Glockoma 2: An Unexpectedly Clear Vision
Falcon Rating: 4/5
May 3, 2023
Glockoma 2 is Memphis rapper Key Glock’s 9th studio album, and it is his best yet. In true Key Glock fashion, Glockoma 2’s 15 tracks have no features. Glock delivers simple, gritty, and hard-hitting lyrics over well-selected beats. Other than his past two collaborative albums with the late Young Dolph (Dum and Dummer 1 and 2), Glock has never featured a single other artist. This determination to make music solo has pushed the responsibility to keep things fresh onto Glock’s shoulders. On Glockoma 2, he rises to the challenge.
Glock employs a variety of flows that bring uniqueness to each track while staying true to his signature straight-to-the-point delivery. His beats make for subtle earworms: each one a combination of repetitive and catchy samples layered with sharp drums that work in tandem, neither overpowering the other. Every song on the tracklist is strong in its own right and has something distinct to offer.
When you compare Glockoma 2 with recently released mainstream rap albums such as Gunna’s DS4EVER and Lil Baby’s It’s Only Me, which are painfully monotonous, and Drake’s Her Loss which lacks any kind of cohesion, its maturity is immediately evident. Glock is afflicted by neither of these issues. He ties Glockoma 2 together with similar beats and style in each song, but with fresh energy in each one as well. He evenly distributes quality, with strong opening tracks like “Dirt” and “Work”, “Designer Down” and “2 for 1” in the middle, and “F*ck a Feature” to cap the album off.
Although these songs were some of my personal favorites, they are by no means objectively the best on the album—every song on the tracklist is strong in its own right and has something distinct to offer. This consistency is not only impressive when compared with other artists, but it also shows growth when compared with the rest of Glock’s catalog. The centerpieces of most of Glock’s most popular songs (“Ambition for Cash”, “Gang Sh*t no Lame Sh*t”, “Mr. Glock”, etc.) are prominent samples and booming drums. In a time where many rappers—especially in the New York drill scene—rely heavily on samples and drums to draw buzz and appeal around their music, Glock does not conform to this trend. It would have been easy for Glock to chase hits on Glockoma 2 by following this formula, and potentially sacrifice the quality of the overall album, but he does not.
Glockoma 2 is very advanced when compared to other recent mainstream albums. In a climate where most mainstream rap fans’ attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, the decision to make an album for the sake of making an album instead of throwing together a collection of singles is both bold and unprecedented. Although more niche recently released albums like Westside Gunn’s 10 and J.I.D’s The Forever Story bring lyricism and flow at a level that I doubt Glock will ever reach, this doesn’t bother me too much, because Glock is still so far ahead of other more mainstream rappers. I thoroughly enjoyed the Glockoma 2 experience, and deeply appreciate its place in 2023.
This article also appears in our March 2023 print edition.
