I was three and 1/2 hours late to our GloRilla cover shoot, only trailing the Memphis rapper by about 30 minutes, as we both stumbled into the Atlanta studio midday, wasting those precious morning hours that would have guaranteed time for a lengthy, cover-worthy conversation. It was one I was looking forward to, despite my morning preparation running a bit later than I anticipated. I tend to over-prep when my nerves take over, a habit that has served me well generally, but has also led to awkward convos of balancing those studied, well-thought-out attempts to guide a conversation with leaving room for the magic to happen spontaneously. Striking that balance had been the goal as I’d aimed to craft a conversation that would help VIBE understand a phenomenon who’d manifested fame and the genesis of generational fortune in just a handful of years.
It was a conversation I hoped would be riven with what GloRilla had become known for–an irrepressible sense of humor, her contagious laugh, and an optimistic view on life, despite past trials and current misunderstandings with various industry folks. I could see Glo and her team chilling with the VIBE Tribe over plates of fried chicken and fish, chatting about future possibilities, the world’s obsession with her accent, and the current blessings bestowed upon the woman born Gloria Hallelujah Woods.
Sage East
Do not get it twisted; we bussed down some bomb fish and mediocre chicken (hot sauce required) during the day-long shoot. But running hours behind schedule meant using every available second to get those shots, squeezing me out of the process. Still, feeling the need to make my presence known, I approached Glo and her crew while shooting her first look, all of whom were very kind and professional.
Glo herself was giving exhaustion.
Her usual bubbly spirit was muted to say the least, with her team letting us know that she was in the studio until 5:00 a.m. that morning, tightening up tracks for what will become her first studio album. This was a key studio session, as Glo was set to hit the road the very next day for her first Hot Girl Summer tour date supporting Megan Thee Stallion. This is a time in her career when every second counts, and while her glam squad could remove all physical signs of the rapper burning candles at both ends, the intensity of her schedule was still apparent. I could also sense that she was feeling the weight of the moment. Glo knows she is on the brink of transitioning into a superstar, and while she has embraced this new frontier, it can take an emotional toll and present as uninterested or straight-up aloof to the new landscape one must navigate.
Sage East
Amid a playlist of trap anthems, squeezing in back-to-back plays of K. Dot’s “Not Like Us” definitely brought her to life for a bit, but it was more of a temporary shock than an invigorating reset.
No, it didn’t quite pan out how either one of us planned, as our tardiness resulted in our Q&A being put on ice until my return from DR the following week (a well-earned vacation, if I do say so myself).
Still, I didn’t come to ATL for nothing.
Refusing to leave the city with nothing more than a half-empty bottle of Taylor Port, I decided to hit up Magic City, post-shoot, because why not? I had one more night in town, my editors were already on planes back up north, and my Uber driver (who showed me proof of his time styling Real Housewives of Atlanta cast members, because Atlanta) insisted I not lay up in my hotel all night. And guess which world-renowned strip club was a 10-minute walk from the telly?
Her ever-presence on the block, in the club, in your cousin’s car, in your girl’s bedroom, all solidifies the lock she already has on a growing public. A People’s Champ whose reach is spreading as she traverses the country, yet somehow still feels familiar. Homegrown. Comfortable. Real.
As I hooked a right on Mitchell and Forsyth, a Chevy Tahoe bends the corner with me bumping “Yeah, Glo,” down the block, passing up the iconic establishment I enter about 3 minutes later. As soon as I crack the door, I am once again met with a Glo verse, as her “Wanna Be” collab with Megan Thee Stallion can be heard as you shovel out your cover charge before entering to the left. Inside, I was met with the scent of wet wings and the sight of thick thighs hitting the stage to this summer anthem. Even with Indiana handing the Knicks an L that night, all eyes were on the women working for their hard-earned cash, soundtracked to one of Glo’s most successful singles. And trust, that was not the last time she came blaring through the speakers before I killed those lemon peppers and called it a night.
