As ice caps melt and oceans rise, glbl wrmng will bring the heat for this year’s BUKU Music and Arts Festival. The collective of New Orleans artists, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals carries on a long tradition of group collaboration in rap music. Wu-Tang, N.W.A., Terror, ASAP, and even local groups like Cash Money and Jet Life all have used the power of many to do great things. Glbl wrmng seeks to do the same. As member Kr3wcial puts it, “If you want to move the chains, it’s better to do it collectively.”
In a city with as rich a talent pool as New Orleans, it lacks key infrastructure to incentivize career artists to stay. Pell, the lead emcee and co-founder of the group, explained the need for something like glbl wrmng to bring industry resources and know-how back to New Orleans.
“We have all the talent, but we get poached,” Pell said. “People go to New York, Atlanta, Chicago, L.A.—these hubs because on the recording side of it, there’s not enough money for this to be your main thing.”
Artists who lean more toward recorded music or who can’t gig every night often move to other cities. Like the many other collectives in rap’s past, glbl wrmng uses the power of many to create the necessary opportunity needed for artists to succeed.
The idea for glbl wrmng started during a recording session in 2015 when Pell and Malik Ninety Five were joking about the idea. They came up with the name and secured the social media handles. Not much came of it right away. They spread their idea to other artists like Kr3wcial, who saw the potential and continued to pass the idea on.
Pell accepts Best Hip Hop Artist and Hip Hop Album during OffBeat’s Best of the Beat Awards at the New Orleans Jazz Market on January 30, 2020. Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee RHRphoto.com
It all came to a head when Pell joined Tank and the Bangas on tour, where he worked with producer Nate “Suave” Cameron. His connections and resources ramped the idea into a reality. The final spark to launch the collective arrived with the pandemic. As tragic of an event it has been for many, especially in New Orleans, the pandemic did offer one grace—time.
Artists found themselves with little to do but create and collaborate. Artists $leazy EZ and LeTrainiump found their way into the group early as recording artists.
“We already knew each other or at least of each other enough to be in the same studios,” $leazy EZ explained.
When the pandemic arrived, the group had more availability than ever. Many of the members had home studios and were accustomed to working with one another online, through group chats and in each other’s homes. The group was finally coming together, taking advantage of one another’s skills in recording, graphic design, marketing, licensing and much more to introduce themselves to audiences. That introduction came in the form of the album glbl wrmng vol. 1 released in February 2021.
“I don’t even think that [the album] was intentional,” $leazy EZ said. “It was just a possibility that just became possible. That’s why ‘Take Time’ is such a great song because it took time to make that album exactly what it is. We couldn’t force that to happen.”
LeTrainiump Richard, photo by Dominique Richard
Having a group of like-minded artists with unique styles made their debut feel cohesive but the album offers a diverse spread of music. Pell brings a psychedelic trip-hop style. $leazy EZ’s recording has a nostalgic tinge. LeTrainiump creates intricate synths and electronic sounds.
“It’s like cooking. We made it spicier,” LeTrainiump said, “A little spice here and there and you got a good meal out of it.”
Featured on many songs, Kr3wcial also shines behind the scenes holding down the group artistically and as a leader.
“I feel like it’s more than just music,” Kr3wcial said. “Within our relationships with each other, we have infinite amounts of resources, that’s why I feel like I’m personally un-fuck-wit-able. Because look who is around me, that’s hard to beat.
The group has seen local success with performances and partnerships with major sporting events, nonprofits and more. But glbl wrmng’s mission goes deeper than becoming rich and famous.
“The main goal is to put together artists that may be a little left of center for what you would assume to be the rap scene in New Orleans,” Pell explained. “We want something to call back on and break bread to and essentially do business together.
Glbl wrmng isn’t just a rap group. They’re a collective of NOLA creatives and music professionals with dozens of complementary skills. And to give back to the city that raised them, glbl wrmng flips the script on climate change that disproportionately affects cities like New Orleans.
“Community is what inspired the music and we want to be a part of it in a way that’s sustainable and helps the community grow,” Pell said.
When Hurricane Ida struck New Orleans in 2021, glbl wrmng raised over $6,000 dollars for musicians and artists evacuating the city. To take a stand against climate change, the collective adopted practices like using sustainable materials in their vinyl and merchandise. Working with organizations like Glass Half Full, they’ve organized events like “Back Dat Glass Up Drive,” collecting beer and wine bottles thrown out during Mardi Gras. Proceeds from the 504 music video were donated to Concerned Citizens of St John Parish to help families affected by illness found in the region known as “Cancer Alley” and COVID-19. They’ve even worked with For the Horticulture to clear spaces in the city for community gardens and other green spaces.
See glbl wrmng come together to perform at BUKU Arts and Music Festival 2022 on March 25 and 26. The group will perform tracks from their debut and singles from the individual artists. Kr3wcial recently released a new album, Less Than Three, which he and Pell will be touring as part of the Am I Still Dreaming Tour.
