GloRilla “GLORIOUS” Album Review

With a breakout hit as massive as “F.N.F.,” it would’ve been easy for GloRilla to just stick to that sound and appeal to get her bag as hip-hop’s most beloved new femcee of that year. To be fair, that’s kind of what she did in the following months, giving us single after single of some dirty Memphis bangers that she earned her fair share of hate for, along with every other woman rapper being just as hedonistic as the guys without that patriarchal benefit of the doubt. However, the Tennessee native clearly didn’t want to rush her studio debut, and now that GLORIOUS is here, we can easily see why.

On this new album, GloRilla amps up the regionality of her artistry with no need for excessive bells and whistles, makes the most out of her various flows and deliveries, and adds compelling flashes of topical focus that put the rest of her discography under a different context. Of course, it’s not all a hit, and there’s still some room for her to grow as an artist, lyricist, and performer. But Big Glo doesn’t just acknowledge this humbly on GLORIOUS. She also adds other sonic influences to emphasize and diversify her perspective in more explicit and consistent ways than many rap stars today tend to champion. Glo’s still the same person she’s always been, but pulling the veil back in this way results in more relatable and captivating affirmations on love, independence, faith, and conscientious identity that still go absurdly hard.

Starting with the beats, the most obvious auditory arsenal within GLORIOUS is two-fold: some orchestral and gospel-inspired instrumentals on one hand, and hard-hitting Memphis trap rhythms on the other. Mash them together and you have GloRilla’s catchy and to-the-point debut, at least holistically. The “INTRO” outlines this quite well with faint organs, warm bass, homages to T.I., and sharp snares. Overall, the drama and gravitas behind both of these styles inform and reinforce each other, so even string hits on singles like “HOLLON” come off as grand musical performances despite them landing on a club-ready track. GloRilla doesn’t consistently pick the most original beats, but even mild instrumentals on records like “STEP” with BossMan Dlow contain some interesting embellishments. In this case, it’s a slinky bassline and some stankface-inducing stomps.

The most consistently impressive production element here, though, is the brass. You already knew that thanks to GloRilla’s explosive lead single, “TGIF,” but there are plenty of examples of simple but effective uses of these timbres throughout GLORIOUS. One standout song is “LET HER COOK” and its contrast with light pianos, and “I AIN’T GOING” mixes those horns with an abundance of atmosphere and a more simple trap beat to create an almost rage-like feel. Still, almost everything on this album is distinctly Memphis despite its other employed styles. A lot of that is thanks to the 25-year-old’s delivery and lingo, but the percussion also carries heavily even in more poppy cuts like “I LUV HER” with T-Pain. Some choruses don’t ring as intoxicatingly as others, but with beats as impactful and larger-than-life as these, pretty much any refrain can become an anthem.

As for GloRilla herself on GLORIOUS, she remains as charismatic and confident as ever throughout almost every verse here. But the most interesting elements are when she deviates from that bravado, at least in part. Throughout this album, there are two main thematic focuses: the Memphis artist’s newfound fame and massive success in the hip-hop industry and her issues with toxic relationships with other men. “STOP PLAYING” switches things up with a soft drill tune, but more importantly, it assures her self-confidence regarding her journey to success and her self-respect regarding relationships. On “DON’T DESERVE,” Glo and Muni Long explicitly speak on wanting to see a friend leave an abusive relationship, an angle that you won’t find as directly in today’s rap landscape. But songs like “GLO’S PRAYER” show more vulnerability by admitting that she can’t bring herself to fall out of love with a problematic partner.

As such, many songs on here might share similar subject matter. Yet GloRilla is almost always diving into a particular aspect between these themes in a way that makes GLORIOUS feel more cohesive, carefully structured, and thematically progressive. By the time we reach more triumphant fare, such as the Megan Thee Stallion-assisted anti-drama anthem “HOW I LOOK” or the closer “QUEEN OF MEMPHIS” with Fridayy, we have a better understanding of her desires and what the next step in this journey is for her. What’s more, is that Glo relays this through a relatively small but, nonetheless, well-delivered set of flows. She sometimes sounds menacing, often fiery, occasionally conflicted, but always sharp and focused. Even though the album can feel like she’s spinning her pen’s wheels in place sometimes, these retreads don’t take away from the overall album experience.

Furthermore, you will still laugh at lines like “I’m half celibate, you can’t f**k, but you can eat this p***y” and be moved by confessions like “Got me feeling like a dummy when I know I’m smarter / The only man that showed me love correctly was my father.” GloRilla balances these moods out with grace, and if you need proof of that, listen to how passionately the album’s centerpiece, “RAIN DOWN ON ME,” with Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard, and Chandler Moore turned out. Speaking of guests, Latto and Sexyy Red both bring boisterous chemistry to “PROCEDURE” and “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME,” respectively. However, the featured artists never overshadow or outshine Glo’s vision on GLORIOUS, and she’s the one that links all its disparate elements together for a thematically well-realized experience.

Still, there are a few notes for improvement here and there, such as some generic instrumentals, non-rhymes, similar tempos and song structures, and some deja vu here and there. Fortunately, all that becomes moot by the time you finish GLORIOUS, as you have a hefty collection of grimy, bombastic, and raw trunk-knockers that don’t overstay their welcome, plus plenty of direct and fearless food for thought. With all this in mind, it’s not hard to see why GloRilla wanted to take her time with her debut album, both to mull over her own romantic struggles and to respond to the behavioral and industry-set expectations that her fame pinned onto her. It doesn’t feel forced, desperate, haphazard, or like it could’ve come from anyone else other than her. The Queen of Memphis now has her throne, and we hope that her next effort doubles down on her ideas here.