View gallery
The next generation of rap superstars is here, and at the top is Glorilla“It's really cool. I'm excited to be a part of this because it's a new wave,” she said. Refinery29. “I’m glad to be one of those leading the new wave.” That new wave will flood the stage of the UBS Arena in Long Island, New Jersey, on September 11, when GloRilla, newly appointed to the XXL Freshman Class of 2023 – performs at the 2024 Video Music Awards. GloRilla has made 2024 her year with the release of her single “TGIF” and two albums, Yes, Glo! (Alternate versions) and Ehhthang Ehhthang.
Glo has been climbing the hip-hop ladder for a while. “I would describe [my background] “I stayed humble and kept working,” she told Refinery29. “I never gave up and I always had a vision. That’s all you have to have — that vision and that drive.” So if she leaves on November 20 empty-handed, it won’t be long before she returns to receive her flowers and accept the rewards of her hard work.
GloRilla also proved she was on her way to the top when Audiomack, the artist-first music streaming platform, named her its newest #UpNow artist. Audiomack’s #UpNow program highlights the next generation of stars, and alumni include Black Sherif, Pooh Shiesty, EST Gee, Sheff G, Omah Lay, and Ayra Starr, among others. “They’ve played a huge role in helping me connect with fans in a new way,” Glo said of Audiomack, who will make her the cover artist for the #UpNot playlist and increase her presence on the platform. “I appreciate the Audiomack team for always showing their love and I look forward to building more with them in the future,” she added.
As Glo prepares for its future (and the world prepares for its next big monetary move), here's what you need to know about GloRilla.
GloRilla's real name is Gloria Hallelujah.
When GloRilla experienced her success with “FNF,” fans knew her name was Gloria Forests and that “GloRilla” was just a pun on her given name. However, in October 2022, shared that her middle name is “Hallelujah,” which caused a bit of a stir on Twitter. “And why are you acting like I told you my middle name is Hallelujah?” she said. tweeted“That's why I'm so lucky and my pussy is so good, duhhhhhh!!! Damn common sense.”
She is originally from North Memphis.
“I was raised in the church, but we still used to watch 106 & Park and BET,” Glo said. XXL in September 2022. I loved Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, and Lil Wayne.” She describes herself as a quiet child with nine siblings (six boys and four girls). She grew up homeschooled until fifth grade, when child services forced her mother to enroll the school-aged children in public school.
The church was her first contact with music. “I played a lot of solos in the church choir, and when I was a child, the only music my mother let us listen to was gospel. We had to sneak around listening to the other music.”
As a teenager, she left her shyness behind and gained self-confidence, so she began rapping in secret (she only played her music for one of her brothers and her cousin). It wasn't until 2018 that she took her dreams seriously.
His overnight success was achieved over years
Glo uploaded his first freestyle to Facebook in 2016. Two years later, his cousin suggested he focus on his music career and record on something other than his phone. He went to a local studio and released “14 Freestyle” in December 2018. In 2019, he released his independent EP, Most likely nextwith State P in 2020.
Her road wasn’t easy. “I never stopped putting out music. I got discouraged a lot of times, but I never stopped. I started getting broke,” GloRilla told Gillie Da King and Wallo26 on a November 2022 episode of Game worth millions of dollars (thank you Afro Technology). “I was losing everything, my apartments, my cars. I was almost broke. It was like the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I was starting from scratch and I was like, ‘Damn, I’m going to have to go back to work. ’ I was doing whatever I could, surviving last year, and then the hard part came, and I started being broke and living with my friends and stuff.”
During a local rap performance in 2021, he met the beatmaker Beaten child. The meeting resulted in: Set the tone EP that featured Glo, Give it shine, K Carbon, Slimeroni, and Aleza – Five female MCs together. Glo and Hitkidd would work together again on a song that would change their lives.
