GloRilla

In the early 2020s, GloRilla emerged as one of the South’s most promising street-rap voices, with her husky, commanding delivery, hard-nosed verses, and shout-along refrains. She began her rapping career in high school in Memphis, taking influence from 2010s trap and drill trailblazers like Chief Keef as well as vaunted hometown heroes like Gangsta Boo. Her debut mixtape, 2019’s Most Likely Up Next, and 2020 EP P Status earned her local renown. After being approached by producer Hitkidd with a stark, piano-driven beat he couldn’t place with Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla turned around the 2022 crunk anthem “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” The track became a cultural phenomenon that spring, taking TikTok by storm with clips inspired by its most vivid bit of imagery: “At the red lights twerking on them headlights.” Following the song’s success, GloRilla signed to Memphis heavyweight Yo Gotti’s label Collective Music Group and sidestepped potential one-hit-wonder accusations with a Cardi-B-assisted revamp of her mixtape cut “Tomorrow,” which cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. After releasing her acclaimed 2022 EP Anyways, Life’s Great and securing her first Grammy nomination, the rapper released her debut full-length, GLORIOUS, in 2024 with help from Megan Thee Stallion, Latto, Sexyy Red, and T-Pain.