The Break Presents – Gloss Up

Memphis has the rap game on lock right now. Though it’s always been a key market for hip-hop, over the last few years the city has credibly bred more distinguished acts than ever before, which in return has made the demographic’s juiced-up sound king across the music industry. 25-year-old Gloss Up has been a major symbol in that enlivened movement. Through solo records like “Alone,” posse cuts like “Shabooya” and collaborations like “Real Bitch” with her labelmate Lakeyah, the Quality Control signee continues to bloom as a heavy hitter of the new generation with millions of fans and streams to match.

Growing up, Gloss Up was mostly shielded from hip-hop by her mom. But as a teenager, she started discovering the genre on her own, listening to acts around her age like The Rap Game alumni Latto, Young Lyric and Supa Peach. Eventually, Gloss started recording herself in the bathroom or closet and uploading the results to SoundCloud. She continued to practice her craft by joining a rap group with some other women around the city. Together in the mid 2010s, they released a remix of Reggie Kush’s “Guns on Deck,” and that iteration amassed enough engagement on Facebook to give her the confidence she needed to keep going.

In the subsequent years, Gloss got busy on a solo tip, unloading projects like 2018’s Raw Gloss, 2019’s Different Shades of Gloss and 2020’s Quarantine EP to let the people know who she was and what she brought to the table artistically. Her movement was upgraded in 2021 when she met Hitkidd at a local talent show. The platinum-selling producer drew up a play to align Gloss with some of the other dope musicians in the city, such as Aleza, Slimeroni, K Carbon and Gloss’ soon-to-be best friend GloRilla. The newly certified ensemble went viral with songs like “Set The Tone." Next came their collaborative EP of the same name in September of that year.

Moving into 2022, the dominoes continued to fall. The unit’s record “Shabooya” caught fire, becoming a go-to sound on TikTok and generating over 15 million Spotify streams and counting. Gloss also signed her first major record deal with Quality Control. Her label debut Before The Gloss arrived in January of this year and is beefed up with smashes like “Bestfrenn” with GloRilla, which flaunts Gloss’ ability to please ears with compelling hooks and relatable bars.

Even with all of that motion in a short period of time, Gloss isn’t letting up. She recently dropped a summer-ready banger with  Sexyy Red called "Check", among other collaborations, and another loosie called “LaLa.” In the near future, fans can expect for Gloss to unload more heat from her hardrive. A new project is already in the works and the many stages on Lil Baby’s It’s Only Us tour this summer should give her the proper platform to tease it all.

In the midst of Gloss' level up, she pulled up on this week's episode of The Break: Live to talk about new music, a collab tape with Big Glo, guidance from Pierre "P" Thomas, the making of “Shabooya” and much more. Check out the interview below.

Follow Gloss Up on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

"Check" featuring Sexyy Red

"Bestfrenn" with GloRilla

"Alone"

Hitkidd's "Shabooya" with Gloss Up, Aleza, Slimeroni and K Carbon

Hitkidd's "Set The Tone" with Gloss Up, Aleza, Slimeroni, K Carbon and GloRilla

Before The Gloss Up