The Breakfast Club - Out Of Context: GloRilla and Charlamagne Tha God

Episode Date: October 14, 2024

In This Episode of "Out of Context" Glorilla sits down for an interview with Charlamagne Tha God.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got to do a mic check? Big Glow. What do you do? How are you, ma'am? I'm great. How are you? I'm blessed black and highly famous. You know, before I do these conversations, I like to set an intention. So my intention for this conversation is for people to listen to this interview and then go listen to your music with a different ear so they can recognize the anointing that God has on Gloria Hallelujah Woods' life.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, man. That's the intention. Now, I know negative tweets be having an impact on you, but I'm going gonna read you a positive tweet somebody said about you i read a young lady named julia brown sugar baker posted a video working out the whole lawn and she said i need glorilla to write a devotional book a daily affirmations she says glow makes her feel like she's a young person and reminds her that i can do all things through christ that strengthens me how do you receive that when you hear it i I love seeing stuff like this. Like, oh, wow,

I really like, I speak a certain message to you to make you feel like this. Like, it makes me feel great. And I don't think you realize how much Glorilla music I listen to. And one thing I've grown to understand about you is there is a difference between Glorilla the rapper and Gloria Hallelujah Woods, but Gloria Hallelujah be popping up too and she be rapping as well. So what's the difference between Glorilla and Gloria? Um, I ain't gonna say

it's a huge difference. It ain't a huge difference, but I'm gonna say, like, I'm just 100% aggressive and, like, straight talking shit when I rap. You know what I'm saying? It's straight, like,

but in real life, I'm, like, actually nice. Because you're from the South. Yeah. Yeah. So the hospitality, I'm cooler. I ain't as mean. People think how I rap, I'm aggressive. That's how I am, but I'm actually nice. A lot of artists, man, they put out projects before their debut album, and they put out

so much music. And then when the debut album comes out, there's really no difference. With you, I can hear the elevation of the art. So what was your approach to make Glorious your debut album special? Um, it was just like, so I had dropped off my EP of course. And then it was like last year I was working on my album and it's like, I was just overthinking it a lot. Like, cause I know I wanted it to be big fit to be my first album. And I had kind of got out track a little bit.

And then that's when I made my mixtape. Cause I'm like, okay, that put me back on track to where I needed to be. That the everything, everything. Yeah. Okay. So when I dropped the, everything, everything, it had just gave me like, the, it gave me my confidence back. I had still lost my confidence a little bit.

And then I was just like, okay, when I make this album make this album i gotta touch different subjects you know what i'm saying like i don't just want it to be a body of work talking about the same shit like i want to talk about different things in the house did you lose your confidence because of what other people were saying or just because you were putting too much pressure on yourself both of them okay yeah like i was trying to i was overthinking too hard when trying to go too big and then the people came to and I had kind of just lost a little bit of my confidence. In the intro, you say be humble. That cocky shit take you down. Now, did you have a moment when you first started popping where you was feeling yourself and it was impacting your career in any way?

Um, I ain't never get cocky. Like I really want talking about myself right there, you know, because I was saying I ain't never got to a point where I was get cocky. I really want to talk about myself right there. You know, because I feel like staying home, but I ain't never got to a point where I was just cocky, like got my nose turned up. Like I ain't got cocky towards like, yeah, I know I'm me, but like not the other type of cocky. You talking to other people? Yeah.

Okay. Now in the last dance, right? Michael Jordan takes a lot of things personal and it motivates him. You seen the last dance? The Michael Jordan documentary? Nah, I Jordan documentary no I ain't no oh you need to watch it he takes he takes everything personal and you posted how you bookmarked the tweet of someone saying you fell off so fast and so bad and they put a battery in your back what did you feel in in that moment and how did you use that energy from that tweet to your advantage because for a minute I didn't think it could happen

because I know my ability, my rapping ability. And so when I started seeing a lot of people say that and seeing shit like that, I'm like, oh, okay. So y'all playing with me. I'm going to show you.

Like, I'm a type person. I like to prove people wrong. And I like to show people, like, this is what you think? All right, I'm going to show you this. Why do you think they felt like that so fast, though? Because I saw one person tweet from, like, May to, like, and it was Because I saw one person tweet from like May to like,

and it was only like November. It was only like five or six months you hadn't been out. Yeah. Why they wanted you to fall off so bad? I don't know. I think they kind of do that to almost everybody, especially female artists. I don't know why, but they wanted me to fall off so bad.

I don't know why. Is it true that you were homeschooled until the fifth grade? Mm-hmm. Why? Because my mama wanted us to, she didn't want us to be of the world that's huge to say she wanted to keep us like my mama was like she a super christian and so yeah she ain't want us to be in the world i guess a super christian yeah just a regular

christian like my mama like it like my mama go to churches as many times the church open my mama there if she can be there seven days a week, she going to be there. And you got, what, nine siblings, right? Mm-hmm. Do all of them have some type of religious reference in their name? Because you're Hallelujah. Is there, like, an amen and the other? No, like, she named a lot of those names out of the Bible.

