Gizzle
Gizzle | |
---|---|
Birth name | Glenda Proby |
Also known as | Lady G Da Real Deal |
Born | 1987/1988 (age 33–34) Los Angeles, United States |
Genres | Hip hop |
Years active | 2007–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts |
|
Glenda Proby (born 1987/1988),[1] better known by her stage names Gizzle and Lady G, is an American rapper and songwriter. Beginning her career as a ghostwriter for Lil' Fizz and Snoop Dogg in 2008, she has since collaborated with a number of prominent artists, particularly Puff Daddy and Ty Dolla Sign. She made her first appearance as a featured artist in 2015, on "You Can Be My Lover" from Puff Daddy's album MMM, and released her debut mixtape 7 Days in Atlanta in 2017. Her song “Go Up” is also the main Stadia song.
Early career[]
From South Los Angeles, Proby showed a talent for writing from a young age, composing poetry and lengthy letters to her father when he was in jail.[2] She started rapping as a teenager under the stage name Lady G Da Real Deal, regularly attending freestyle rap events in Los Angeles and San Bernardino county. She recorded a demo with Rhythm D of Ruthless Records[1] and was offered a recording contract at the age of 17. However, she was encouraged by her manager, Cudda Love, to pursue songwriting for others instead.[3]
In 2007, she gained her first writing credit on the Lil' Fizz track "Beds". She was then invited by producer Teddy Riley to write for Snoop Dogg's 2008 album Ego Trippin'.[1] She is credited on the tracks "Gangsta Like Me" and "Can't Say Goodbye",[4] both of which were regularly highlighted in positive reviews of the album.[5][6][7][8][9]
Ghostwriting[]
Since her early work with Riley and Snoop Dogg, Proby has become a prolific hip hop ghostwriter, working with prominent artists including Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Boosie Badazz, Kevin Gates, G-Eazy, Iggy Azalea, Trey Songz, Travis Scott and T.I. Two of her most frequent collaborators are Ty Dolla Sign, who she has worked with since 2008, and Puff Daddy (Sean Combs), whose albums MMM and No Way Out 2 she contributed to extensively.[1]
Unusually for a female writer, Proby writes primarily for male rappers, but has been praised for successfully "getting inside the heads" of artists and working closely with them to compose songs that match their personal styles. She is also one of very few prominent queer women in the hip hop industry. Ty Dolla Sign has stated that this is an advantage in the often hypermasculine and hypersexualised world of hip hop, "you know she gets both sides ’cause Gizzle got bitches too!"[1]
Solo career[]
Proby began performing her own songs under the stage name Gizzle in 2011, posting several videos on her YouTube channel.[1] In 2015, she was credited as a featured artist on "You Can Be My Lover" from Puff Daddy's album MMM. The following year, her appearance in the video for the track, as an unexpected "butch lesbian leading the song, rapping about hollering at women in the middle of a misogynistic smorgasbord,"[10] became a breakout performance for Gizzle.[1][11] In 2016 she was featured on Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem's single "Enough", taken from Goodrem's fifth studio album Wings of the Wild.
Gizzle released her debut mixtape, 7 Days in Atlanta, in January 2017.[3] The EP was produced in a single, week-long trip to Atlanta, with one of seven songs being recorded each day. Gizzle plans to continue this concept with further 7 Days mixtapes recorded in other cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Denver.[2][12] Revolt described the EP as "a serious reminder of why [Gizzle] is one of the best in the business."[13]
Gizzle is working on a debut album, titled The Jump. She was featured on the Lupe Fiasco track "Jump", from Drogas Light, in 2017.[14]
Singles[]
As featured artist[]
Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [15] |
AUT [16] |
GER [17] |
IRE [17] |
NL [18] |
NZ [19] |
SWE [17] |
SWI [20] |
UK [17] | |||||||||||
"Enough" (featuring Gizzle) |
2016 | 27 | — | — | — | — | —[A] | — | — | — | Wings of the Wild | ||||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
Notes[]
- ^ "Enough" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 7 on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.[21]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Aku, Timmhotep (September 6, 2016). "Meet Gizzle, the Queer Female MC Who's Writing Your Favorite Rappers' Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Easy, Claude J. (October 6, 2017). "Gizzle, the LA songwriter behind some of your favorite hits, is going solo". KultureHub. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Jones, Tracy (February 6, 2017). "South L.A. Rapper Gizzle Has Ghostwritten for All the Dudes. Now She's Writing for Herself". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Proby Glenda R". ACE Repertory. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Edwards, Gavin (March 20, 2008). "Snoop Dogg: Ego Trippin'". Rolling Stone: 63–64. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008.
- ^ Watson, Margeaux (March 7, 2008). "Ego Trippin'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (March 14, 2008). "Snoop Dogg: Ego Trippin' Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Jeffries, David. "Ego Trippin' – Snoop Dogg". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Spence D. (March 11, 2008). "Snoop Dogg – Ego Trippin' Review". IGN. Retrieved July 26, 2018.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- ^ Coker, Hillary Crosley (March 31, 2016). "Progress: Gizzle, a Queer MC, Rapped About Boning Women In a Puffy Video & No One Blinked An Eye". The Muse. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Rao, Sameer (September 7, 2016). "After Writing Rap Hits, Can This Queer Female MC Break Into the Mainstream? | Colorlines". Colorlines. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Orcutt, KC. "Gizzle Steps Out Of The Ghostwriter Shadows To Take on the Rap Game". Underground Hip Hop. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Britt, Yazid (January 31, 2017). "New Music: Gizzle, '7 Days in Atlanta' EP". REVOLT TV. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Lupe Fiasco & Gizzle Link Up for 'Jump' Video". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AUS
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Austrian Chart Positions. austriancharts.ct. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d World Chart Positions acharts.us. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ "Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
- ^ NZ Chart Positions. charts.org.nz.com. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ Swiss Chart Positions. hit-parade.ch. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
External links[]
- Interview with VICE News
- Living people
- 1980s births
- Songwriters from California
- American rappers
- People from South Los Angeles
- LGBT rappers
- LGBT singers from the United States
- 21st-century American rappers