Kirk Franklin Defends GloRilla Against Gospel Critics & Haters

Kirk Franklin defended GloRilla after religious critics took issue with their gospel songs. He said the backlash hurt him and didn’t give enough credit to the Memphis rapper’s success.

The gospel star addressed their work together in a Big Boy’s Neighborhood interview.

The conversation covered his faith, his approach to gospel music and the scrutiny aimed at his collaboration with GloRilla.

“It’s been breaking my heart some of the ridicule that some of the religious have given her,” Franklin said. “That she’s not holy enough or church enough to be able to do a song.”

Franklin said some critics thought GloRilla wasn’t holy enough to make a gospel song. The pair worked together on “Rain Down On Me” and “This Time.”

He also made it clear she didn’t need his help to make money. GloRilla had built her own place in Hip-Hop, he said, and he took issue with people trying to control who could talk about Jesus.

The situation hit Franklin hard when GloRilla shared her own perspective on the criticism. She pointed to scripture to make her case, asking Franklin a question that left him emotionally moved. “The Bible says that the rocks are going to cry out to God. That the rocks can praise God. That the mountains can praise God. She said, if a rock can praise God, why can’t I?” Franklin recalled. “Bro, I had no All I had was heartbreak. Because that is such a painful question.”

GloRilla’s connection to church music began well before those collaborations. In a 2023 GQ interview, she described growing up in a strict Christian home where secular music was forbidden.

She was one of 10 children and spent much of her childhood being homeschooled.

She told GQ that she and her siblings found ways to hear rap through BET’s “106 & Park” and Lil Wayne and Drake CDs they stole from Walmart. They copied music onto a PlayStation. Gospel was the music they were allowed to hear at home.

Franklin had also discussed criticism from within his own community during a separate interview with Audacy’s Big Mack earlier this month. He said he signed up for the fight to reach people with his faith and his sound more than 30 years ago.

The harder part, he said, was people close to that religious world refusing to understand his approach. He said, “what has been difficult is sometimes a rejection that you get from your own community.”

The latest discussion came as Franklin prepared to release I Am What I Am on October 30.

His current chapter also includes a partnership with Uptown Records, alongside Fo Yo Soul Entertainment and TRIBL Music Group.

AllHipHop reported the deal in September. The label founded by Andre Harrell helped build the careers of Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Guy and Mary J. Blige.