Like, my brother named Daniel. My little sister named Miracle. My youngest brother named daniel my little sister named miracle um my youngest brother named joshua and she say uh that's the hebrew name for jesus jesus and she was like that's her last child and she was like it is finished like this what jesus said on the cross so yeah she did do a lot about building career persistence with us did that put a lot of pressure on you when you were young to like always try to be perfect no i-mm, nah, I knew nobody was perfect. You knew that early?

Mm-hmm. You know, also in the intro, you also say, a police pulled me over, caught me sleeping, but I'm sober now. Then later on you say, yeah, you make mistakes, but don't let it be a failure, but a try. And we all saw the video of you getting pulled over for the DUI.

What did that moment teach you? Um, what I said in the song. Yeah. Yeah. Did you. What did that moment teach you? What I said in the phone. Yeah. Did you know that in that moment? Know what in the moment? Like, did you know in that moment, like, okay, I'm about to... This was a mistake, but I'm going to learn from it. I mean, I really can't speak too much on there right now.

Oh, all right. Okay. You said at the end of the intro you love criticism. Yeah. And people always make you feel crazy. So how have you learned to deal with critics and haters? To just prove them wrong every time, because they're going to always come back around and hop back on the train every time. Like, a lot of times when the hate come,

it be bandwagon hate. Like, they only hate you because the next person to... I don't even know if they really be actually listening to the music for real. Or they just get on social media and see what a few other people saying exactly and then they like you know what let me let me let me get involved with the with the mob real quick yeah i love how on hold on you say you popping it so hard because you

ain't used to shit do you ever think you will get to a point where you get used to this life um i still ain't got used to it as of now. Like, I see a certain shit happen, I be like, wow, this is really me. This is really my life. And so that's why, like, I just be, like,

stunned the way I do because back then I ain't never pictured this going on. Like, I knew, I had a dream. I knew it was a possibility, but I ain't know

it was going to happen for real. Really? Mm-hmm. You seem like the type of person that can manifest things. Yeah, I do. You seem like you want your life to be.

But you know, you can manifest, and when it really happens, you're like, oh, shit, it really happened. Like, I'm shocked. Really? Are you talking about the level that you're at right now? Yeah. I mean, to be honest, you're doing some white people shit, too. You're on these late night shows, and you're on these award shows, you know? Yeah.

Is that what it is? It's just big all around. Like, I never imagined this going on. Yeah. Like, I knew I was going to make it, but I didn't know it was this big and that fast. You got a record with Lotto called Procedure. Are men really trying to trap you and get you pregnant? Yeah.

Really? Yeah. How do you handle that? One ain't honey. How do you handle that? Uh, 1-800 That's crazy So you really In the records you said That you might have to get your tubes out

Yeah You don't really mean that Yeah But like, I do want to have kids But not my own kids Like, I want to do the surrogate Yeah I want somebody else to have my baby

I want them to have my DNA But I don't want to have it. Why? Just because of your career? I just don't want to actually have my baby. Did you see somebody have a bad experience that made you feel like, I don't want to carry no baby? Like, all my friends got kids and they

just, like, they can't do it. They're restricted a lot when they're pregnant. I'm like, nah, I don't want to go through that. Oh, it's just for nine months? Ah, that's too long. You said a month before you blew up, you were still swiping cards. Was that true? Yeah.

You don't want to expound on that? No. What did Lotto mean on the record when she said, talking about taking spots, Carisha, please. They call me Big Mama, bend the bitch over my knees, y'all gonna call it beef. What was that line? I guess you gotta ask the public.

I couldn't understand if she was taking shots. I was confused. No, I don't think she's taking shots. But, yeah, I can't explain what she said. You don't ask people what they say on your records? It sounds good. Like, I think, well, I know what I interpreted it as, but I ain't going, like, I don't know exactly. How did you interpret it?

It is your album. Yeah. So how did you interpret it? She went through one shot. Okay. Yeah. Do you know what the bar was about? Yeah.

But you want her to explain it? Yeah. Okay. I get it. Now, we got to talk about Rain Down with Kirk Franklin, Shan LaMoy, and Kiara Shear. Just another example of the anointing on Gloria Halleluiah's life. How did that record come together and why those particular gospel artists? Okay, so for me, I was like, I want to do a gospel song.

Blah Jay, Blah Jay, Nevermind. He part of the record too. He did the chorus. He sent the beat and he sent the chorus. And so I instantly wrote the verse as soon as he sent the song. And then I'm like, cause he had a Kirk Franklin sample on there at first. And so I'm like, you know, I would really, I would really love if Kirk Franklin actually got on the song. And then he set up everything else and everything just came together.

Wow. Did you have to talk to Kirk and all of them and tell them what the record was about at first? No, my people had sent it to him. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and then he did it so quick and so fast. I was so happy. What made you want to do a full-on gospel record, it feels like? Because I always wanted to do one.

And then my mama always be asking me, when you going to do a gospel record? I'm like, I'm going to do one for sure. I always wanted to do one, though. And that was the perfect one. That song, I'm like, I'm going to do one for sure. I always wanted to do one though. And that was like the perfect one. Like this one, I actually almost, it's probably about a year and a half old. Wow. Yeah. Was it difficult to write? Just emotionally? Mm-mm. Like everything that I said on there, I actually felt it was so easy to write.

