“Getting to Know GloRilla: 5 Facts About the Rapper Performing at the BET Awards”
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The next generation of rap superstars is here, and riding high on top is GloRilla. “It’s real cool. I’m excited actually to be a part of it because it’s a new wave,” she told Refinery29. “I’m glad to be actually one of the ones 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 – fresh off of being named to the 2023 XXL Freshman Class – performs at the 2024 Video Music Awards. GloRilla has made 2024 her year with the release of her single “TGIF” and two albums, Yeah Glo! (Alternate Versions) and Ehhthang Ehhthang.
Glo has been climbing the ranks of hip-hop for a moment now. “I’d describe [my background] as staying humble, and I just kept working,” she told Refinery29. “I never gave up, and I always had a vision. That’s all you got to have; that vision and drive.” So, if she leaves Nov. 20 empty-handed, it won’t be long before she’s back to get 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 gen of stars, and alumni include Black Sherif, Pooh Shiesty, EST Gee, Sheff G, Omah Lay, and Ayra Starr, among others. “They’ve played an important role in helping me connect with fans in a new way,” Glo said of Audiomack, who will make her the cover of the #UpNot playlist while amping up her presence across the platform. “I appreciate the Audiomack team for always showing love and look forward to building with them more in the future,” she added.
As Glo preps for her future — and the world preps for her next big money move — here’s what you need to know about GloRilla.
GloRilla’s Real Name Is Gloria Hallelujah.
When GloRilla experienced her success with “F.N.F.,” fans knew that her name was Gloria Woods and that “GloRilla” was just a play on her first name. However, in October 2022, she shared that her middle name is “Hallelujah,” which caused a bit of a stir on Twitter. “& why y’all acting like Ian been told y’all my middle name hallelujah?” she tweeted. “Dats why I’m so blessed & my p—y so good duhhhhhh !!!! Common damn sense.”
She hails from Northside Memphis.
“I was raised in church, but we still used to watch 106 & Park and BET,” Glo told XXL in September 2022. I used to love Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, and Lil Wayne.” Describing herself as a quiet kid with nine siblings – six boys, four girls – she grew up homeschooled until the fifth grade when child services forced her mother to enroll the school-age kids in public school.
The church was her first taste of music. “I got a lot of solos in the church choir, and growing up, the only music my mama let us listen to was gospel. We used to have to sneak and listen to the other music.”
As a teen, she shed the shy persona. She gained confidence and started secretly rapping (only playing her music for one of her brothers and her cousin.) It wasn’t until 2018 that she took her dreams seriously.
Her Overnight Success Was Years In The Making
Glo uploaded her first freestyle to Facebook in 2016. Two years later, her cousin suggested she put her mind to her music career and record on something other than her phone. She hit up a local studio and dropped “14 Freestyle” in December 2018. In 2019, she released her independent EP, Most Likely Up Next, with P Status in 2020.
Her journey wasn’t easy. “I never stopped putting out music. I got discouraged a lot of times, but I ain’t ever stop — I had started going broke,” GloRilla told Gillie Da King and Wallo26 on a November 2022 episode of Million Dollarz Worth Of Game (h/t AfroTech). “I was losing everything like my apartments, my cars. I was almost down to nothing. It was like the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I was just all the way starting over and was like, ‘D-mn, I’m finna have to go back to work.’ I was just doing sh-t, surviving last year, and then it got to the gritty part, and I started just getting broke as hell and was living with my friends and sh-t.”
During a local rap showcase in 2021, she met beatmaker Hitkidd. The meeting resulted in the Set The Tone EP that featured Glo, Gloss Up, K Carbon, Slimeroni, and Aleza – five female MCs – together. Glo and Hitkidd would work together again on a track that would change her life.
Megan The Stallion Had An Impact On Her Career – Sorta
In 2021, Hitkidd had a beat lined up for Megan The Stallion. It was a chance to partner with the reigning queen of rap…but Megan wasn’t responding fast enough. So, Hitkidd hit up Glo, who was on her way to get her lashes done, according to Vulture. She returned from the beauty appointment, lit up a blunt, stepped into the recording booth, and dropped the hook. “I’m F-R-E-E, f-ck n—-a free / That mean I ain’t gotta worry ’bout no f-ck n—a cheating / And I’m S-I-N-G-L-E again / Outside hanging out the window with my ratchet-ass friends.”
Glo uploaded the hook to Triller, and it quickly went viral. A week and a half later, she and Hitkidd reunited at the studio, where she recorded a new first verse. They recorded a music video with all of Glo’s friends, and that’s how “