GloRilla & Kehlani – “Xmas Time”

GloRilla and Kehlani make an unexpectedly warm pairing on “Xmas Time.” The song feels like the kind of track you play while you’re getting ready to see people you love, or when you’re driving across town as the city lights flicker across the windshield. Kehlani holds down the melodic center, while GloRilla keeps things grounded with her straight-to-the-point delivery. It’s festive without trying too hard, and it taps into that mix of excitement and reflection that always comes with the holidays.

Yo Gotti – “3 Kings” (feat. DJ Khaled & Fabolous)

“3 Kings” features Yo Gotti stepping into the holiday season with his signature swagger, wrapping his well-known street tales in green and red wrapping paper. From bars about a trap house with mistletoe on it to buying his girl a whole business for Christmas, Gotti sets the tone on this track about counting your blessings (and doing a little flexing) at the end of the year.

Indo G – “Frosty the Blowman”

A standout track from Indo G’s hilarious Christmas N’ Memphis album, “Frosty the Blowman” has been floating around Memphis holiday playlists for years, especially among folks who grew up on that classic underground sound. It’s a funny, clever flip on a Christmas standard, unfiltered and full of drug-dealing innuendo. The track probably isn’t one to play during family dinner, but it deserves a spot on your playlist nonetheless.

DJ Paul – “A Xmas Flock”

DJ Paul’s “A Xmas Flock” is what happens when Memphis crunk collides with the holiday season. The Three 6 Mafia veteran puts a heavy and dark flip on the classic holiday tune “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” this is sure to be ringing in your head until 2026. It’s the kind of song you could easily hear at a Christmas party once the energy picks up and the drinks start flowing. Paul keeps it playful but still true to his sound, giving Christmas a little extra Memphis bite.

NLE Choppa – “What a Christmas”

NLE Choppa takes a lighter approach with “What a Christmas,” treating the holiday like another moment to have fun and talk his talk. The song, which features an equal measure of auto-tuned crooning and rapping, feels like something you’d hear playing in the background while everyone’s running around the house. Choppa keeps it simple and catchy, mixing a little humor with the confidence he’s known for.

The post WAMM in Rotation: 5 Memphis Rap Songs for Your Holiday Playlist appeared first on We Are Memphis.

Memphis is still buzzing in the afterglo (see what we did there?) of GloRilla’s sold‑out Glo Bash at the FedExForum, and it’s only fitting that the city’s own queen of trap takes center stage throughout the remainder of the weekend. With that in mind, we here at We Are Memphis voted on her top five tracks, which includes a mix of big hits, guest features, and lesser-known deep cuts…

“F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”

It’s been three years since this breakout anthem rattled car speakers throughout the city all summer long and officially placed GloRilla on the national map. With Hitkidd’s menacing yet catchy production and Glo’s instantly-iconic declaration of freedom—“I’m F‑R‑E‑E, fuck‑n**ga‑free”—it’s become a cultural moment and a true summer anthem. Few songs in recent memory have announced the arrival of a new star quite like this one.

“TGIF”

A hard‑hitting, confidence‑fueled track that solidified her as one of 2024’s boldest voices, “TGIF” was a massive follow-up hit that was named TIME Magazine best song of 2024. With a scorching beat and another unforgettable opening line (“It’s 7 p.m. Friday / It’s 95 degrees…”), TGIF was proof GloRilla’s verse‑crafting and stage presence was the real deal.

“On Wat U On” Moneybagg Yo feat. GloRilla

Trading barbs over a tense, piano-laced beat, the two Memphis stars go head-to-head in a fiery exchange that sounds like a couple mid-argument with the record button accidentally left on. GloRilla’s aggressive delivery is perfectly matched with Moneybagg’s laid-back tone, creating a spiritual successor to Project Pat’s “Chicken Head”, another iconic Memphis “battle of the sexes” anthem.

“Rain Down on Me” feat. Kirk Franklin & Maverick City Music

This gospel‑inflected track reveals GloRilla’s roots as a former choir singer and her ability to inject a bit of spirituality into her music when the spirit hits. Featuring gospel icons Kirk Franklin, Kierra Sheard, and Chandler Moore, it’s a deeply reflective piece that balances confession and uplift. Like several tracks on her debut album Gloria, it showcases her emotional range and versatility.