Like I said, when he sent it to me, I wrote it quick as fuck. And the church was a major part of your upbringing. Yeah. And like you said, your mother was super Christian and she didn't want you to be of the world. So when you was creating this record, did you say, man, I don't know if I want to mix this record with the other stuff I'm doing? Nah, because I know it's balance. Mm-hmm.

So when I just knew I wanted a gospel record on my album, and that really, that helped me come up with the name of the album, too. Oh, Glorious? Mm-hmm. So the other two artists, Shanlemore and Kiara Sheard, you knew you wanted them on there as well?

Well, I didn't, like, Kirk Franklin brought it together, but when he got those two to be on there, I was happy, too, because I'm like, okay, they some good artists. What'd your mama say? My mama, she heard, she ain't heard the finished product yet. I'm going, okay, they some good artists. What'd your mama say? My mama, she ain't heard a finished product yet.

I'm going to let her hear it on the album. Did you tell her at least? Yep. She happy about it. Wow. Now, also on Rain Down, you say you tell the Lord

to watch over everyone you love and care for. But you said, even though he hate me, Lord, watch over my baby father. Did I hear that right? Uh-huh. I didn't know you had no kids i ain't got no

kids so what the hell who's he talking about i was speaking for the people that do get them oh like i was like rapping almost like in a third person you know that's gonna confuse people yeah i know because i i let somebody else hear it and they thought the same thing like they stopped like i know she had no man a lot of people down there say that but yeah it and they thought the same thing. It's like, I ain't know what they do, but they stopped. Like, I ain't know she got no man care. A lot of people down there say that, but yeah, it's just for the people who do get it. Like, it was just a prayer that I wanted to be like for other people to use. Okay. I know.

You know somebody gonna pop up on the internet talking about, nah, she lying. I'm her baby father. I ain't got no fear. Right. Glo's prayer. Yeah. Why are you holding up God's prayer line praying to God to help you leave that dick alone bro like come on god got bigger issues to worry about what's what's that about okay so a long time ago when i forgot my i was in my first real relationship i really had to pray god to help

me be like the dude alone like because i didn't know how to when i was just in my car and i'm like god like if you get me out of this i I'll never do it again. And I know girls who went through that, too. So I'm like, I'm gonna make a song about it. Did it work? Mm hmm. Don't lie now. No, I swear to God. After the first prayer?

You mean to tell me after the first prayer you left him alone? Not after the first prayer. You know, he got to eventually come to pass. It ain't going to instantly happen like this. How many times you messed with him after you prayed? The first time? I can't remember. It hasn't been so long.

But it eventually did work. Mm-hmm. Okay. Now, you answered your own question on that record, too, because you said it's your taste in men that you need to blame. Mm-hmm. Do you understand that? Yeah.

Okay. When did you realize that? At what point did you... First of all, what was your taste in men? The ancient ones. Okay. I don't know why I like them. But, yeah, I was was like maybe it's because

it's some good men out there but i probably just keep picking the wrong one how do you know what the person ain't shit because you can't you can't say it's because of their background you can't say it's because of what they do because the lawyer could be ancient and the drug dealer could be the good guy it ain't about their career it's's just like what them as a person. So yeah, I be running to the ones that ain't good people. Or good men. They might be good people, but just not good men. Did you ever think it was anything internal?

With me? Yeah. Nah, I ain't never the problem. That's what everybody who's a problem says. You know that, right? I'm real. I ain't the problem, though. Never?

Uh-uh. You ain't never, ever been the problem in a relationship? No, because any time I'd be like, so what I need to do? They never got nothing to say. It never be me. Because at that point, they just ready to leave it alone. You probably been doing too much. No, it just don't never be me. I don't believe that.

I ain't. I'm heaven sent. No, everything, everything, you describe yourself as the Memphis choir girl turned husky voice rap phenom. Did you ever sing in the church choir? Mm-hmm. Really? Yes, I used to sing real good.

And what happened? I heard you lost your voice or something like that. Yeah. How? I guess because I started smoking, and I had not sung in so long. Then I just started smoking in high school. And then I tried to sing one time. I went to church with my mama, and I couldn't do it no more.

And just in that moment, you just, she ain't ask you what was wrong with you? My mama had been found out that I had started smoking, but I just couldn't sing no more. She still be telling me I still got it and I know I ain't got it.

She just got hope that one day I'm going to start back singing. I got another question about Everything is Everything because I love the record. You got to say everything. Everything, everything. Yeah. I love the record. You got to say everything. Everything, everything. Yeah.

I love the record. I, from that project, emotionally, was that a tough record to record? Because the song is very self-reflective, and you talk about what's going on in that mirror a lot. Mm-hmm. Was it hard to record? No, it was actually easy. Like, the songs that I'm really speaking on, it'd be easy to record because it'd be what's going on in real life. So those are the easier records to write.

Mm-hmm. So what about the party records and the turn-up records or the radio records? Those are the more difficult ones? Nah, they'd be easy too because I just really just got to turn up. Everything would really be easy. Because you'd really be in you. Yeah. Okay, that's good advice for people.

