Flo Rida: My friends made me change my name

Flo Rida originally wanted a sexually provocative stage title before he came up with the idea of naming himself after an American state.

The US rapper, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, used to be put under pressure by his friends to come up with a striking stage persona in the days he performed as an MC.

Originally the 31-year-old was part of a rap group Groundhoggz before he became a solo artist, and his fellow performance buddies were not happy with the first title he chose for himself.

"At first, I was going by the name of Ruckus Pimp," Flo recalled on an episode of the MTV show When I was 17, which is due to air on Saturday. "I just thought that was like a little bit out there, so I went over to my boy's house. He's just like, 'Man, we got to come up with a name today.'"

The rapper, who has since shot to fame on the strength of his talent as an individual, described how the aliases of hip-hop stars can have a great bearing on their reputation and image.

The Right Round singer revealed that after a lot of creative thinking he had the brainwave of twisting the name of the state he grew up in, and credits that with giving him the success he enjoys today.

"So, OK, I sat up there for about an hour and finally, it hit me," he said. "Take Florida, break it in half and there you go: Flo Rida."