On a sunny Friday afternoon, rap artist GloRilla had just finished performing in front of thousands of students for Howard University’s 2022 Yardfest. Her team was rushing to get her prepared for another performance as she had just landed from her concert in Berlin, Germany.
GloRilla arrived on campus and immediately ran on stage around 6:30 pm. Her set consisted of her three most popular songs, “Blessed,” “Tomorrow” and “F.N.F.”
Aniyah Taylor, a sports medicine major, and psychology minor, from Atlanta, was in the crowd when GloRilla took the stage. “She was great, she came out with good energy and tried to hype the crowd even though we were tired,” she said.
The artist is known for her hit song “F.N.F,” which was nominated for the BET Hip-Hop Award for Song of the Year. The female rapper has been on the incline since her hit single “Tomorrow 2” was released featuring female rap artist Cardi B.
Nia Anderson, a freshman fashion design major from Las Vegas by way of Chicago, was very excited to see GloRilla perform her hit single F.N.F.
“I think the song F.N.F is a bold, expressive, and empowering song. I think specifically women relate to the song and feel a sense of support while singing it. At yardfest everybody was very hyped and loved hearing her perform it. I was very excited to hear that song specifically by her and it was super hype and exceeded my expectations!” she said.
GloRilla sat down, socialized and laughed with her team when asked how she feels about her life now that she is a successful upcoming rap artist. She said it feels like a dream come true.
“I am super blessed and I love my team. They be working me, but we are doing it big,” she said enthusiastically.
Born Gloria Woods in Memphis, Tennessee, the artist started off singing in the church. She stopped singing once she got to high school, and later started rapping.
“I used to sing in church, but then I lost my voice when I got to high school because I started smoking, so I just started rapping,” she said.
The 23-year old rapper was inspired by her cousin, who motivated her to take rapping seriously. GloRilla started doing challenges on Instagram and has been rapping since. Earlier this year, the artist signed with Yo Gotti’s label, Collective Music Group. She felt that Yo Gotti saw her for her talent, not her hit single.
When a person thinks of female rap artists, the greats like Queen Latifah, Salt N Pepa, Missy Elliot and many more often come to mind. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Queen Latifah talked about why she started making uplifting music for women.
“I had a problem with [misogyny]. I was never the kind of person that was going to take something lying down,” Latifah said. “And maybe that’s my father’s influence on me. I just was raised to protect myself and stand up for myself and speak my mind and be true. And even if I had to stand alone, I was to do that.”
The same boldness that Queen Latifah carried is starting to show through upcoming female rap artists like City Girls, but artists like GloRilla have created a household name for themselves by allowing women to be open about personal topics like their dating lives.
GloRilla shared that she is still learning and adjusting to her new life in the spotlight. She wants to encourage college students to keep going and to work hard. “Whatever you want to do, you can do it. Whatever you say is possible, it is possible to reach for the stars,” she said.
Her new EP, “Anyways, Life’s Great,” is dropping on Nov. 11 and she believes her fans are going to love the new songs that will be released.
“There is a whole lot of everything on there,” she said. “I feel like there are no skips, and they are going to mess with this one for real.”
Copy edited by Chanice McClover-Lee