I think that's the hardest thing for a lot of people nowadays. They don't want to be their self. I think that's when they get the writer's block. Is that how you felt early when you were saying that you had got stuck? Yeah. Because I was just trying to go big. I got to ask them, oh, what Latino artists can I work with? I was just instantly trying to go too big. Why? What was you looking at that made you say, need to i need to just jump out the window and go be like why not just build it up keep doing what you was doing and build it up because i feel like when i first started i went from there instantly up so i just felt like i had to keep going higher and she and so i just got lost

in the mix so it is it true it took you 30 minutes to write Fuck Nigga Free? Mm-hmm. And then you shot the video the same day? The next day. No, it wasn't the next day. How did she go? Damn, there was a little minute ago.

I recorded the song, and then I think like the next day I shot the video. And then she just took off. 30 minutes changed your life. Yep. So why not just keep that mentality? The way it's like, you know what, I'm just going to keep everything organic.

That's what I done got to. I done got back to it now. Okay. I had lost it at first. Then I had to come back to it. What got you back to it? Your peoples? The label? Did they tell you, like, yo, you overthinking it? Just be yourself. It was myself and, like I said, the fans. The criticism.

It made me go back to it. It made me go back to the drawing board. Like, what got me here? And I used to talk to God. He used to tell me to stop overthinking this shit, too. Meg's on the album with the song, How I Look. Yeah. You got a line I love.

You say, just drove by the cemetery. There's plenty of room for hoes. You and Meg and the style seem to become, become like really close during your tour together do you feel like that um experience of love and acceptance with Meg is the norm with women in the rap game are there usually more conflict um I feel like if she's genuine then it's just gonna happen like you know a lot of she be fake you know just industry relationships but being on tour with Megan she didn't hanging around her. Like, even now, she'll call me every other day or text me, and I'll do the same to her.

And it's just genuine. It ain't forced or nothing like that. And so, I just feel like if it's genuine, then it ain't going to be no conflict. How did that relationship first develop? I had went to her, she had a, no. Okay, so I went to a Halloween party. That was the first time I met her. And then I went to her, like, Nike release party. It was around her birthday. And then, that same week, we went to a high the wing party that was the first time i met her and then i went to her like nike release party it was around her birthday and then that same week we went to the studio just that same week yeah how many songs y'all record we had recorded two we had recorded

a wannabe and her song accent we recorded accent first and then we did wannabe second and then we just put them jumps out. How was the experience of the tour? What did you learn on that tour? It was like I was already in the midst of building my confidence because I was going, I was in the gym every day. I still be in the gym every day and shit. And then like my performance just got better and shit. Yeah, it was just like that I guess.

Just make somebody that you like can go to for advice and you know just help guide you through this game yeah like some shit I ask her about

and she'll let me know she'll tell me about it what about Cardi cause I know Cardi is your blood cousin do y'all kick it does she give you advice

on how to navigate through this industry yeah I be calling Cardi sometimes we be talking about stuff and she'll give me like little tips I love Cardi when you see her like going stuff, and she'll give me, like, little tips. I love Cardi.

When you see her, like, going off about her relationship, do you call her and try to talk her off the ledge? Nah, because, you know, you got to let it out sometimes. You know? Y'all think people be giving social media too much? I mean, to each his own. Like, you know, if she feel like that's her way of letting it out, then that's what she got to do. The reason I ask that though, is because you clearly have no problem calling your friends and telling them the man they with don't deserve them. Oh yeah.

Because you got the song on Money Long, phenomenal record, by the way, called Don't Deserve. What inspired that record? Because I go through a lot, I done been through a lot of relationships, and then I had friends that I learned shit from in their relationships and they be going through stuff and I be like, you don't got to go through that. He shouldn't even be the one taking you through that. So it gave me an idea to make a song about it. The tone feels similar to like Eve, Love is Blind.

Was that like an inspiration for that record? Yeah, because once I was making the record, I was like, ain't nobody made another record like this, like EVE did with this one. So yeah, they gave me inspo too, because I love this one. Man, who put you on to all that old music? Because then you got a bar in the Glorious album, you say, T.I. Serious, and that's like a reference to I'm Serious. And you say something like, he said he want to see the pussy cream so cash rules that's Wu-Tang then he's got the love is blind tone like who put you on all of that

that classic music? My parents oh like my dad in 73 my mom was 61 yeah but you said she's super Christian but she know the music though. Oh so she was bumping hip hop in the house? Yeah. Okay not like the hip-hop that was

on TV, like 106 and Park type of hip-hop. Yeah. And my mama loved T.I. My mama obsessed with T.I. But yeah, you know, I got an old family. So your oldest siblings and everybody was- Yeah, like they fought in in their 30s and stuff. So I know a lot about old school stuff. So when you was a Jit, you heard all of that growing up. Mm-hmm. Got you, got you. Has your mom met T.I. yet? Have you made that happen?

I saw T.I. in the airport in Atlanta one day and I FaceTimed my mom and let her see him. And what'd she say? She was so happy. You know how your mama be when they in the bed

and they ain't got they stuff together. They be like, uh-uh, I look right. She was like that. Word. Also on the record,

don't deserve, you said, we all been stupid for these niggas once upon a time. Those red flags be looking green, but we get colorblind. How do you know when a flag is actually red and not green? There's the colorblind part. Because you don't know. They be putting on a little masquerade looking like they something when it's not that. And so you have to, you know what I'm saying, dive deep into it, and then you'll realize

who a person really is. You think you got it all figured out now? I ain't got it all figured out. Yeah. So you still get colorblind every now and then? Like, I'm really stiff now. Like, I don't fall too deep in nothing no more. Yeah.

