gLife, aka GeorgeLife, is a prolific veteran MC based out of Salt Lake City, UT. He has created a truly unique blend of singing and street-wise lyrical rhyming. His sound has been compared to the "grime" and "hardcore" hip hop sounds of La Coka Nostra, Jedi Mind Tricks, and Eminem; along with the singing style of Nelly, Eamon, and Bone Thugs. He has toured with world with artists such as Madchild, Slaine, and Adlib; as well as reaching #4, #5, and #8 on the USA and Canada indie charts.
“My Rise” is an experimental track from gLife and we’re here for it. The atmospheric textures and rhythmic layers set gLife apart in the hip-hop music scene in a big way. His flawless bars are lyrically rich and admirably quick. “My Rise” boasts a theme of loyalty and dedication. gLife only wants to be surrounded by people who were there during his worst moments. I can clearly hear the grit and style he pulls from inspirations like Madchild, but he added his authentic flare and individuality. gLife is an indie powerhouse to be reckoned with, I highly recommend you check out the entire album of the same name “My Rise” and keep up with gLife for his future musical endeavors.
Listen to “My Rise” here and read more below in our exclusive interview.
Hey gLife! Can you start by introducing yourself to our readers? How did you get started making music?
My name is gLife, I am a hip hop artist from SLC, UT, I have played hundreds of shows all over the continent, but I am just getting started!
I started playing guitar at age 12, I played in some rock bands between 12-16 before I got heavily influenced by Tupac and switched to writing rap songs, I put out my first rap song at age 17, finished my first group album at age 20, and just kept going from there. I still play guitar though, and there is a lot of ukulele in my new music as well.
What’s the Hip-hop scene like in Salt Lake City?
It is better now than when I was first starting, back then no bars and clubs would book you, no businesses were playing rap, no one supported it out here at all except the fringe the were actually a part of it. Nowadays there are definitely over 100 rappers out here, although very few take it seriously, there are a handful of touring artists out here now besides just myself. The bars and clubs are amenable to hip hop, even the LDS church and BYU support their own clean hip hop artist James the Mormon. Post Malone has a house out here. There are multiple scenes now; hip hop (conscious, back pack, etc), gangsta rap, hardcore rap (closest to what I do), even a large Juggalo scene out here.
We love the track “My Rise”! What inspired you to write it?
Thank you! I was inspired to write it to express to the listeners that there is so much that goes behind the music, and all they get to see is what we give them: nice kicks, jewelry, lots of ladies, alcohol flowing freely, etc... but that's not the whole picture. They don't get to see all the hard times, the money being spent, the arguments, the physical fights... they don't get to see the fall, just the rise, but the fall is there for every artist.
What would be your dream collaboration?
Luckily for me I fulfilled my dream collaboration on this album when I got to tour and write with my favorite hip hop artist of all time, Slaine (from Special Teamz and La Coka Nostra - also an actor from The Town, Gone Baby Gone, and more - Boston legend), we did a song called "Game Changed" and toured together for a 14 city west coast tour in 2016. Directly after that I got to do a four city tour and collaborate on a song with Madchild from Swollen Members - my second favorite. With Tupac being dead, I think I'm good for now on the collaborations...
What’s next for you? We’d love to hear more!
Thank you! I have a new album in the works with producer LAM from Self Expression Music which will be out around January 2020, I just finished a 17 day tour of the west coast with Philadelphia artist Adlib, we have planned to do it again in Spring 2020, I also will be doing Indie Week Canada for my 3rd year in Toronto in November. So lots of new music and shows coming up!
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