Known as Loh Glizzy, local rap artist Shiloh Turner uses music to continue the legacy of his late cousin and bother, who lost their lives to street violence. Credit: Courtesy of Darren Peterson
Bad situations do not have to lead to bad outcomes.
Shiloh Turner, a Cleveland native and former Ohio State student, said he grew up in a difficult environment that caused him and some of his family members to resort to the streets for survival. Turner said his brother, Kevin Weakley Jr. or “K.O.,” and cousin, Amos Jones Jr. or “A1,” both lost their lives to gun violence as a result of being in the streets. Performing under the artist name Loh Glizzy, Turner uses his music as a way to both cope with the pain of loss and continue the legacy of his loved ones.
Turner said he and his fans celebrate “K.O. Day” on Weakley’s birthday each year.
“April 21, every year since I’ve been rapping, people text me that aren’t family, people that I’ve met in Columbus: ‘It’s K.O. Day,’ ‘Happy K.O. Day,’” Turner said. “My brother is not dead. My cousin is not dead. They live through me. They live through my music, and I’m gonna make sure of that until the day I’m 6 feet under.”
Turner said growing up he was always surrounded by music. Though he played the saxophone, it was his friend, rapper JJ Davis also known as $acks, who pushed him to become a performing artist and make his own music.
“He’s just always been around me since a kid, and he was rapping and he heard me freestyle and talking about just the pain I was going through at the time and during, and he just threw me in the fire,” Turner said. “He just was like, ‘Look, stop, you’re going to do this right now. Try to talk about your life, just talk about what you go through.’”
Turner said he took Davis’ advice and tried it out. He said his first song, “Fake Love,” got about 800 streams on the first day.
Turner said he is authentic in his music, as he lays his heart on the track and uses it to tell his story and paint a picture of what his life is like.
“All of my music is true,” Turner said. “It’s strictly my feelings, things I’ve been through, things my people have been through. Just my life. But with that being said, people love me. I’m a kind person and I’m true to myself. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
Turner came to Ohio State as a walk-on for baseball in 2016 from Tiffin University but learned his true passion was music. Turner said he applies the same philosophy that guided his previous sports career to his music career.
“When I get on stage and I’m about to perform in front of all of these people, I get those butterflies,” Turner said. “I feel like I’m stepping up to the plate, like, ‘3-2 count, two outs, bases loaded.’ I got to knock it out the park, so let’s get it. It is definitely my tool and my mechanism of relieving myself now. Especially when I go through hard times and dark times.”
Throughout his musical career, Turner said he has enjoyed performing live and that opening for Playboi Carti at the Find Your Grind University Festival for OUAB’s Homecoming Concert in 2019 was a life-changing experience.
“The Playboi Carti event was the greatest event of my life,” Turner said. “Still trying to top it to this day, and we’re getting there, we’re getting there, like that turned me up for sure.”
Turner said his music and sound are inspired by several musicians, such as J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Polo G and others. Because of his various influences across genres, he tries to not label himself as one type of musician.
“I don’t like considering myself as a rapper. I don’t like putting myself in that box. I am an artist,” Turner said. “My music is going to touch you just because you gonna feel it. Cause no matter if it’s a singing song, if I’m rapping something gritty, it come from here (the heart).”
Turner enjoys making visuals for his music, and he does that with the help of his friend Darren Peterson, a third-year in agricultural communication. Peterson is a videographer and has filmed several of Turner’s music videos. Turner and Peterson were childhood friends who reunited when they ran into each other at Ohio State, Peterson said.
Peterson said his relationship with Turner and the art they create together has made their bond stronger and has made their respective artistry stronger as well.
“Even though we childhood friends, we build a deeper bond and relationship through that time. We went through a lot of stuff together for real, you know, kept it real life. We held each other down, through thick and thin. So through bad and good, you know what I’m saying? We’ve been through it all,” Peterson said.
Turner said in music and in life, he puts everything he has into his endeavors.
“I feel like when you invest it into anything you believe in, it’s showing a piece of you no matter if it’s art, or a 9-to-5,” Turner said. “If you love your 9-to-5, whatever it may be, put your all into that. You gonna put the stamp on who you are in that company, whatever it is. So yeah man, don’t aim for the moon –– aim further.”