Yeah, like, I don't put my eye on nothing. Can red flags turn green? Can red flags turn green? Can red flags turn green? No. As far as you fuck up on. When you let a red flag or red flag slap, then

it's just going to get worse. It's going to turn into a lot of them. Can a green flag turn red? You think it's a goal, but then it's like, nope, stop. Maybe. Oh, no, don't deserve you tell your friend.

You say, don't let him cheat on you. Don't let him beat on you. And then on I ain't going, you speak to the, you also seem like you speak to the theme of domestic violence as well. Cause you say, I ain't going for all that. Rough me up and grab me by my neck. Nigga put his hands on me. Nigga put his hands on me. Nigga put his hands on me.

We going to be smoking on him next. Yeah. I love the fact you raised them domestic violence awareness, but it seems like you've had a lot of experience with it. Or, you know, people who have. Yeah.

Both of them. Yeah. Like I ain't never like, I didn't been in like a free situation, but I ain't, dang, that was just been too bad. Like,

Oh my God, it's a continuous thing. Cause like, I don't play that, but I understand like, uh, uh, fear they would just been too bad. Like, oh my God, it's a continuous thing because I don't play that. But I seen a few of my friends go through it and it be a continuous thing and shit. And there's just a song for it so they can know not to go for it. Rob Markman You did a lot of justice to wipe me down too. It's hard to remake those Negro spirituals, but you put your own thing on it. What gave you the confidence to touch down? On the beat. When the beat came and stuff, it was just like, you just gotta be, you gotta be good. You can't mess up no class. Did you reach out to Boosie to get his blessing

or you just did it and let him hear it? Boosie was in the video. He heard some. I'm talking before, I know he was in the video, but before when you just recorded it. I don't know. He heard it when I had put the snippet on. I was on live and I had previewed it. Did you make sure he get paid? Because you know Boosie be talking about everybody sampling. He be talking about everybody sampling his music and not paying him. Did you make sure he got his money?

He good. Oh, he good? Yeah. Okay. What made you want to put Sexy on it? Just to do the collab? Yeah, I always, you know, the world been wanting me and the Six Red collab and shit. So we had to make that happen.

And then I was like, okay, this is a fun song. This is not like some shit, you know, because we had, I ain't going to say that. But yeah. What you about to say, y'all act alike? Nah. What? None. But you know, my niece is a DJ, Nala Simone, and she said that when you in the club now, you got to play a sexy red set.

You got to play a glow real estate. So I guess you're right. She said, because y'all did a record together. So now she got, she said she's good that y'all did a record together because she can put it in the, in that rotation with y'all. Mm-hmm. Yep. So what I would finish, they was, we was in the studio working on something. And we actually did another song.

And so I'm like, oh, you know what? I hear you on this song. Like, because she had to go to a show. I'm like, okay, I'm just going to sit here and see you when you just get on this. And then she did her verse. Somebody told me y'all was doing an album together. That's true?

Who told you that? I don't know where the hell I heard that at. It may come true one day. But it, you know, one day. Is it like a mixtape? It maybe can be a mixtape, but we ain't started yet. One day it might come true. How many songs y'all got together? One day you might get happy. How many songs y'all got together?

I don't know. It's an album coming. Sexy Red, L'Oreal album coming soon. Now, crop top with some biker shorts, showing off my moose knuckle. My man, Nav Green, he took a pic with him at Drewski's festival. And he said in his caption on Instagram,

Big Low wasn't lying. Knuckle for damn show. Hashtag Moose Knuckle Monday. I feel like your Moose Knuckle is going to have its own Instagram page. And I never heard a woman own their Moose Knuckle the way that you have. When did that start?

Okay, so hang on. When I be posting certain pictures, I really get it from the fans because they'll be like, damn, you got a moose knuckle on you. And so I'm like, I just took, they say it all the time.

And so while I was rapping because the line, I said, do nothing. I'm like, what around with it? Do nothing. They're like, moose knuckle. I'm like, fuck it, I'm going to say it because they always be saying it about me.

And so that's how that ball came about. Own it. Own everything about you. Why not? Why not? There's a hopefulness, I think, I believe, and an optimism, you know, and a faith in God in so many of your lyrics. If people are really paying attention, if someone counted how many times you referenced God on glorious, it would be a whole lot. Yeah. So I know, you know, your family. Right.

But who else instilled that in you, especially coming from, you know, a city like Memphis? Because Memphis was just recently ranked like the number one most dangerous city in America. So who gives you that sense of optimism to say, you know what, I can make it out of a treacherous city like this? It was a lot of churches in Memphis. You know, them cities like Memphis,

and then, you know, down south, it's a lot of churches. So, like, it was just how I grew up. My background's just church. Like, even though we was in Memphis,

it was just still church. Did you know you wanted to make it out of the city or was your mindset, like, I want to get successful, come back, and maybe change what's's going on i want to do that too like i for sure the goal is always to make it out but i for sure want to one day see if i can make it better it's a lot of work but hopefully one day you're happy have you always been just optimistic about

life of course you gotta be how do you stay how you stay from being pessimistic about life. Mm-hmm. Of course, you got to be. How do you stay from being pessimistic? You use all these big-ass words and shit. Optimism is the opposite of pessimism. I will pessimism you. Pessimism means how do you keep from just being

negative and thinking everything's going to be bad and, you know, the sky is falling honestly i always prepare for the worst i pray for the best but i always i'm always preparing for the worst but you know you just can't walk around negative and shit or negative shit gonna happen but you gotta prepare for but you just can't just be negative even at this stage in your life right now you like you feel like something bad may happen you know know, some shit always going to come out the blue. Like nothing, it's going to be rainy days all the time.

