*Kirk Franklin is at it again, creating music that can grab the attention of both the church and the streets.
The 20-time Grammy Award-winning gospel innovator has released “This Time,” a new single featuring Memphis hip-hop star GloRilla.
Franklin gave listeners an early taste of the track during an appearance on “Joe and Jada.”
Eyes closed and head intensely bobbing to the beat, Franklin looked completely locked in before the song had even officially arrived.
That preview offered an early glimpse of a collaboration that once again finds Franklin bridging gospel tradition and hip-hop energy without watering down either.
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Praise Through the Pressure
“This Time” addresses the pressures and problems people are facing while pushing a message of faith through difficult circumstances. Its “hands in the air” refrain turns the familiar gesture into encouragement to praise despite what’s happening around you.
The production interpolates Mandrill’s “Children of the Sun,” filling the track with triumphant horns, crisp handclaps and a big, sanctuary-ready chorus. Franklin brings his trademark energy while GloRilla answers with the Memphis flavor that makes the collaboration feel less like an experiment and more like a natural collision of two musical worlds.
GloRilla Takes Her Turn at the Mic
The “From The Block” performance keeps the presentation direct. GloRilla delivers her verse into a microphone suspended in midair as Franklin and a crowd surround the performance, with people holding signs behind them.
“You blessed me so much and it’s the fact I know you still ain’t done,” GloRilla raps.
From the rap to the rhythm, “This Time” lands as another banger while showing that GloRilla can ride a gospel-infused beat with the same confidence she brings to hip-hop.
Franklin and GloRilla Run It Back
This isn’t Franklin and GloRilla’s first trip together. She previously recruited him for “Rain Down On Me,” from her debut album “GLORIOUS.” The collaboration went on to win the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award at the 2025 BET Awards.
EURweb previously covered Franklin defending his collaborations with GloRilla and other secular artists, including the criticism those musical partnerships sometimes generate. EURweb’s previous Kirk Franklin and GloRilla coverage
‘I Am What I Am’ Arrives Next
“This Time” previews Franklin’s 14-track album “I Am What I Am,” scheduled for Oct. 30.
Apple Music album listing the project follows his August release “Thank You for Everything” featuring gospel powerhouse Karen Clark Sheard.
For Franklin and GloRilla, “This Time” builds on a pairing that has already connected gospel and hip-hop audiences. Now they’re running it back — with hands in the air.
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