low" (featuring T-Pain) (Freedombunch mix) |
| 3:53 |
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Radio" | Kane Beatz | 3:42 |
Sample credits[18]
- "Still Missin'" contains elements of "Jazzy Belle", written by André Benjamin, Patrick Brown, Ray Murray, Antwan Patton, and Rico Wade.
- "In the Ayer" contains interpolations from "Jam the Box", written by Tony Butler.
- "Me & U" contains samples and elements from the Roger recording "Emotions", written by David Gamson and Roger Troutman.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Certifications
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Year-end charts
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See also
References
- Danica Dow (February 23, 2008). SOHH Exclusive: Flo Rida Goes "Postal" on Debut, Collaborates w/ Will.i.am, Lil' Wayne Archived 2008-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. SOHH. Accessed February 24, 2008.
- "Reviews for Mail on Sunday by Flo Rida". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Kellman, Andy. "Mail on Sunday - Flo Rida". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- Barracato, Joseph (March 14, 2008). "Mail on Sunday". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- MacPherson, Alex (April 4, 2008). "CD: Flo Rida, Main on Sunday". The Guardian. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Paine, Jake (March 19, 2008). "Flo Rida - Mail On Sunday". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- Weiss, Jeff (March 16, 2008). "Flo Rida mines the familiar in 'Mail on Sunday'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Stewart, Addi (March 27, 2008). "Flo Rida". NOW. NOW Communications. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Juon, Steve 'Flash' (March 18, 2008). "Flo Rida :: Mail On Sunday :: Poe Boy/Atlantic Records". RapReviews. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- "CG: Flo Rida". Robert Christgau. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- Hoard, Christian (April 3, 2008). "Mail On Sunday : Flo Rida : Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- McBee, Wilson (March 20, 2008). "Flo Rida: Mail on Sunday". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- Vrabel, Jeff. "Mail on Sunday". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- Aliya Ewing (March 26, 2008), Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 3/23/08 Archived 2008-03-30 at the Wayback Machine.
- Week Ending May 17, 2009: Three Days Is Plenty For Green Day Archived May 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Yahoo Music Blog (written by Paul Grein): Retrieved May 20, 2009
- "British certification for Mail on Sunday". British Phonographic Industry. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- Mail on Sunday (booklet). Atlantic, Poe Boy. 2008.
- "Australiancharts.com – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Flo Rida Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Lescharts.com – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Irish-charts.com – Discography Flo Rida". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Charts.nz – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Swisscharts.com – Flo Rida – Mail On Sunday". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Flo Rida Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Flo Rida Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Flo Rida Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- "Canadian album certifications – Flo Rida – Mail on Sunday". Music Canada.
- "British album certifications – Flo Rida – Mail on Sunday". British Phonographic Industry.
- "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2008". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- "Year-End Charts: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2008". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- "Year-End Charts: Top Rap Albums - 2008". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2018.