GloRilla – ‘Glorious’ review: an empowering if uneven debut

11 October, 2024

GloRilla, photo by press

GloRilla has been setting the rap scene ablaze since her 2021 breakthrough single ‘FNF’, delivering high-energy trap anthems for independent women, go-getters and party lovers. Back then, the now 25-year-old told NME that she hoped to be the “female version of Chief Keef”, putting out music that is “young, turnt and gangster”. She’s kept her promise ever since, dropping back-to-back bangers, including this April’s ‘Ehhthang Ehhthang’ mixtape, which featured the Megan Thee Stallion-assisted ‘Wanna Be’. Six months later, the Memphis rapper kicks off her long-awaited debut album with the same fierceness she’s quickly become known for.

Singles ‘Hollon’ and ‘TGIF’ – reminiscent of Southern hip-hop’s golden age – have already proven their party-starting power, but Glo has been saving the best for the rest of ‘Glorious’’ tracklist. She recreates that pair of tracks’ magic with Sexyy Red on ‘Whatchu Know About Me’. Updating Lil Boosie’s 2006 classic ‘Wipe Me Down’, they make the ultimate empowerment track and you can’t help to do the chickenhead when Glo asserts: “Every time I pop out, you know I A-T-E / I’m that bitch, hoe, get like me.”

The same can be said for the vivacious and unrelenting ‘How I Look’, where she reunites with Megan Thee Stallion on the short-yet-impactful reminder to never question your worth. Glo also has a message for anyone who might dare undervalue her with a warning that she’s “just rolled by the cemetery / There’s plenty room for hoes.”

‘Glorious’ isn’t an album that’s solely full of typical rapper braggadocio, though. While ‘Whatchu Know About Me’ and ‘How I Look’ are by far the best rap offerings here, Glo mixes things up, too, on the perfect gospel song, ‘Rain On Me’. She enlists help from iconic choirmaster Kirk Franklin and renowned gospel singers Kierra Sheard and Chandler Moore to praise God with “every inch within her body,” resulting in an uplifting tune that fills you with warmth.

Throughout the album, the Memphis hitmaker both gets really comfortable with the listener and shares a strong message of girl power. ‘Step’ with BossMan Flow feels like an explicit no-holds-barred call from your bestie detailing her dream man, and ‘Let Her Cook’ is all about taking what’s yours, set to a menacing interpolation of Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Simon Says’. But this approach also hurts the album in places.

On ‘Ain’t Going’, GloRilla raps from the perspective of a woman standing up against an abuser: “I’m gon’ die bout my respect […] Kill you bout that bread / Put it in your head.” While addressing domestic violence is crucial, the wonderfully ferocious drill beat is overshadowed by the song’s message that trivialises the issue, suggesting you should seek revenge via an ‘eye for an eye’ approach. ‘Stop Playing’ is also a song of two sides. Its message is powerful as GloRilla praises strong women: “Her problems, she smoke ‘em / They slept, she walk ‘em / She did it, she showed ‘em.” But her awkward flow upends things, making the combination of her bars and the melancholic beat feels forced.

As a body of work, ‘Glorious’ is uneven – there are a handful of certified hits and a bunch of questionable additions that suggest better quality control was needed here. But, with her undeniable energy and beautiful message of girl power, it’s still worth a listen, even if it doesn’t live up to the expectations that her attention-grabbing singles previously set.