NBA hopeful turned rapper Gelo (also known as LiAngelo Ball) looks like he’s taking his music career seriously, despite the meme-ready roots of his breakout single “Tweaker.” Not resting on his laurels, Gelo has dropped his new single, “Can You Please?” featuring one of hip-hop’s hottest names at the moment: Memphis rapper GloRilla. Like “Tweaker,” “Can You Please?” embraces a throwback aesthetic, evoking the Cash Money Records ’99-2000 run, which helped sow the seeds of the modern confluence of melody with the genre’s rhythmic rules.
It should come as no surprise that Glo’s latest collaboration comes with a rapper who got his start as a ball player. GloRilla’s connections with basketball run deep, even if it doesn’t look like it. Early in her career, she narrated a season hype video for her hometown Memphis Grizzlies, she’s rubbed shoulders (and possibly more) with players at the NBA All-Star Game, and she was recently announced as headliner of the NCAA’s annual Super Saturday concert preceding the Women’s Final Four.
Meanwhile, thanks to “Tweaker,” Gelo was the only one of his brothers to perform at the All-Star Game — although, technically, he wasn’t actually in the game itself. Things are looking up for him, too; in addition to signing to Def Jam, he’ll be performing in front of a hometown crowd at Rolling Loud next week.
You can watch Gelo’s “Can You Please?” video featuring GloRilla above.