“Just like the air, she’s everywhere…”
Sage East
Smash cut to the Hot Girl Summer Tour landing in New York City. Madison Square Garden has recovered from its Knickerbockers being booted from the playoffs just days before, and the sold- out arena is ready to roar again for two of the biggest women in the game, as I take it all in from the ninth row.
The Glo I see hit the stage is not the same woman I met a fortnight prior. This woman is loud, rambunctious, sure of her swag and confident in her ever-growing catalog. Her charisma shines, especially in a moment where a repeated wardrobe malfunction made it difficult for her to stay focused.
“Hold on, my fly keep opening. Y’all know I got thick girl problems now,” the svelte artist joked with the crowd of thousands, as her neon cargos refused to cooperate while on stage. Her charm and humor carried her through, something that’s been a go-to coping mechanism when the southern spitter feels uncomfortable or embarrassed.
“I joke like that now because I’d get super embarrassed,” Glo tells me the following day, ahead of the tour’s Philly show. “That’s a way for me to cope with not being so embarrassed, just making fun of it. I used to get embarrassed back then. I used to not know what to do, and I’d go into shock. Even now, I still be embarrassed, but I have to make it like I’m not. I still cringe at certain stuff that I do, but this is my way of coping with it.”
She’s conquered her nerves in many ways by cracking jokes or dropping playful one-liners, especially when confronted with anything she’s not willing to address just yet. Take her appearance on CNN, where she famously answered “at the end of the day, the day gone end!” when questioned about her political views.
I experienced this myself when I asked about a bar from her Ehhthang Ehhthang track “Aite,” where she raps, “Industry ni**as want to f**k, but they ain’t on sh*t. Only let two hit, both of them had a bi**h.”
Sage East
I was curious to know about Glo’s experience dating men within the industry, and whether this line was to be taken literally. Rather than deep-dive her love life, Glo hit me with the “Mannn, I just be rappin’!” retort, doubling down after I tried to follow up. She also dropped this line on me when I asked about her upbringing in a Christian household and possible feelings of inner conflict she may have with the type of music she creates. She was, however, open about her religious parents’ reaction to her dropping expletive-filled tracks and finding success in Hip-Hop, despite their own plans for her to enter gospel.
“My dad, he just used to be like, ‘Girl, why you talkin’ crazy?’” she recalled, the joy seeping from her voice. “I let my daddy hear it, and he know I always be talkin’ crazy, so it wasn’t that bad. I was scared to let my mama hear it.”
Glo is walking a path paved by many Black women before her, growing up in a household covered in the blood, being led down that path by well-intentioned loved ones, only to know in your heart that your passion lies elsewhere. Even with that, she cherishes these roots and has paid homage in her own way.
“My mama wants me to do a gospel song, and I have,” she mentioned of her unconventional cover of Tamala Mann’s “Take Me to the King.”
“My sister was the one who snuck and told my mama that I do music. When she did that, my mama just started looking into my music, and I had to tell them, ‘Do not listen to my music around me. Y’all can listen to it when I’m not around, but do not play my music [around me], because I know I be talkin’ crazy.’ But they’re supportive of it still.”
Via Instagram Live, the 24-year-old previously addressed some of her former associates believing her image today is too far a cry away from the girl they knew in high school. Indeed, there does seem to be some kind of pull for those who never made it to harp on the “used to be” of those who did, and quite frankly, Glo “don’t be giving a f**k” either way.
“Everybody, we grow. Nobody is the same person they was. Of course, we say ‘I’m the same person,’ but in order to grow, you got to change. And in order to excel, you have to grow. I’m not the same person I was when I was a little girl because I’m not a little girl. I’m grown, you feel me?”
While she has no desire to be stuck in the past, there is something about her pre-fame life that she wishes she could have back, as her increase in notoriety has resulted in some of her kinfolk switching up their demeanor when she’s around.
“I miss people not treating me like a celebrity,” she confessed. “Now, sometimes family will treat you like a celebrity. You can’t go around without everybody wanting a picture or something. You just want to be a regular person sometimes.”
