GLX - Body (Single) + 10 Questions

GLX is an East London-hailing artist with an all rounded set of skills such as rapping, singing, audio engineering, producing and songwriting. His eclectic taste in music feeds directly into his own sound as he experiments with various elements from different genres including R&B, dancehall and afrobeats, however, his sound is predominantly a mixture of trap and rap. GLX blends spitting dexterous bars with singing infectious choruses and lays them down on alert beats, creating feel good songs with a highly addictive sound.

GLX marked his debut with a single called ‘Hypnotised’ in the first part 2021, which is a rap track packed with heavy afrobeats flavours. The release was a success, amassing 24.8K Spotify streams organically, just through word of mouth. This encouraged the East London artist to follow up with two more singles, ‘Love Potion’ and ‘These Days’, which are two powerful, catchy and full of energy trap songs.

These releases secured him performances at Glastonbury Festival, Notting Hill Carnival and Grime Originals, as well as slots at local music events and grassroots music nights.

Understanding the potential that his music style has, GLX decided to build a music catalogue before starting to release again and he has dedicated his time to it until now, as he feels he is now ready to go full steam ahead.

His newest release entitled ‘Body’, is coming out on 28/10. ‘Body’ is sonically very different from his previous releases, yet it compliments his back catalogue as it brings something new to the table whilst keeping the same direction in terms of the energy that transfers over to the listeners. GLX proves to possess all the necessary skills to establish a connection with the audience and feed them a hyped-up, positive energy on both rapid songs and slow jams.

‘Body’ is a feel-good love song, which features heartfelt lyrics laid down on a slow, heavily synth infused beat. The melody on the chorus is slightly more fast paced than the rest of the song and the combination with the catchy, easy-to-remember lyrics makes it a great sing-along track. ‘Body’ is a melodic rap song that evokes the beautiful feeling that love brings whilst also following a strong women empowerment direction, delivering a kind and wholehearted message to women as seen through the eyes of a lover who worships his partner and her natural body. The track emanates a very calming and soothing energy through the intimate sound of GLX’s vocals and genuine nature of his lyrics, making it a highly relatable song for men who are experiencing love and an empowering and reassuring listen for women everywhere.

GLX sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

Since I was about five I remember being very aware of the music my mum played music around me and I was intrigued by how the sounds came together and what these instruments were.

I took a lot of weekend trips to my aunts where my older cousins, who were about 6 to 13 years older, would play a lot of old school rap and slow jams that a kid my age probably wouldn’t be exposed to usually. I just started absorbing different sounds and styles and grouping them in my head and before I knew it I was obsessed with music.

I'd make a mental note of the melodies or hooks to try and tell people what the song was that I wanted to hear. Basically, I was trying to do what Shazam does now. (laughs) As soon as I got 2 deck tape radio, I used a microphone jack with headphones stuck in the jack and began practising bars over garage instrumentals on the radio and recording it.

2. How would you describe your sound?

Eclectic, melodic, and relatable. I feel like every song relates to a mood or a personality type or just something we’ve all said, done or thought about. If I was to use one word I'd say catchy. It's all about writing something that I'd hear and not be able to get out of my head even if I didn’t like the song - it's like ringing in your head hours after listening.

3. What can you tell us about your latest release ‘Body’?

It’s a love song about the perfection of so-called ‘imperfections’. So it’s written from the point of view of a man who is trying to empower his woman and let her know that none of these things matter because either way he loves her.

It's trying to shift away from the social media standards of beauty and with things like BBL, lip fillers and botox becoming so popular I kind of wanted to capture the message that someone can and will love you without all of that and it's best to learn to love ourselves as we are.

I've been in a relationship and watched someone who’s perfectly fine in my eyes stress over a little extra weight on her stomach or love handles or “fupa’ as the girls call it. The point is come here girl I love it all and I want you to embrace your curves or lack of curves and just learn to love yourself.

4. ‘Body’ has a strong women-empowerment energy attached to it, can you talk about that for a second?

I just felt that no one really speaks on this. There are a lot of derogatory songs about women and only a few empowerment ones, so why not spread that message in a relatable style and story?

5. You have taken a nine-month-long hiatus but now you’re back and ready to take over. What has been happening in this time and what can we expect from you in the near future?

I feel like you’ve got to step back sometimes to really look at what you’re doing and how to improve your craft. In that time I’ve experimented with my sound recording new music. Some that you will definitely hear soon and some that will never leave the vault. I think my main focus during this time was just to creatively recharge so my energy isn’t repetitive and stale. I also wanted to strategise my marketing moving forward so I can reach a wider audience.

6. You have been in the game for 15 years but recently you’ve rebranded and changed your name and your sound. What made you switch lanes?

One of my most memorable grime bars ‘Blown Away’ is quite a melodic singy bar for a grime lyric. I just feel like over the years I’ve channelled that melodic energy into the modern sound and it feels comfortable and natural. Therefore with the shift in sound and becoming a solo artist a rebrand seemed necessary.

7. In the light of your career, do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

I would say be consistent, never doubt your ability but also take criticism. It helps you to learn how to manage that from early. Act fast, don't sleep on ideas because BOOM someone else will do it before you and you will be listening to the radio feeling like a mug. Finally, always be original, don't be scared to be different as that’s what’s gonna make you stand out and last longer than your peers.

8. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

If I’m not cooking in the lab, I’m cooking in the kitchen. I love cooking! It's another creative process, I enjoy it especially whilst listening to music. It just all comes together and everything I do goes back to music.

9. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

Nas - Illmatic , Robert Glasper - Black Radio 1,2,3, DMX - Flesh Of My Flesh, Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly, and Drake - Nothing Was the Same. These are like the albums that I can listen to any time and play through with no skips. Also any project by H.E.R. Her sound is In the future.

10. Name three things you can't live without when in the studio?

A big bottle of Volvic water, my phone (to write and record drafts), and a good engineer that knows music well for additional guidance.