Celebrity News
Gloria "GloRilla" Woods is candidly opening up about the struggles she faced before becoming one of hip-hop's brightest stars, all while remaining steadfast in her unwavering faith.
The 23-year-old --who is one of ten children--had been actively pursuing a music career since she was a teenager by releasing various mixtapes, including 2019's Most Likely Up Next and P Status in 2020. Despite Woods' efforts, the Memphis native brush with fame occurred in April 2022 when her Grammy-nominated single "F.N.F (Let's Go)" went viral on social media.
Over time the song's popularity led to a #FNFChallenge on TikTok, which ultimately caught the eye of label execs. A few months later, in July 2022, Woods signed Yo Gotti's CMG/Interscope Records label. Later that year, Woods released her first studio album titled Anyways, Life's Great.
Anyways, Life's Great sold 28,000 copies in its first week and charted at number 11 on Billboard 200. Since then, Woods has released a deluxe edition of her album, which includes four additional tracks. During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Woods recounts the challenges she endured, including being temporarily homeless prior to the success of "F.N.F (Let's Go)."
GloRilla On Her Past Struggles
In the April discussion, the "Tomorrow 2" emcee revealed that less than a week before she went viral on social media, she was kicked out of her apartment, and her car was repossessed because she couldn't afford it at the time.
"Literally, less than a week before I blew up, my car got repoed," she said. "I was living with my friend because I had got put out my apartment. I was going through a lot. I have always been the friend that everybody count on and depend on, but I was going through it real bad."
Despite the hardships she faced, Woods never gave up on her dreams of becoming a rapper, so much so that she decided to upload a snippet of "F.N.F (Let's Go)" on the social media platform Triller. Shortly after it started to go viral, Woods officially dropped the single on April 29, 2022, and the rest is history.
When asked if Woods knew she would have achieved success so quickly, the lyricist disclosed she was confident in her skills and knew her career would take off eventually.
"I didn't know it was going to happen so soon," she said, "but I knew one day it was going to happen."
GloRilla On Her Faith
As the topic shifted to Woods's faith and some of her inspirational lyrics, especially in "Tomorrow 2" featuring Cardi B, the rapper shared that growing up in the church has instilled valuable lessons in her life, including the power of manifestation.
Woods explained that the various reasons she is successful stem from her faith, the belief that she could accomplish her goals and hard work.
"I'm big on faith, and I'm big on manifestation. Faith without work is dead. You have to actually work towards it and believe it," she stated.
Woods' debut album Anyways, Life's Great, is out now.
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Feature image by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
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