2024 is the year of GloRilla. The Memphis rapper’s stock has been on the rise, thanks to a series of high-profile singles (“Yeah Glo!” and “TGIF”) and collaborations (“Wanna Be” with Megan Thee Stallion and its Cardi B-assisted remix). Her mix of self-empowerment and street bars quickly made her a fan favorite. When she made herself known in 2022 after signing with Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group, she developed a base of women and men alike, signaling a universal appeal that not every rapper in the mainstream today can say they have. In April, she released her second mixtape, Ehhthang Ehhthang, twelve tracks that show the MC staying true to her roots en route to what would become a banner year for the 25-year-old.
GloRilla’s 2024 takeover culminated with the release of her debut album, GLORIOUS. In true GloRilla fashion, GLORIOUS features a number of hard-hitting beats, in line with the sound of modern Memphis hip-hop. But, she also expands her palette with some more gospel-inspired sounds that fall out of her typical crunk and trap comfort zones. The result is a unique soundscape that often complements GloRilla and the extensive list of featured artists very well. Here are the seven best beats on GLORIOUS.
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7. “RAIN DOWN ON ME” (feat. Kirk Franklin, Chandler Moore, Kierra Sheard & Maverick City Music)
GloRilla was born Gloria Hallelujah Woods. Perhaps it is unsurprising that a woman with Hallelujah as her middle name would make such a gospel-inspired track, but that is exactly what “RAIN DOWN ON ME” is. The track features gospel titan Kirk Franklin, Chandler Moore, Kierra Sheard, and Maverick City Music. It is a unique track on GLORIOUS, pulling off an effective gospel/trap mixture. The piano and choral adlibs sound like something one would hear at a Black church. It retains the spirit of GloRilla’s typical flair with an 808 pattern that gives her an actual beat to rap to.
The final minute sees the track go from a somewhat standard hip-hop song to a full-on “take us to church” moment. Franklin shifts the spotlight onto the choir, who sing over what has become a full gospel track, complete with hand clapping and an organ. The complete product is something that is not what GloRilla normally brings to the table. It is an admirable tonal shift after the line of party bangers and Trap & B that precedes it.
6. “DON’T DESERVE” (feat. Muni Long)
“DON’T DESERVE,” the seventh track on GLORIOUS, is a much softer cut. Produced by Hawky, Drumdummie, Fraxille, and Max Hummel, it is a song about valuing oneself and wanting friends to value themselves. The beat is sentimental, with a piano loop that makes it reminiscent of an early Polo G ballad–808s, piano. The bass will still sound good in the car. But, the beat’s sparseness is what makes it effective. It does not overwhelm and gives space for an impassioned performance by R&B star Muni Long, who steals the show vocally. “DON’T DESERVE” is not as high-energy of a song as “TGIF” or “HOW I LOOK.” However, it is a welcome entry on the tracklist. Its laidback beat and subdued delivery (by GloRilla’s standards) makes it a lowkey high point on GLORIOUS.
5. “HOLLON”
“HOLLON,” the album’s second track, is another one that revisits the crunk well. Horns, an ominous bell, and some more big bass make the track (produced by SkipOnDaBeat and FnZ) go. It’s another track that has a darker feel to it. If a DJ played this song at a party, it would probably be in everyone’s best interest to move out of the way.
It’s an early hit on the tracklist that sets the tone for what to expect across the rest of GloRilla’s debut album: a series of loud, banging beats, and for Glo’s confident flow to match the energy of those loud, banging, beats. “HOLLON” is another high point on the production side of the album. It’s one that longtime fans of GloRilla will surely gravitate toward, as it sounds like something that would have been right at home on both Ehhthang Ehhthang and the preceding Anyway, Life’s Great… mixtapes.
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4. “LET HER COOK”
“LET HER COOK” is the thirteenth track on GLORIOUS, and it is an appropriately named one. Produced by London Jae, Pooh Beatz, Squat, and Coupe, this track is another banger. The horn returns, and the particular loop on this track has a similar pattern to Pharoahe Monch’s “Simon Says,” though it is not quite as in-your-face as that track is. There is a dinging sound deep in the mix that emphasizes her bars like the “ayy” adlib does on “TGIF.” Of course, the bass is once again at the top of mind. It feels like Glo’s intention on every song is to create a track that’ll bump regardless of where it’s being played. Like so many of the production choices on GLORIOUS, this is another great one. Even towards the end of the album, GloRilla wants to keep the energy high, something that she excels at doing.
3. “TGIF”
“It’s 7 P.M. Friday, it’s 95 degrees / I ain’t got no n***a, and no n***a ain’t got me” has become an oft-repeated opening line for many this year. Those bars represent a level of freedom that comes with being out of a relationship. They also would not hit as hard if they were said over any other beat. “TGIF” remains a 2024 highlight for Glo.
Produced by Zenjikozen, Brophy, and Jess Jackson, “TGIF” is a downtempo track with a persistent horn and thumping bass, as well as a repeated “ayy” adlib that punctuates many of the bars on the song. No one could have predicted “TGIF” was going to dominate the rap game in 2024 as much as it has. It is one of the only hip-hop songs to consistently be in the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 since its June release. That is a particularly impressive feat as the charts have favored pop and country the most this year. It’s easy to see why, as like much of GLORIOUS, “TGIF” is radio and party-ready. It is a 2024 banger and even on an album full of new material, a standout, anthemic track.
2. “STEP” (feat. Bossman Dlow)
“STEP,” the album’s twelfth track features another rising star, Tallahassee rapper and recent XXL Freshman, Bossman Dlow. The bass-heavy beat sounds like GloRilla taking a trip into Dlow’s world. The track has a type of bounce that can really only be found on a Florida rapper’s song. In that regard, it takes Glo a bit out of her comfort zone. But in the nascent years of her career, she has shown the ability to flow over just about anything you ask her to.
Her and Dlow sound at home over the bass, piano, and bell (which underscores the entire track). It is another track that, like “HOW I LOOK,” and like much of the tracklist, is immediately ready to make its way into DJ sets at most parties. The beat doubles as an opportunity for both Glo and Dlow to showcase their talents, and those who may have been previously unfamiliar with Dlow can get a good feel for exactly what he brings to his own music on “STEP.”
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1. “HOW I LOOK” (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
“HOW I LOOK” is the tenth track on GLORIOUS and the latest collaboration between GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion. It is also the hardest song on the album. The production, handled by Yo Gotti (who has thirteen credits across the album’s fifteen tracks), Go Grizzly, B100, and London Jae, is the type of trunk-rattling sound fans have come to expect from those in the Memphis scene. It’s dark but still energetic, with some heavy bass and an eerie whistling sound buried in the mix. It feels like something that Duke Deuce, a Memphis contemporary, would rap over, and it is the most that Glo dips into the Memphis crunk sound on the album.
“HOW I LOOK” has a party-ready feel, thanks in part to the self-assured bars put forth by the two artists on the song, but also because the beat is one that could send even the most reserved person to the dance floor. It’s the standout moment on Glo’s debut and more than ready to be the next big single from this part of her career.
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