Aside from Kendrick Lamar(and by proxy, Drake), Future, and maybe Playboi Carti, arguably no one in Hip Hop has had a bigger year than GloRilla. She has literally been everywhere this year, taking the Hip Hop world by storm with her multiple viral hits. To be honest, when she first popped off a couple of years ago with ‘F.N.F.’ and ‘Tomorrow 2,’ I really thought she was going to be the next big thing. Those songs had an ambiance and style that was so unique and fun, and they made her stand out in a way that I felt was definitely going to stick. After her initial blow-up in 2022, GloRilla did not get the amount of hype I felt she deserved. Her debut mixtape, Anyway, Life’s Great… did pretty well, but it did not come close to the success that her first couple of viral singles had. That changed at the beginning of this year, though, when she dropped the smash hit ‘Yeah, Glo.’ In my opinion, this is not only one of the top Rap songs of the year, but it is one of the top songs of the year as a whole. I am sure, when I look at my Spotify Wrapped at the end of 2024, ‘Yeah. Glo’ will be near the top of my most streamed songs, as I started 2024 bumping this song constantly, and am still doing so. GloRilla followed up that single with her excellent mixtape Ehhthang Ehhthang, which spawned the hit single ‘Wanna Be’ with Megan Thee Stallion. I loved that project when it came out, and is still growing on me. Ehhthang Ehhthang is definitely among my favorite releases of 2024 as a whole. It may not be the most sophisticated or diverse album, but it is really fun for what it is. A couple of months after releasing that mixtape, GloRilla put out her second viral single of the year, ‘TGIF.’ This one did not quite pop off in the way that ‘Yeah, Glo’ did, but it was still a song of the summer and I am sure it got bars and clubs jumping over the last few months. GloRilla has stayed grinding all 2024, as she just dropped a new album titled GLORIOUS, which was kicked off with its lead single, the epic ‘HOLLON.’ GloRilla is certainly capitalizing on her success right now, and this new album is yet another example of why she is someone everyone needs to be listening to. Below, I wanted to talk about some of my favorite songs from GLORIOUS, then get into some thoughts on the album as a whole to close things out. Please let me know in the comments what your favorite songs are from GLORIOUS, and also comment on how you feel about the record as a whole!

HOLLON

The aforementioned single that began the rollout for this record also gets things started. This is a great one to get the album rolling with(there is technically an ‘INTRO’ track, but I consider this to be the real opening song), as ‘HOLLON’ is a larger-than-life banger that begins things on an imposing note. Everything about this track is intense and massive. The melody for this track is menacing, driven by bells that are so gritty and bold. The bass that drives this beat totally rattles any speaker and makes this song fill the room and fill the mind when it comes on. GloRilla more than matches the intensity of the beat with her rap performance. Her flow, tone, and overall presence on the mic are so audacious and in command. ‘HOLLON’ has a pretty brash instrumental, and GloRilla’s performance amplifies this feeling. ‘HOLLON’ is the kind of song to turn on if you need to inject yourself with energy, as it is just so high-key.

TGIF

To be honest, I did not actually know ‘TGIF’ was going to be on this album. When it came out, I assumed it was going to be a stand-alone single. I am more than okay with it being here, though, as this song is just so fun and so enormous. Frankly, I would describe its instrumental as being pretty close to the one on ‘HOLLON.’ The synths that drive this melody feel a bit hotter and cleaner, for sure. Also, the beat for ‘TGIF’ is a bit smoother and has a bit more of a dancey/club feeling to it than the opening track. But as far as intensity goes, these tracks do resemble each other. I really love GloRilla’s flow on this track. Her cadence throughout ‘TGIF’ is pretty sing-songy. This makes her rap performance extremely catchy. ‘TGIF’ is an earworm that can get stuck in my head for hours. ‘TGIF’ is an entertaining banger that is perfect to play on a hot summer Friday night, and I am sure it will keep that feeling going into the future.

WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT ME (FEAT. SEXYY RED)

If there are any songs on this record that I would peg as having the potential to become a big hit in the very near future, I would say it’s ‘WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT ME’ with Sexyy Red. This song is already starting to pop off on TikTok, and it is very easy to see why. The instrumental for this song contains a sample from the iconic Southern Trap banger ‘Wipe Me Down’ by Lil Boosie. In fact, pretty much everything about this one is an interpolation of that track, as even the cadence that GloRilla and Sexyy Red rap with resembles the sound of the original. There is even an ad-lib where GloRilla literally says “wipe me down.’ Despite this ‘WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT ME’ being so incredibly like its inspiration, it’s impossible to deny that this track is extremely entertaining. Both GloRilla and Sexyy Red rap with the charisma and vitality needed to make this song work, which is awesome to see. ‘WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT ME’ does ‘Wipe Me Down’ justice and is bound to be a smash hit as well. 

STOP PLAYING

Now, one thing about this album is that a lot of the instrumentals do have a similar feeling to one another. GloRilla knows what she is good at, and typically sticks to it. ‘STOP PLAYING’ is a track where she thinks outside the box and goes out of her comfort zone a bit, though. Yo Gotti was one of the producers of this track, and he provides a vocal singing sample(which is surprising and pretty good) that drives the melody. This track has a bit more of an R&B Trap feeling than any of the songs before it. The melody for this one is melancholy and kind of sweet, which totally makes it stand out in this tracklist. GloRilla’s rap performance on ‘STOP PLAYING’ is a bit dialed back, which fits the energy of the song nicely. She still raps with her typical grit but does calm things down a tick to go with the softer energy of the instrumental. I appreciate that GloRilla tied something new on ‘STOP PLAYING,’ and it pays off for sure.

