John Glacier is the poetic rapper who’s doing it her own way

Taken from the new print issue of THE FACE. Order your copy here.

When I speak to John Glacier, there’s no PR-approved backstory to help promote her debut project, SHILOH: Lost for Words. She’s not prepared any clichéd soundbites about it being her most personal work to date. She’s not really bothered about discussing her musical influences either. ​“I know nothing about music,” she laughs.

The thing is, SHILOH… might be one of the best records of 2021 so far. Created in collaboration with Vegyn – the producer who’s also worked with the likes of Frank Ocean, Travis Scott and JPEGMAFIA – the 12-track project is built with beautifully-crafted, mind-melting soundscapes, while Glacier’s diaristic raps have the intimate quality of confessions tapped into Notes during late Uber rides home.

SHILOH…​’s lead track If Anything captures the messy, head-spinning euphoria of a night in the club. But it’s the feeling of being engulfed by the sound system that persuaded her to go out before the pandemic, rather than any desire to schmooze in the smoking area. ​“I’m not much of a social person,” she insists, ​“I don’t talk that much to other people.”

There’s a small handful of artists in the London music scene who she respects – KEYAH/​BLU, Jadasea and Dean Blunt, who collaborated with Glacier and Vegyn on his poignant Babyfather track MANNA – and they all have a similarly independent attitude (“I like people who have a cat-like energy,” she explains).

“It’s an outlet and that’s all it is for me,” Glacier says of her free-spirited music. ​“It’s just me sieving through whatever I need to sieve through – on paper, or on recording – and then just putting it out there.

“I feel most people are taught to hide most of themselves away, but I’m at the point where I don’t care… So in terms of how people might perceive it, I don’t care for that either.”

SHILOH: Lost for Words is out 30^th July via PLZ Make it Ruins