New girl band alert? With more about this new and exciting group is Jessica Bowden
Flo are the latest girl group to make major moves in the UK R&B scene, going viral on .ktok with their song ‘cardboard box’ giving post-breakup empowerment vibes to all the girlies.
Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer and Stella Quaresma formed Flo back in 2019, describing themselves as:
3 young women of colour trying to empower people like us and anyone who needs it.
FLO
Flo give a very tlc-esque/destiny’s child feel with their “independent boss babe” lyrics and iconic looks (including the mugler catsuits for the ‘immature’ photoshoot). Their songs ‘summertime’ and ‘immature’ have the perfect balance between that notorious 90s R&B baseline, the tuned up acoustic guitar, precise beats and their angelic harmonies.
Flo make music for everyone but you can’t help but feel a certain euphoric feeling as a young black woman in the UK listening to their music. With Black American culture heavily influencing Black UK culture, it’s nice to see not only a group of gifted black girls thrive in the music scene, but a group of talented black and British girls find success.
Flo are an example of future black British musical brilliance, providing the good vibrations everyone everywhere need. Jorja, Renée and Stella are all aged 20, they are London natives who met trying to find success as soloists. As a band they are solid and as friends it seems even more so, they have an intriguing sense of vulnerability in the way that they are relatable.
Flo mix 90s hip hop and R&B influence with their own personal sound and personality and that’s what makes them a band worth watching. The girls have received praise from R&B staple figures such as Brandy, SZA and even Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, putting the girls en route to an upwards trajectory within the industry.
Latest single ‘Not My Job’ is a massive “f-you” to that insecure, fragile masculinity, trauma projecting man who can’t do his ‘job’ as a partner in a relationship hence the title. The group are now riding the wave of viral-ability of ‘cardboard box’, and have now dropped ‘Not My Job’ another hard hitting song that gives a girl all the confidence she needs when she feels belittled by a man.
Through keeping up with this momentum, Flo have the potential to etch their way further into the industry and establish themselves as the next top girl band.