Welcome to The Drop, Refinery29's new home for exclusive music video premieres. We want to shine the spotlight on women artists whose music inspires, excites, and (literally) moves us. This is where we'll champion their voices.
After a three year break from hip-hop, Brooklyn rapper Latasha Alcindor is ready for her glow up.
The 29-year old Wesleyan grad first began rapping after college when a friend heard her poetry and encouraged her to participate in some New York rap cyphers. But 2012 brought her a rough breakup, some identity confusion, and a deep depression. It wasn't until 2015, after she had taken some time to focus on her mind and body and saved up some money while temping on Wall Street that she felt ready to get back to the music. She's since opened at music festivals for heavyweights like Kanye West, Q-Tip, and Big Sean, and self-released several albums, including her latest, Teen Nite At Empire (Dedicated To Empire Skating Rink). Now, she's providing women everywhere with their self-love, anti-fuckboy anthem for 2018.
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"This song 'Glo Up' is dedicated to the time where I was dealing with depression, had just gotten out of a relationship with a man who was really mean to me, and was trying to find my identity as an artist during a period where the only other major female rapper was Nicki Minaj," Alcindor says. "So the glow up is about coming out of that, but also accepting who I am. And I think any woman can relate to that, that feeling of trying to become your best self and also learn to love yourself. "
The indie rapper says her mixed Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Haitian, and Jamaican background influences her sound — as well as her Flatbush upbringing. So it was only natural that she would shoot the video for "Glo Up" in her Brooklyn neighborhood, beginning with a shot of Alcindor walking down Myrtle Avenue with two girlfriends before they run into a guy. Alcindor's crew, of course, wastes no time dismissing the dude who has apparently previously wronged their friend with a quick "You ain't shit, you never been shit — she on her glow up!" Then, Alcindor and her squad head to her real life hairstylist Michaella Williams' Brooklyn shop, Salon 718 — before hitting the club, of course.
The track's chorus "I glow, fa sho" is an undeniably catchy refrain, whether it's during a night out with the girls or at the gym. And Alcindor, who plans to perform in various cities this year with her All A Dream House Party tour, says she strives for that level of relatability for all of her music.
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"This song and video is a celebration of every woman who's ever been the nerdy chick who always feels awkward," says Alcindor. "Because you know what? You can be a total weirdo and still be super fly! Learning that lesson is the biggest part of the glow up."
Watch the full video for "Glo Up" below.