Despite reports that Flo Rida decided to cut his collaboration with R&B singer Chris Brown from his upcoming sophomore album R.O.O.T.S, the Atlantic rapper insists it has nothing to do with the singer’s alleged incident with Rihanna.

According to Us magazine Rida nixed the song because of a failure to resolve business issues between him and Brown prior to finishing the CD. The decision, he says, had been made for some time, saying, “This was way before me ever hearing anything about [Brown allegedly beating Rihanna],” adding, “I had been done with this record."

The rapper, currently atop the Billboard Hot 100 with his new single “Right Round,” which recently broke the one-week digital sales record, was rumored to have claimed that the record with Brown “…could have been my next No. 1.” For now, he will have to settle with his tally of just two chart-topping singles - last year’s “Low” being the other - an impressive feat nonetheless.

R.O.O.T.S flies onto shelves on April 7th. - Devin Chanda

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