It started as a joke and has grown into a movement. In late 2013, Black Pegasus was on “The Rugged And Raw Tour” with Potluck and R.A. The Rugged Man. Potluck and R.A. The Rugged Man often made fun of Black Pegasus because of the proper manner in which he spoke. “They’re like, ‘Man. You remind us of Obama,’” Black Pegasus recalls. “R.A., he was like, ‘Yeah. He’s Flobama.’ They just started calling me Flobama that whole tour.”Once the tour concluded, Black Pegasus went to Potluck’s Humboldt County, California homebase to record music. That’s when a metamorphosis took place, with Black Pegasus transforming into Flobama, both personally and musically and recorded an eponymous six-track project. As Flobama, he also shaved his facial hair and rocks a suit in his videos and when performing. On the collection’s chest-thumping title track, Flobama takes a commanding stance. “When we made the project, we were like, ‘Yo. This is the president of rap and what he says goes,’” he explains."We’re taking some jabs at what’s going on in the commercial world. It’s almost like a superhero introduction.”Although he is not a stoner, Flobama (at Potluck’s suggestion) wanted to figure out a way to incorporate the marijuana movement into something presidential. The result is “Free The W**d,” a call to legalize w**d. “I’m all for the Green Movement, but I’m not a stoner and everybody knows that,” Flobama explains."So we were like, ‘How can we flip this concept?’ We came up with the ‘Free The W**d.'”Another thing Flobama would like to change is the way women are portrayed in rap songs. With the soulful “First Lady,” he raps about how strong women stand beside — not behind — strong men. “It’s really written to uplift women,” Flobama reveals."I connected with writing it. 1Ton might identify with it because he has two daughters. In my mind, at first I went with the stereotypical, ‘Behind every strong man is a strong woman.’ 1Ton and I actually had a debate and said, ‘Beside every strong man is a strong woman.’ We started talking about balance and started getting deep with it, which is where the concept came from.”Concepts cuts indeed drive Flobama. On “Words I Say,” for instance, Flobama wanted to create credible rap with a message, something that shows listeners how balance and diversity can have a positive impact on a person’s life. “I was trying to be heartfelt with some positive lyrics,” he says."I hope kids listen to the joint. A lot of times you make a certain type of song and it doesn’t go there, but when I sat down wrote it, I was like, ‘If some young kids listen to my music, how would I want to affect them?’ So when I put that together, I wanted to be positive, have a message.”Flobama shifts gears with “Presidents,” a lyrics-driven song that features him showcasing his wordplay by naming a host of different presidents and presidential events in his rhymes. The song also displays Flobama’s humorous side. “I’m saying some real things on the record and getting that to people, sometimes there’s resistance to that, in a sense,” he says."But having a format with humor splashed in kind of lowers that resistance.”After launching his career as Black Pegasus in the early 2000s, Flobama released a string of acclaimed independent albums and toured throughout the country. The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based artist has collaborated with Tech N9ne, Immortal Technique and Kutt Calhoun, among others, and appeared on MTV’s Road Rules and The Real World. In 2015, he embarked upon “The Pre-Hangover Tour” with Mayday’s Wrekonize and Potluck, criss-crossing the United States in May and June.Now, as the release of Flobama nears, the rapper is set to implement the type of change he created with his Flobama persona.“I feel like we’re out of balance and now it’s so far towards the negative,” Flobama says."We’re just trying to bring back some balance. It’s what I do in life, music, everything.” Now that’s change you can believe in.