“No More Love”

Though it never got the push of a single, “No More Love” quickly became a deep-cut favorite among fans for its raw vulnerability and emotional weight. On the track, GloRilla opens up about fake friends, heartbreak, family betrayal, and the loneliness that can come with success. Over a moody, minimalist beat, she delivers some of her most introspective bars—stripped of bravado and full of real-life pain.

The post From F.N.F. to FedExForum: The 5 Most Essential GloRilla Tracks (So Far) appeared first on We Are Memphis.

MonoNeon – “Church of Your Heart”

Bassist extraordinaire (and all around badass musician) MonoNeon is set to release a new album this year, and to give us a taste of what’s to come, he recently shared the first single off the upcoming project. “Church of Your Heart” is an upbeat and profoundly inspirational track that perfectly pairs MonoNeon’s soulful vocals over his signature funky production. The highlight of the song though is the message, which reminds us that no matter how hopeless we may feel, we all possess a powerful inner strength. Yea, there’s truly no one cooler than MonoNeon. 

An official video for “Church of Your Heart” is scheduled to be released on January 28, but here’s a sneak peek for all you impatient folks…

91′ Co. – Drmst8 2 

Memphis rapper 91’ Co is one third of rap supergroup Supa Glock Bros, but on his latest release we see him return back to his solo venture. Drmst8 2 is an ambitious yet undeniably impressive project that features hazy, vibed out beats and 91’ Co’s sharp delivery. The album also nicely showcases his deep artistic range as tracks like “WORK TO DO” and “Like Skrt” find 91’ Co effortlessly switching between rapping and singing. If Drmst8 2 is any indication of what else he has in store for the year, 2024 is about to be big.

Kid Maestro – “Tajin Tapes Vol. II”

Kid Maestro is one of the creative masterminds behind Memphis collective Unapologetic., but he doesn’t step into the spotlight himself very often. In fact, you’ll most likely find Kid locked in his studio in Outerspace, cooking up his next mind-blowing production. Luckily for us though, he’s starting 2024 by sharing his work in a new series called the Tajin Tapes. Each week, he’s hand delivering a collection of beats and so far, each beat is absolute fire. Listen to what he’s shared so far in the Unapologetic World App and keep an eye out for what’s next. Based on these first offerings, you won’t want to miss a note.

Life’s Luckii – “Ugly Beautiful Life”

I’m gonna say this right now – Life’s Luckii is special. Her delivery is ferocious. Her words are impactful and poignant. She controls any and all beats with an expertise that would make the most seasoned of artists jealous. She possesses the makings of a truly gifted artist and proves it yet again with her newest single, “Ugly Beautiful Life.” Over melodic production, Luckii muses about the inevitable high highs and low lows of life. However, she’s quick to remind us that the most beautiful aspect of this journey is the growth we experience as a result. This one will be on repeat for the foreseeable future, please DND.

HitKidd ft. GloRilla, Gloss Up, Aleza, Slimeroni, and K Carbon – Renegade

While everyone was busy getting their tree up and Christmas gifts wrapped, HitKidd quietly released Renegade, a collaborative album featuring Memphis’ hottest female MCs: GloRilla, Gloss Up, Aleza, Slimeroni, and K Carbon. Spanning 17 tracks, the project features some singles we’ve heard before (like smash hits “F.N.F” and “Shabooya”) and some standout brand new tracks like the menacing “Luv A” or the hypnotic “No Comment”. HitKidd’s production is nothing to play with, but the stars of the project are (unsurprisingly) the women, who yet again show that while they’re formidable apart they’re even better together.

The post WAMM in Rotation: 5 New Songs for January ’24 appeared first on We Are Memphis.