DON’T DESERVE (FEAT. MUNI LONG)

Like ‘STOP PLAYING,’ ‘DON’T DESERVE’ with Muni Long is another one where GloRilla tries something different. On the real, I probably would have never expected to hear GloRilla on a track against this. Everything about its sound seems to go against what one would expect to hear from GloRilla. The instrumental for this one has a melancholy, shimmering R&B Trap sound that I would expect to hear from someone like SZA. This really feels more like a Muni Long instrumental than a GloRilla instrumental. Both artists sound great on this track. Muni Long’s strong, high-pitched vocals give the song so much emotion. GloRilla’s gruff, in-your-face tone and flow give the song texture and a level of emphasis that makes it feel extra powerful. These are two artists I would probably never expect to come together like this, and their chemistry is so palpable. I wish GloRilla would have dove into these kinds of instrumentals a bit more on this project because her voice and flow work surprisingly well on this sound. 

HOW I LOOK (FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION)

If ‘WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT ME’ does not end up being the most popular non-lead single off this album, then ‘HOW I LOOK’ will almost certainly take that position. This is the shortest song on the record, and it is also easily one of the most impactful. ‘HOW I LOOK’ is the kind of Pop-Trap banger that Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla have shown this year that they can excel at making together. This track has the kind of fierce attitude and emphasis that ‘Wanna B’ or Meg’s song ‘Accent’ has. The instrumental is hard-hitting and fun. It is driven by a dark and mean melody that is put on top of a banging Trap beat. As they should, both GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion sound excellent on this track. These two have an undeniable chemistry that is palpable. They seem to feel off of each other’s energy and tone so well, making the song feel so forceful and making it so entertaining. ‘HOW I LOOK’ may not be the most boundary-pushing song here, but it is a fun Pop-Trap banger that can get any function jumping, and I appreciate that. 

I LUV HER (FEAT. T. PAIN)

‘I LUV HER’ with T Pain is another moment where GloRilla seems to step outside her comfort zone. Besides maybe ‘HOW I LOOK,’ this is probably the most unique-sounding song in this tracklist. Like that track, ‘I LUV HER’ has an instrumental that sounds more like what one may expect from the feature. The melody for ‘I LUV HER’ has the kind of bright, shimmering synths that one would expect to hear on a classic T. Pain song. Even the beat for ‘I LUV HER’ has more of a 2000s Hip Hop feel than a modern Trap sound. Now, vocally, T. Pain does stand out on this one. As one would expect, he sounds great here. His high-pitched, powerful vocals give the song so much life. GloRilla does her thing on ‘I LUV HER,’ though. I do enjoy how her deep and gruff vocals and forceful delivery contrast with T. Pain. GloRilla’s rapping style does give this track a pretty cool texture. ‘I LUV HER’ is one of the few moments where GloRilla truly goes outside of the realm of what she is more known to do, and in my opinion, it really pays off.

The discourse online about GloRilla’s GLORIOUS has been pretty interesting to say the least. On the one hand, there seem to be some people who love it. If you are into GloRilla’s signature gritty, brazen, and confrontational sound, there is no doubt a ton to love for you on this album. If you do not have an affinity for that kind of music and think that it can get a little stale, then there probably is not a ton for you on GLORIOUS. Although I tend to be on the side of loving that sound that GloRilla is known for, I can see where the disdain on the other side could potentially come from. For what it is worth, there is not a ton of diversity or eclecticism on GLORIOUS. Honestly, there is not much of it at all. Now one could push back on that and say: “Joe, what about songs like ‘DON’T DESERVE,’ ‘RAIN DOWN ON ME,’ ‘I LUV HER,’ or even ‘STOP PLAYING’ AND ‘GLO’S PRAYER?’ That is five songs with instrumentals not rooted in that typical Memphis Trap sound.” Now, even if I do agree with you on that, I will counter and ask if GloRilla’s flow, tone, or overall demeanor and delivery are any different on those tracks than they are on any of the other songs with instrumentals more suited to what she came up on? To be blunt, the answer is no. As far as GloRilla’s performances, you kind of get what you get on this record. Do not get me wrong, I think that GloRilla’s typical sound is incredibly entertaining; you can probably see that by the way I described her in the introduction. But to say that there is much variance when it comes to her personal performances on this record would just be untrue. GloRilla is aware of what she excels at and sticks to it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Because of how similar her rap performances are throughout the record, it does feel a bit stale at the end. I would rather just go back to listen to my favorite few tracks than listen to not-so-engaging songs(to me) with a very similar style when it comes to the vocals. I do appreciate that GloRilla was willing to try out some new instrumentals on GLORIOUS. It shows that she is willing to try new things. I do wish she would have pushed herself more and tried to switch up her flow or tone to give some of these songs something fresh, however. With that being said, GLORIOUS is still a very entertaining album with a lot to love. There are quite a few songs on this record that I know I will be going back to frequently in the future. GLORIOUS is not the most boundary-pushing or valiant effort I have ever heard, but it is a solid debut album that proves GloRilla is here to stay. Her massive potential is evident, and this album makes me think she will continue to grow and shine in the future. 

6.94/10