The aforementioned “Aite” also included a line that spoke to Glo’s feelings of abandonment whenever sh*t get’s real, as she spit, “They said they had my back. I turned around and seen a ghost.”
“You can party with people and all that, you got them certain friends you can party with, blasé, blasé. But real life is happening, too. And a lot of times, when you going through stuff, nobody really checks on you,” she said, breaking down the far-too-relatable bar. “Nobody just really got your back, only when it’s good for them or beneficial to them. That happened a lot.”
Fortunately, Glo has also been surrounded by supportive family members and a solid team. The rhymer reminisced about having three sisters; but let it be known that she preferred to run with her six brothers as a kid, which she says contributes to the masculine energy she exudes on her hardest tracks. It’s also something that has separated her from other female rappers and grown her audience, as many straight men claim they just cannot lock into music with excessive fem energy.
Glo does not have that problem.
“Even in school, I didn’t hang around a lot of girls. I had my friends, but I was always the tomboy of the group, just from growing up with my brothers.
“I just never had a lot of feminine energy, and I rap how I grew up. The fellas feel me because I’m coming like them.”
As of late, however, Glo has found an additional sister in fellow rapstress and tourmate, Megan Thee Stallion. The two initially bonded at a party in February of this year, hitting the studio later that week for a session that produced “Wanna Be” and other possible hits being kept close to the chest.
“I was actually shy the first time I went around her,” Glo revealed of her first interactions with the Houston hottie. “The second time, it just got more [comfortable]. We got some shots and stuff, it just felt natural.
“She’s just so fun. That’s what Megan is, she’s super fun to hang with. I genuinely like being around her and watching her perform and everything. I just like Megan.”
Their MSG show found the duo welcoming mutual sis, Cardi B, to the stage, a moment with greater significance to Glo than most would know.
“Those are my girls, and I was happy that I was able to be on the same stage. I listen to them and enjoy their music, so being able to just share the stage with them, that was lit. It was just showing everybody that we don’t have to be…I just love seeing females come together.”
“The first concert I ever attended was in Mississippi. It was Migos and Cardi B,” she revealed, further cementing the powers of manifestation she’s become known for throughout her career. Moving forward, she hopes to manifest expansion for herself into other lanes, remaining mum on a project she’s currently working on that will build her personal brand as a businesswoman. Ultimately, the goal is to land in Rihanna, Hov territory.
“Billions! More sex, and billions,” she says with a laugh, a laugh that also conveys her true intentions to bring these desires to fruition.
It shouldn’t be too tough for the rising star, who inked a tattoo that preceded her glow-up and seemingly made way for her success, all thanks to a late friend who regularly encouraged the “Yeah, Glo” artist before the industry came knocking.
“A guy I used to talk to, he used to always come around, and he would just always tell me, ‘You going to be a star,’ Glo revealed of the sentimental tattoo. “He used to always tell me that, and he passed away in 2020, and so I got that tatted on me.”
With plans to drop her debut studio album – a follow-up to her 2024 Ehhthang Ehhthang mixtape and 2022 EP, Anyway, Life’s Great – later this year, GloRilla is still climbing, reaching new altitudes with every drop. Even with a few classic collabs and block beaters under her belt, she’s still just getting started, and has no plans of slowing down, as the real goal is longevity for the future superstar.
“Gotti told me don’t get comfortable. Keep your foot on the gas. The moment you let up, everything will just go downhill…it’s about consistency and who can have longevity. That’s success.”
This level of work ethic paired with her natural charm, talent, and penchant for manifesting her dreams leads one to believe that her life and future are truly destined. Hallelujah.
***
Photographer: Sage East
Photo Assistants: Chuck Marcus, Garren Price, Keith Anthony
Wardrobe Stylists: E.J. King and London Langston
Art Designer: R. Scott Wells
Videographer: Jason Chandler
Makeup Artist: Sadai Banks
Hair Stylist: Barbie Lewis
PR: Didier Morais and Chantel Muentes of Vital Versatality
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