But, you know, you just got to pray. That's how I deal with it. I just pray. Stay prayed up. Every day the sun won't shine? But this why I love the moon. That's right. There's always a conversation about like artists who get to a certain level of success.

They got to leave their hometown because that's where the hate can be the strongest. What are your views on that? I mean, you don't got to. I mean, but I used to always think before I blew up, I used to say I need to see more of the world other than Memphis so like I can have more to rap about. So that's what they mean by that. I understand it because like if we only in Memphis, we don't only rap about the shit that go on there.

So you have to go out in the world and experience more shit to have more shit to talk about. Have you moved out of Memphis? Mm-hmm. All right. Yeah, I live in Atlanta. Is it just better for your music career? Because Memphis is popping right now. I think Memphis and Detroit might be the best hip-hop cities.

It's been like that for a little minute. Yeah. But I still go to Memphis sometimes, and I still keep my Memphis people around me. Even if I'm not in Memphis, my people that's from Memphis and still be in Memphis, they come around and still keep me on game about everything. What if you woke up one day and you lost your accent, and you wasn't singing music? That's going to be crazy. That's going to be crazy as fuck, because everybody say I got such a strong accent,

so I don't see me ever losing it. Mm-hmm. I be trying to talk proper, but I still don't know how to... What is talking proper? Like how I'm trying to do right now. Why? Why you trying to talk proper for? I'm the only in the room. So the fuck what?

You gonna be exactly like no one else? My legs crawling. Yeah, I'm like, what's going on? Back all stiff? Like, what's happening? No, the thang on my back. Oh, they put that little tape, the mink and tape? Well, some on there. Yeah, some back there. Okay.

My back looks stiff, I'm counting. Do you think it was harder coming up as a female in Memphis than it might have been in another city? You know, now that I look back on it, it was it wasn't really hard like what if you're trying it ain't that hard like well getting it together like because i used to have to work to fund my music career but it really wasn't hard because i really put my mind to it now that i think about it maybe at the time it was but now that i look back i'm like oh i really was grinding to get to where i was and if you you really want something, it ain't going to be that hard.

Because it's going to become something you really want. You know what I'm saying? It's going to be, you know. What was the grind? Did you, like, you know, make the music, go to the clubs, make sure the DJs had it, do the runs at the radio station? Like, you did all of that. Yeah, like, I was just talking about this. I would be in the club and shit.

I'd get two drinks. I'd put some little liquor and some little weed. I'd go pay the DJ a little $50 to $100. One piece to play my song in the club and shit. And then I used to open up for other artists, pay to perform, just so everybody else can see me. I used to do a lot of showcases and shit. And then, you know, just having to go to work and you have my check to

pay for a music video or studio time like so now i think about it it was hard because you know you know what i'm saying motherfuckers on having the money like that but i really wanted it so we wanted it hard and now that i'm where i'm at it don't seem like it was hard so what was the big break like like what was the moment where goddy or whoever discovered you um you know after i had fnf and it went viral and shit and then all the labels was calling and shit i was just going to label me to label me to label me and then god had been here hit me up i don't know i was just like i was like nervous i was scared and then but when i actually had linked up with him and shit it was like he was the one that was talking the most sensible and then actually it was genuine.

Like everybody else just wasn't really talking genuinely. They didn't think I would make it past FNL. And I was playing Tomorrow for them. Like they didn't know Tomorrow would be that big. Like they was just like, uh, okay. And they'll come with deals that were so low and shit. And like, they really like believe in shit. But when I had put up on God, he didn't even want to hear it. He he was like we ain't even talking about f and f no more like i want to hear the

other music and so i was on the yacht i hooked up to the ox and i just played all my music and then yeah was you were you intimidated what you mean like because because it's god he like just yeah yeah and but he would be the person i think that you would relate to the most because he's from Memphis. I know. Yeah, that's what made it better because he related to me more. And it was like a connection that nobody else had when I was talking to him. So when I talked to him, I felt a better connection. But I was just like, my God, because everybody from Memphis wanted to sign to God.

So I was just nervous. I don't know why I was nervous. I was nervous. What other labels did you meet with? Because, I mean, now that I know you hate big words, you probably was in them. I don't hate them. You gotta say them more like. Cause I'm sure when you were in these meetings, they probably wasn't speaking your language. God, he was probably speaking your language.

Nah, it's just like, they weren't talking what I wanted to hear. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, like I said, they just weren't believing in me. I ain't feel like, like, I feel like if I were to sign to anybody else, they would probably try to chill for me. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like I said, they just won't believe me. I feel like if I would have signed to anybody else, they would probably try to shelf me. You know what I'm saying? You had a number you was looking for or just? That too, but it's like even letting them hear the music. Like they want, like, you know, I pay attention to people when my music playing. Like I look at everybody's energy and shit and they just want to move back. I could tell they want to move back.