Staysie Atoms

Whitehaven-raised Staysie Atoms is just twenty-two, but her work carries a mirthful swagger that rappers twice her age would kill to possess. It’s a brash young confidence that lends a
surreal energy to her proudly lo-fi tracks, which float like poisoned air on shimmering beds of ethereal reverb and pitch-shifting. There’s an eerie ‘liminal space’ feel to her beats, as if they
were sourced from a crumbling cassette tape found buried deep in the earth, and this makes Takyla Burnett’s teasing, slightly-menacing coo all the more ghostly, a specter haunting a feast
of melted, ambient cloud-rap. Atoms’ youthful exuberance finds her frequently name-checking her dog Benji and impulsively titling tracks like “THT 1 TIME I MADE A JOKE ABT SPACING OUT N SEEING U ON THE MOON ND U THOUGHT I WAS CORNY” with stream-of- consciousness directness, but there’s still a sinister sense of unease lurking in these tracks.

Ultimately, this music feels like it couldn’t have come into existence anywhere but Three 6’s Memphis. It’s Mystic Stylez filtered through the perpetual hall of mirrors of internet culture, of
memes and short attention spans and all-consuming ‘vibes’ and ‘moods’. Though Atoms cops to being forever in search of an ‘identity’, she’s already stumbled onto a compelling take on her
city’s hip-hop heritage that’s both a testament to the eternal power of that legacy and a means of pushing it excitingly forward.

Glorilla

Gloria Hallelujah Woods, aka GloRilla, is in many ways an intriguing North Memphis counterpart to Staysie Atoms’s drifting, chilling kinetics. She began dropping mixtapes at just nineteen, and before long had a viral hit on her hands with TikTok favorite “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”. Grammy and BET Award nominations have duly follow, along with a hit Cardi B. collaboration (“Tomorrow”) and a spot alongside labelmate and fellow Memphian Moneybagg Yo with “On Wat U On”. Woods was even featured alongside Boo herself on Latto’s addictive 2022 single “FTCU”, making the latter’s influence on the former thrillingly clear. Woods is more of a traditionalist flow-
wise than a rapper like Atoms, her guttural churn of a voice calling to mind some unholy union of peak Lil’ Kim and one of her biggest admitted influences, Chicago drill pioneer Chief Keef. That gravelly growl rides hard-hitting beats and brutally honest verses that hold nothing back in vivid detail or visceral power. “F.N.F” boasts of unapologetically hedonistic moments spent with “ratchet-ass friends”, with feet gleefully planted on necks and cake consumed while “wishing a bitch would”. But despite the ‘slices of hood life’ narratives, Woods’ rhymes are less gritty documentary reportage than shrewd storytelling insight, cocky and proud but delivered with enough of a sly wink to keep everything good-natured. And as her most recent single “Internet
Trolls” shows, she’s also a fine chronicler of the wider culture at large. Having described her music as “crunk and dominant”, its clear Woods is ready to both define and transcend Memphis
hip-hop.

Gloss Up

In a local scene that’s witnessed the unfortunate end results of some bitter inter-personal rivalries, Gloss Up remains one of GloRilla’s closest confidantes, as heard on recent shared
single “BestFrenn”. But where her bestie Woods’ voice is as savage as a buzz saw, Gloss’s approach is more conversational, a highly-relatable drawl that comes across street-wise, funny,
and uncannily insightful. A fruitful affiliation with hotshot producer HitKidd and a hop onto Woods’ label, the eminent Atlanta powerhouse Quality Control, has resulted in a strong debut
mixtape, Before The Gloss Up, promising even more electrifying work to come. If Woods is out to burn down your entire life with her verses, Gloss seems amused that you even thought for a
moment you could challenge her supremacy. “I don’t need a lighter, like a Bic, yeah I stay lit,” she insists on the killer posse cut “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe” (which features three more promising Memphian female MCs – K Carbon, Aleza, and Slimeroni, all of whom possess their own singular voice and flow and are also well-worth your attention). Recently, when Gloss was asked by Vibe what separated Memphis artists like her and her crew from the rest of the pack, that insight mentioned above was in full effect: “I think we raw, aggressive, like we say whatever. I think we just don’t got no filter and everybody else just want to be Hollywood and act like they a perfect person. Memphis tell you what it is.” Whatever the afterlife holds for a champion of empowered female hip-hop like Gangsta Boo, if she hears or reads those words somewhere, one can imagine her smiling and nodding with appreciation. This is how the game continues to move forward.

You might also be interested in: Live Music Memphis Tonight | Memphis Live Music Calendar

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