Album Review: GloRilla, Glorious

GloRilla

Glorious (released Oct. 11, 2024)

The ladies are running hip-hop in 2024, and I’m here for it.

As of this writing, Rapsody’s Please Don’t Cry is looking like the runaway contender for album of the year.

And, no, I’m not just talking best rap album of the year. I mean THE best album of the year.

Doechii’s latest, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is a potential top five album of the year as well. A few months back, Megan thee Stallion dropped her best project to date. Che Noir is continuing her streak of incredible guest spots. And even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of her album, Latto’s hilarious “Brokey” has been in constant rotation.

But, um, for the sake of your mental health, feel free to ignore Ice Spice and Sexyy Red. They all can’t be winners.

Besides, who needs them when we have GloRilla? Her rise to the rap pantheon is one most feel-good stories in recent years.

Glo burst on the scene seemingly out of nowhere with 2022’s “FNF,” which became a summer sensation. Her follow up, “Tomorrow” kept the momentum rolling. Real talk, I wasn’t a fan of either, although “Tomorrow” did give us the incredible quote: “Everyday the sun won’t shine, but that’s why I love tomorrow.”

As the so-so singles continued to trickle in, her fame was building, but so was the criticism.

But she was listening. And she got better.

By the time she dropped her mixtape Ehhthang Ehhthang earlier this year, even I was screaming YEAHHHH GLO along with the rest of the world.

Between her infectious charisma, her unapologetically Southern dialect, ultra- aggressive delivery and her surprisingly transparent and introspective outlook on life, a star was born before our eyes.

Now, I wouldn’t say that Glorious, Glo’s debut, is a perfect album – in fact, far from it – but it’s likely the breakout LP that could set the tone for a very successful career.

Glo’s most endearing personality trait is her honesty. On the album “Intro” she outright says “I love criticism … learn from your mistakes and you do better,” while also tossing in her trademark brand of Memphis empowerment: “Yeah, I make mistakes, but don’t nothin’ beat a failure but a try.”

One mistake Glo never makes is being overshadowed by her many guest stars. In the majority of cases, she doesn’t take the back seat and finds great chemistry with her peers. “Procedure” has Glo and Latto tag teaming the track like Styles P and Jadakiss in the 00s, with Glo’s one liners stealing the show: “Only time a n**** got power over me, he payin’ the light bill.” “How I Look” rekindles her partnership with Meg to create the prettiest fight music you’ve ever heard. And I’m always down for a legit rap/sung collaboration when rappers are paired with actual R&B artists. Muni Long handles hook duties for “Don’t Deserve,” a message of empowerment for women trapped in destructive relationships. The sequencing is perfect – the previous track, “Stop Playing” is an anthem of self-affirmations, while “Don’t Deserve” is a reminder to her friend – and herself – that she’s worthy of real love.

That’s a lot of insight from someone who was bragging about her “moose knuckle” a few tracks prior on “TGIF,” but that’s why you shouldn’t underestimate Glo’s range, nor her heart.

Speaking of, when word leaked that “Rain Down on Me” would feature a ton of gospel greats, including Kirk Franklin and Chandler Moore, Kierra Sheard, and Maverick City Music, the Internet was aghast. But I wasn’t shocked. Glo’s government name is Gloria Hallelujah after all, and she grew up singing in the choir – she knows the Lord like she knows her moose knuckle:

I know I’m a sinner, Lord, and I know I might sin again
So thank You for not givin’ up and still givin’ me the strength to win
Protect me from the evil that I can’t see with my eyes
And if it’s any blessing-blockers ’round me, help me cut them ties

It’s delivered with devout sincerity. And I, for one, welcome the return of gospel breaks in rap albums, among all the sex and carnage. It’s very 90s.

Like the combo of “Stop Playing” and “Don’t Deserve,” “Rain Down on Me” transitions nicely into “Glo’s Prayer,” where she has just a lil’ talk with Jesus about how garbage her man is: “Lord, I thank You for this man, but can You come back and get him?” It’s hilarious, but she means every word.

And don’t worry, if all this is too deep for you, Glo has no problem marauding the remaining tracks like a true child of Memphis. The highlight is probably “Let Her Cook,” where the brass section’s horns give flashbacks of Biggie’s Kick in the Door sample of “I Put a Spell on You.” The HBCUs are gonna go nuts with this track during halftime.

But as I mentioned above, there are a few rookie mistakes that pull the album down a few notches. “Hollon” and “TGIF” have become decently successful singles in recent weeks, but there’s something missing. Yeah, they’re catchy, but they’re also pretty forgettable. Also, even though Glo holds up her end of the bargain on the tracks with features, some of the guest don’t connect. Fridayy’s T-Pain tribute act distracts rather than adds to “Queen of Memphis” and then we get the ACTUAL T-Pain for “I Luv Her,” which sounds like every other song he screeched over in 2009.

I was a fan of the first two-thirds of “Step,” with Glo flexing and listing her demands like a kid berating a mall Santa, until Bossman Dlo (two of my favorite Attitude Era wrestlers, BTW) came in stumbling all over the beat. It’s the same story for “Whatchu Kno About Me,” which flips the “Wipe Me Down” beat expertly … and then here comes Sexyy Red talking about putting a pole in somebody’s teeth. OK, ma’am.

Glo will be the first to tell you she’s a work in progress, but the fact that she’s putting in work at this level makes it so easy to root for her. Even with a few misguided features, there’s much more to love about Glorious than to hate. She can only go up from here.

YEAHHHH GLO

Best tracks: “Procedure,” “Let Her Cook,” “Don’t Deserve”

4 stars out of 5