Gizzle

Glenda Raniece Proby (born December 1, 1987),

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.^[3] 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^[2] 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.^[4]

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'.^[2] She is credited on the tracks "Gangsta Like Me" and "Can't Say Goodbye",^[5] both of which were regularly highlighted in positive reviews of the album.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Ghostwriting

Since her early work with Riley and Snoop Dogg, Proby has become a prolific hip hop

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!"^[2]

Solo career

Proby met singer Ty Dolla Sign in 2008,^[11] with whom she became a frequent songwriting partner prior to his mainstream breakthrough. Having previously performed as Lady G, she ditched the name in favor of Gizzle in 2011, posting several videos on her YouTube channel.^[2] In 2015, she guest performed alongside Ty Dolla Sign on Puff Daddy's single, "You Can Be My Lover" from the latter's commercial mixtape MMM (Money Making Mitch). 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,"^[12] became a breakout performance for Proby.^[2][13] That same year, she received numerous songwriting credits on Ty Dolla Sign's debut album Free TC, including for the single "Saved." 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.

Proby released her debut mixtape, 7 Days in Atlanta, in January 2017.^[4] 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.^[3][14] Revolt described the EP as "a serious reminder of why [Gizzle] is one of the best in the business."^[15] was featured on the Lupe Fiasco 2017 single "Jump", from his album Drogas Light.^[16]

In 2021, Proby was featured on the soundtrack for the Netflix series Arcane on the track "Dynasties and Dystopia" alongside Denzel Curry and Bren Joy.

Singles

As featured artist

References