Kirk Franklin Releases GloRilla Collaboration ‘This Time’
The GloRilla-assisted track previews Franklin’s 14th solo album, ‘I Am What I Am,’ due October 30.
Kirk Franklin has released “This Time,” a new single featuring GloRilla, via Uptown Records. The track previews his 14th solo album, I Am What I Am, which is scheduled for release on October 30. The collaboration brings Franklin together with the Memphis rapper as he begins the rollout for the new project.
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“This Time” interpolates Mandrill’s “Children Of The Sun,” using prominent horn lines and handclaps as part of its arrangement. The single adds another hip-hop collaboration to Franklin’s catalog, which has previously included work with Chance the Rapper, alongside pop and R&B collaborators such as Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake and Demi Lovato.
The new track follows “Thank You For Everything,” Franklin’s recent single featuring Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters. Franklin performed the song at the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards for its live television debut, and its video later made its broadcast debut on BET Her. According to a press release, “Thank You For Everything” has also become the fastest-growing record at Gospel radio.
I Am What I Am arrives after Franklin entered a partnership with Uptown Records in conjunction with his Fo Yo Soul Entertainment and TRIBL Music Group. The album follows his 2023 release Father’s Day, which earned Franklin his 20th Grammy Award and included the No. 1 song “All Things.”
Franklin has spent more than three decades working across gospel, R&B, soul, hip-hop and pop, releasing 21 albums and collaborating across genres. His recent projects have also included the SiriusXM channel Kirk Franklin’s Praise, executive-producing credits on BET’s Kingdom Business and Lifetime’s Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas, and the 2025 launch of his online series Den Of Kings.
