From the time we launched The Glow Up, we’ve known that music would play a part in our mission to inspire, uplift and empower our readers. After all, your managing editor is also a musician (and may or may not also have been a DJ in her pre-recording-deal years). Besides, what glow up is complete without a great soundtrack?
So if you’ve noticed The Glow Up getting a little more musically inclined as of late, trust that it’s deliberate. As we move forward, we’ll be rolling out more multimedia content to help you get your glow up, including adding more music to the mix (playlists, anyone?).
Since it’s a new month—and a new season—we decided April is the ideal time to launch our Anthem of the Week—this week courtesy of rapping and singing phenom Lizzo. Yes, we know it’s Cardi B’s world and we’re just living in it (at least this week), but if you slept on Lizzo’s first three full-length albums—as several of my colleagues at The Root shamefully did—her latest single, “Fitness”—video above—is right on time (she’s also based herself in my birthplace of Minneapolis, which means she’s an honorary hometown honey, in my book).
Plus, a true confession: I don’t know about you, but the arrival of spring has found me still firmly in my winter body (these still-freezing temps don’t help, but step away from the laptop, Maiysha). Besides being as fun, brash and irreverent as Lizzo herself, her newest body-positive banger motivates like Kanye’s “The New Workout Plan” and flexes like Janelle Monáe’s “Yoga.” In short, it’s exactly what Stella needs to get her groove back.
Also, shoutout to Lizzo for always keeping it real with all types of beautiful bodies in her video while keeping her own confidence front and center. In fact, her confidence is so contagious, I may just be OK with this winter body, after all. But love it or leave it, let’s get physical.
The Glow Up’s honorable mention: Yes, we gave Cardi B’s new album, Invasion of Privacy, a listen (or three) in its entirety and have chosen a few favorites from rap’s most relatable regular, degular, shmegular, red-bottomed diva. While packed with club-ready beats, our faves were actually the tracks drawing on Cardi’s Latino roots, including the swagger-heavy “I Like It” and the Lemonade-flavored scorned-woman anthem “Be Careful.”