And so I'm like, okay, I know how y'all gonna treat me if I sign. Like y'all really only care about this one song because it was going up at the time. So once you realized Gotti was fucking with your other music you was like, okay, this is where I need to be. Yeah, he was just talking the most sensible shit. And so Gotti signed you, he took you under his wing.

Was there like any OG female rappers in Memphis who reached out and served like as a mentor to you? Gangsta Boo had already reached out before, uh, before I... Rest in peace, Gangsta Boo. Yeah, rest in peace, Gangsta Boo. She had already was, I was already talking to her before I blew up. Like, she would see me and my other friends rapping, and she was always DMing me, like, y'all so hard.

Like, she always was showing me love. But you never really, did you ever really like sit down and kick it with her? No, I never got the chance to meet her, but I used to always talk to her. Like we used to always DM, but I never got the chance to meet her. I met LeChet. Wow. LeChet was hard too. Mm-hmm, both of them.

Did she give you any game? LeChet? Oh yeah, she always DM me and say, you got it, you doing this shit. You know how LeChet gangsta, like she come on some gangster shit every time she DM'd me. Who were your musical influences coming out of Memphis? Because I read somewhere that you wanted to be a singer but decided to rap because you lost your voice. By the time I started rapping, that's when Chief Keefney was out and I was listening to him a lot. I was a big fan of him and shit.

And I just like how he used to come on the track. Sometimes he'll say some stupid shit, but it was still hard to me like his beat solution was hard he was just you'd be young turned and wild and around the time that's how I was feeling and so I'm like let me start rapping too and shit. It's interesting you said that you um you didn't feel like you see yourself in this position because you got so many examples coming from Memphis you got the Gotties you got the Three 6 Mafias. You got Moneybag. You know, like, why? Why didn't you think you could do it?

Why didn't I think I could do it? Yeah. I don't know what you're saying. What? Why didn't you think you could do it? I didn't think I could do it. But now you said you didn't think you would get to this level. Oh, well, yeah.

Like, Three Six Mafia won an Oscar. Like, that's huge. Right, right. But I don't know. Like, I knew it could happen, but I didn't think it just happened unexpectedly. I knew one day it would happen, and I knew one day I'll be living like... You know how some rappers, they don't just instantly go up like that. They got to go through all the stills.

I thought I maybe would have hit the dead set. I didn't know I was just going to get big. So I'm blessed though. Do you think calling yourself the queen of memphis because you got a record called queen of memphis you think that's gonna ruffle any feathers because just you don't only got to be one queen right we are queens the chet gangster blue rp we are queens uh gloss and k-pop all of us be queens of memphis people always talk about uh the lifestyle and temptation of men who live this artist's life in this industry

right what's that like from the perspective of a woman because you could be out here smutting these guys out having your own freak offs like what's the what's that if you wanted that um i think it's pretty different from a male and a female it's's from females that get active now, too. But, you know, it's pretty much the same. But we just don't go to him like at the dudes. Like, y'all just got to have some shit going. Ain't no y'all. I got a ring on. The Raffles.

Mother Nick, yeah. Yeah. The Raffles. Like, they just got to have so much shit going on at once, and we ain't gotta do all this. So you mean to tell me when y'all women

be sitting around with all the money and the influence and the power y'all got, y'all don't never think about doing these dudes the way these dudes be doing women?

Like, what type of way? Just smutting them up. I mean, yeah, but I'm saying, like, they addicted to it.

Like, it gotta happen all the time we ain't gotta do this that's the that's a power trip though i'm gotta be power trip that's what i think yeah like he's just like i don't know they it's some type of fetish or i don't know y'all know i mean they know i'm glad you said they i ain't got nothing what's your relationship with damian and Lilith like? They just asked him about you the other day at a press conference. Look at you, dropping shit, getting all nervous thinking about that man.

Who nervous? Who nervous? You getting all nervous thinking about that man. They just asked. You want me to help you? You got it? Yeah, you can stick that. What's that, a charm bracelet?

I don't know what it is. I'm not sure I have it put on me. Put it on. Yeah, stick it. Yeah, through that little hole stick that. What's that, a shawl bracelet? I don't know what it is. I'm not sure I had to put it on me. Wait, um. You can stick it, yeah, through that little hole right there. Pause. Where that? Shit. You can stick it through any one of them, motherfucker.

Right there? Yep. Oh, there you go. Yep, there you go. Thank you. Damien Lillard, they said, um, they asked him about you, and he said, you know, I keep my personal life personal and let it be that. I respect her as an artist.

We know each other. She's an artist. I'm an artist. But as far as anything else, it ain't nothing going on. That's what I can tell you. Yeah. That's that. Yeah.

Did you ever, did y'all ever speak, kick it, talk, nothing? You know, it's a lot of niggas in the world and they keep saying they better ask about one. It's going to fuck me up. You better start talking about some other niggas then. Shout out a couple other ones. Now, does anybody in your family have an issue with your music? Because, you know, you mentioned it a little bit earlier, meaning folks like to say you can't give glory to God and still rap about ratchet shit. People think it can't be a balance.