Megan The Stallion had an impact on his career, more or less
In 2021, Hitkidd had a rhythm planned for Megan the Stallion. It was a chance to team up with the reigning queen of rap… but Megan wasn’t responding fast enough. So, Hitkidd reached out to Glo, who was on her way to get her lashes done, according to Vulture. She came back from her beauty appointment, lit up a joint, walked into the recording booth and dropped the hook. “I’m FREE, fuckin’ free black / That means I don’t have to worry about no fuckin’ black cheating on me / And I’m SINGLE again / Outside, hanging out the window with my asshole friends.”
Glo uploaded the chorus to Triller and it quickly went viral. A week and a half later, she and Hitkidd met up in the studio, where she recorded a new first verse. They shot a music video with all of Glo's friends and “FNF (Let's Go)” was born.
“Literally, it was crazy. My car was repossessed less than a week before I released this song,” he said. Vulture. As of November 2022, the video has over 49 million views. “One week early!”
“I feel like it has taken off because we [were] “Authentic,” he said. BET“We don’t really dress up, we just have fun, being ourselves, you know what I’m saying? There aren’t many people who represent women from the hood and middle-class women. In the video we’re just having fun, doing what we normally do, and people like the authenticity, the realness of it.”
The success of the song caught the attention of several record labels. Glo eventually signed with Yo Gotti CMG Records imprint under Interscope. “She’s someone who comes in different with a new sound, a new way of saying it, a new feel and a new move,” Yo Gotti told XXL. “Her potential is limitless. She doesn’t rap like any other artist. Whenever you come in with a new sound, you have the opportunity to put a stamp on it. And you know what happens next.”
“When you think of Memphis music, you think of Gotti,” Glo told BET, you know what I mean, and Three 6 [Mafia] And them. That was the face of Memphis when you think of rap. They had the city under control and you can't go to a club without hearing a couple of Gotti songs. So he was a big factor in my childhood.
GloRilla underwent a cleanup before its success
During the visit The Angie Martinez Show ahead of the release of her EP in November 2022, Anyway, life is great… Glo talked about how she and her friends went on a 60-day social media cleanse/mental detox.
“We were going through a thing like we couldn’t go into 2022 the same way we did last year, you know, there was just a lot going on… we had to get our lives in order, we were like, ‘we can’t keep living like this,’ we were like, ‘okay, we’re gonna do a cleanse. We’re not gonna talk to any guys because I felt like that was a distraction. No partying, no going out, no saving money, no working out,'” he said (h/t Urban Islandz).
“I had just come out of a breakup and I already said it in the trailer for my song. I had just had an abortion and I was like, ‘I need to detox’ because I didn’t feel the same after that. I had mental changes, so I was like, ‘No more men, let’s detox. ’ I was going through something very, very serious.”
To revive its success, its purge was extended from March to May. By June, “FNF” was on its way to becoming the song of the summer.
She has a lot of recognition: the Grammys and Cardi's.
In July 2022, Glo released “Tomorrow.” Two months later, he released “Tomorrow 2,” the remix featuring Cardi B.[Cardi] He had already contacted me when I was in full swing. As soon as I landed in New York and was going through the airport, he sent me a little voice message, you know, giving me advice and motivating me. [me]“So. And then… she liked my stuff, you know what I'm saying?” Glo said. Revolt.
“I was in the studio one day and I was listening to all my songs and I was like, ‘Who can I put on this song? ’ So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll text Cardi. ’ I texted her and I was like, ‘I got a song I want you to put her on. ’ She was like, ‘Girl, I already did my verse for Tomorrow. ’ I was like, ‘What? ’” [Yo Gotti] “And they were trying to surprise me, but I ended up finding out because I was trying to get her to be on another song,” Glo added. “When I first heard it, I was so shocked. I wasn’t shocked because she’d already done it, but how she performed that song? It made me want to cry.”
That was just the beginning for Glo. In 2022, she won Best New Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards. She also earned her first Grammy Award nomination when “FNF” was nominated for Best Rap Performance. The Glo has gotten started and it doesn’t look like it will fade away for a long, long time.