Glasses Malone knows how to make a statement. In July 2019, the Watts, California rapper released the jaw-dropping “2Pac Must Die” song and video, in which Glasses Malone tells the story of Tupac Shakur’s death from the perspective of Compton Crip gang member Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, whom many believe shot and killed Tupac. “2Pac Must Die” became an Internet sensation, logging more than 5.1 million views and leading to Glasses Malone getting high profile interviews with The Breakfast Club and Big Boy, among others.


“2Pac Must Die” pushed Glasses Malone creatively, earning him one of the biggest songs of his career. “It’s the only way I’ve ever been successful in life, when I took things into my own hands,” Glasses Malone says. “It’s what my mom raised me to be, a leader.”


Glasses Malone is taking this visionary approach to his next project, a re-imagined version of his acclaimed 2012 Glasshouse mixtape. The revamped and enhanced Glasshouse project features four new focus tracks. “6 ‘N The Mornin’” features Glasses Malone, Snoop Dogg, Ty$, and Ice-T himself reworking Ice-T’s foundational gangster rap cut. Elsewhere, Glasses Malone teams with The Game for “Keep It G” and with Too $hort on “Super Sport.” Glasses Malone shows his versatility on “Show No Love,” a duet with R&B icon Raphael Saadiq.


Other Glasshouse guests include Coolio, Warren G, Cypress Hill, E-40, Xzibit, Kurupt, Kid Ink, and Tha Eastsidaz. It’s a definitive West Coast gangster rap project from one of the genre’s best and brightest minds.


Growing up as a street-racing enthusiast in the gang-infested streets of Southern California, Glasses Malone focused on creativity early on. It was a way to express himself as he shuttled between Watts and Compton, became a gang member, dealt drugs, and endured his mother getting a 20-year federal prison sentence. He became a gearhead, someone who studied cars as much as rap. Thus, it’s no wonder several of his projects and songs have vehicular themes.


In his music, Glasses Malone’s remarkable blend of street insight, social commentary, and lyricism earned him ringing endorsements from a series of rap icons, including JAY-Z and Dr. Dre. From there, Glasses Malone became a rap fixture thanks to a series of acclaimed mixtapes, including White Lightening. Glasses Malone was introduced in 2006 to Mack 10, who brought him to the Cash Money Records fold. Over the next several years, he released celebrated projects and was featured in 2018 on the Netflix show Fastest Car.


As he prepares for the release of Glasshouse, Glasses Malone is readying three more albums for this year and establishing himself as an artist synonymous with creating innovative music, television, and film projects. “I was bred by Birdman to run a record label,” Glasses Malone says. “I was schooled by Mack 10 to understand what it would take to succeed from a musical and visual perspective. What it would need to look like. The right person was casted for this film.”


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