So does any of your family members ever say, Gloria, you can't do the secular music? You got to do. They just all support us. The bills I ain't got to do. All of them? Yeah. Do you pay everybody bills? The ones that I feel like I should pay.

My mom and my daddy. You got nine siblings. Do any of them want to be in the business? Are they in the business? Are they? Everybody got their own life. Like, nobody look at me like, oh, you're a rapper,

I got to do something like this. Like, everybody their own person. That's okay. Being the eighth child born out of 10 kids, do you ever, like, battle with helping your family out versus being, you know, tight with your money? I'm tight with my money okay i'm super tight because i just think like and not even with family with anybody like

because if it all run out for me who gonna hear me out that's right so i'm i'm tight anyway like i i help people where they need to be healthy but overdoing it i don't do i don't play this have you learned that uh no is a complete sentence? Mm-hmm. For sure. Do they respect you no? Mm-hmm. Got to. What else they going to do? That's right.

Are you old enough to know about female rappers like the Lil' Kims and the Foxy Browns? Did you hear that growing up? You know, I knew Lil' Kim always because of just her being Lil' Kim and being the fashion actor that she was. But I ain't hear a lot of the music. I heard some of her music growing up, but you know, down South, like, and then my mama didn't listen to a lot of rap anyway. And so I really had to grow up and learn about them myself. So what about like, so you was more like Trina? Yeah, I know about Trina.

Kya. Okay. Yeah. Cause I was going to ask, like, you know, those women faced a lot of backlash for their lyrics and the things they rapped about. What are your thoughts about that? And do you feel like your generation has those same experiences? Because they seem like they be on your head and sexy redhead about the shit y'all saying.

What do you feel about that? I don't give a fuck. Because the people who like it don't listen to it. If you don't like it, apparently you're not one of my fans. Don't listen to it. That's just it. You've been successful for a while now but you was down probably much longer than you was up yeah that's safe to say right but what's been more memorable to you the struggle or the joy both of them i was

just walking last night i was walking down town square i'm just like i had a lot of fun times memorable times when i was broke like you know it's like you got a lot of fun times, memorable times when I was broke. Like, you know, it's like you got a lot of fun times when you broke. Like, I was just thinking about shit. I'm like, damn, when I used to be working here or doing this, like, we was having a lot of fun. But I can say that about being rich, too. Like, I just enjoyed my whole life. Now that I look back on it, like, I'm grateful more now looking back on it than I was at the time, maybe. Because it could have been worse than what it was.

Absolutely. In the song that I referenced before, you said you learn to forgive people even if they don't apologize because having peace of mind is more important to you. Yeah. Coming from a generation where people are more concerned with optics, how do you shut out the noise of what everybody else is doing

around you to keep your peace? Because that's what you got to focus on, your peace and nobody else. Like, I can't let nobody else fuck up my joy. Like, I can't just be mad at you all the time. And what's this going to help? Just being mad at you. Like, no, it's going to fuck up my peace.

So I got to do whatever, make me happy and keep me peace. What do you do to keep your peace? Worry about myself, be in the gym, like stay healthy. You know what I'm saying? Feed into myself, pour into myself. Did like stay healthy. You know what I'm saying? Feed into myself, pour into myself.

Did your mom still make you go to church? Cause she was like, glow wherever you at, make sure you go to church and get online, watch something. My mom makes sure I pray. She always send me like little videos with certain pastors and messages and stuff.

But yeah, I always pray. She always texts me. Motivational stuff. What's the last thing she texts you? What she texts you this morning? Oh, I probably ain't getting no texts this morning, but I can't remember the last thing she texts me motivational stuff. What's the last thing she texts you? What she texts you this morning? Oh, I probably ain't get no texts this morning,

but I can't remember the last thing she texts me, but she always say, I love you and stuff and make sure you pray. All that. Do you know the most important affirmation

she ever told you? The one that sticks with you? Man, there's so many she done told me. I can't just think of one. When you look at Project Pat, he's preaching now. Yeah, I saw it.

Do you see yourself making that move in the future? I think it can happen one day. For sure, I think it can happen. People already be saying I minister to them in my music. But one day, it can happen. My final question, what does success look like for Gorilla? What is your end goal? My end goal is to make my mark where I made it,

and be able to take care of all my people I love the way I want to. And, yeah. Yeah. That's it. Are you happy? Are you having fun? Yes, I am. Just in life overall?

Yes, I am. What do life overall? Yes, I am. What do you want this album to do? What would success look like for this glorious album? Which I think is a phenomenal body of work, by the way. Like really, really, really, really good. Thank you. I don't want to jump out the window because I just got it a couple of days ago and I've been listening to it a lot. Yeah.

But it's really, really good. I don't want to put too much pressure on you and I don't want to put too much sauce on it for people watching because I want them to handle it for themselves but it's really, really, really good.

Thank you. So what would success look like for you in this project? I wanted to go number one. I wanted to like be like an everlasting album, like an album

that's forever in rotation, like one of them classics that people always remember. Like when you bring up what's one of the best albums, say that one. All right. Gorilla, thank you. Appreciate you. people always remember like when you bring up what's one of the best albums they say they'll all right gorilla thank you appreciate you thank you that was a great interview gotta put it with a bird