Key Glock - Glockoma 2 (LP) - Red w/ Splatter Vinyl

Key Glock’s Glockoma 2 lands like a gleaming slab of Memphis concrete, cool to the touch and hard as anything in his catalogue. Released on 24 February 2023 through Paper Route Empire, it’s a sequel in name to his 2018 tape, but it plays like a clear step up in focus. No guests, no filler, just Glock locked in with the sound that made him. In the long shadow of Young Dolph’s death, he doesn’t over-explain or get maudlin. He keeps it moving, and you feel the grief and grit at the edges of his voice rather than in big declarations.

Bandplay is the not-so-secret weapon again, shaping the record’s pulse with frosty keys, rubbery bass and hi-hats that flick like a lighter. The beats are deceptively simple, built for repetition and detail rather than fireworks. That suits Glock’s deadpan perfectly. He raps like someone who has nothing to prove to anyone, and the confidence works as a hook on its own. On singles like Work and From Nothin, you get the full picture: lines about stacking cash and staying out of the way, the quiet menace of someone who doesn’t need to shout, and a rhythmic pocket so tight you could park a ute in it. Dirt hits with that clean Memphis thump too, a reminder that the city’s minimalist swagger still cuts through in a playlist world.

What makes Glockoma 2 stick is the pacing. He doesn’t try to reinvent himself every track, he just chisels at the same block until the shape is undeniable. The hooks are short and sticky, often a clipped phrase braided into the beat, and the verses feel like quick jabs rather than haymakers. That economy has always been part of his charm, but here it’s sharper. You can tell he’s been touring and recording constantly because there’s no hesitation in the delivery. The bars snap into place, and he rides Bandplay’s loops with the ease of someone who knows exactly where the snare lands.

It’s also a record with a strong sense of continuity. Following Yellow Tape and Yellow Tape 2, Glockoma 2 keeps the run of no-feature projects alive, which is rarer than it should be in mainstream rap. The choice puts all the pressure on the beats and the writing, but it also gives the album a signature feel. When the deluxe edition arrived later in 2023, the expanded tracklist didn’t break the spell. If anything, it showed how deep the bench of this sound really is. Glock and Bandplay have built a lane that’s instantly recognisable without ever tipping into parody.

If you’re the sort who still loves a physical copy, Glockoma 2 vinyl is the way to hear the low end breathe. Those sub frequencies were made for a proper system, and the space in the mixes rewards volume. Key Glock vinyl has been creeping into more shop racks over the last few years, and this one earns a spot. If you’re crate digging around a Melbourne record store, keep an eye out, or buy Key Glock records online from one of the better indie shops that ship across the country. There’s been a steady appetite for Key Glock albums on vinyl, and it’s easy to see why. Records like this make sense in the home, not just the car, where that steady knock can fill a room. For anyone hunting new hip-hop on wax in vinyl records Australia circles, this is a safe pick that actually gets played, not just shelved.

Glockoma 2 works because it trusts the basics. The writing is tight, the beats hit, and the mood never wobbles. You can hear the legacy of Paper Route Empire running through it, not as a history lesson, but as a standard to meet. Key Glock doesn’t swing for an obvious crossover or chase a trend. He just sounds like himself, which in 2023 felt quietly radical. Spin it loud and you’ll get it. The album doesn’t arrive with a big thesis. It just shows up with presence, and that presence lingers long after the last 808 fades.