Glorb is an anonymous songwriter, music producer and rapper known for his songs based around the lives of different characters from the popular television show Spongebob Squarepants.[1]

Glorb frequently uses different stage names in place of the characters' real names in his songs, using names that are a combination of real rappers' stage names and their own names seen on the original series, such as Larry the Lobster being dubbed as "A$AP Larry" (a spin-off of ASAP Rocky) and Sandy Cheeks as "Sandy Thee Squirrel" (a spin-off of Megan Thee Stallion) respectively.[2][3] He also uses names that are a combination of the characters' original series names and a form of slang, such as SpongeBob being dubbed as "SpongeOpp" (with "Opp" being a slang for opposition)[4], Mr. Krabs as "Mr. Swags" (with "Swag" as slang for stolen goods)[5], Plankton as "Dankton" (with "Dank" being a slang for a type of meme)[6] and Squidward as "Squidwock" (with "Wock" as a slang for lean).[7]

Glorb, unlike other rappers, is notable for utilizing artificial intelligence-based voice filters of the characters he portrays to create his songs. In some of his earlier songs, he used generative AI tools to create entire music videos based on an original image prompt.[8] He has received criticism for the use of his artificial intelligence-based voice filters, with some arguing his songs' status of legality saying the "songs are copyright infringement".[9]

Music career

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Early success: "The Formula", "STD", "Krab Walk" & rise to fame

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In 2023, Glorb posted a teaser of his debut track "The Formula" on TikTok which was sung by himself using a voice filter for Mr. Krabs. Later, on 4 June 2023, he posted a full version of the song on YouTube with an accompanying music video that utilized generative AI. As of 10 June 2024, the video has garnered 1.8 million views, and as a result, this song launched him into mainstream popularity. Glorb then released a second song, "STD", on YouTube on 11 June 2023 featuring an accompanying lyric video which was again sung by himself using a voice filter for Plankton. The video also utilized generative AI technology seen in the music video for "The Formula" in the background, and has garnered 5 million views as of 10 June 2024. A third song was released on 16 June 2023 titled Krab Walk with the same format as "STD" for the music video, and was sung once again by himself, using a voice filter for Mr. Krabs as a "response" to "STD", which as of 10 June 2024 has garnered 1.1 million views. Since then, as of 10 June 2024, Glorb has released 19 songs, with his most popular being The Bottom 2 with 12 million views.

Reception

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Reception to Glorb's songs has been generally positive, albeit some legal criticism[9] on the use of AI-based voice filters based on copyrighted characters owned by Nickelodeon, in turn owned by its parent company Paramount Global.

Popular YouTuber MoistCr1TiKaL posted a review of Glorb's music on 15 January 2024 and discussed theories on how he created it.[10]

Interview with MoistCr1TiKaL

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On 30 April 2024, MoistCr1TiKaL posted a video of an interview he had with Glorb discussing his identity, his influences, the process by which he creates his music and visuals for his music videos, his presence and followings on Spotify, TikTok and YouTube[11], an unreleased song based around characters in the popular television show Family Guy, the concept of his music videos and the plot of each of them, the idea of creating his own television show and what is to come next for him as well as everyone else that works with him on his production.[12] The interview was well-received, garnering 1.3 million views on YouTube as of 10 June 2024.

Identity

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Glorb has been the subject of speculation from his fans about his actual identity since he began producing his music, and has given numerous hints throughout the creation of his music videos and song covers as to who he is. Many of his fans claim that he is another rapper, YNG Martyr, primarily due to his mentioning of having previously been in the rap industry. He has also been correlated to him due to the similarity of the voices used to create his songs, their fashion styles, the fact that his interview was in a room containing a pillow which some speculate is the same pillow seen in a room of Martyr's, the fact that the song cover for "STD" contains a ketchup bottle marked "YNG Sauce" and the fact that the music video for Martyr's song Guapanese has a similar production format to his own music and lyric videos.

References

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  1. ^ "The Quality Of A Sh**post Should Not Be This Good: Who is Glorb?". Passionfruit. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ Glorb - DUMB BELL (Feat. A$AP Larry). YouTube. Glorb. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Glorb & Sandy Thee Squirrel - MHMM (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO). YouTube. Glorb. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ SpongeOpp - FUN (Official Lyric Video). YouTube. Glorb. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Mr Swags - THE FORMULA (OFFICIAL AUDIO). YouTube. Glorb. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Dankton - STD (Official Lyric Video). YouTube. Glorb. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ SQUIDWOCK SOLOS 💯. YouTube. Glorb. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "AI's quiet creep into music punctuated by 'SpongeBob' voices and a secretive artist called Glorb". NBC News. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Are Glorb's AI-Generated SpongeBob Raps Legal?". Northeastern Global News. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  10. ^ Best Use of AI So Far. YouTube. MoistCr1TiKaL. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "SpongeBob-spoofer Glorb has nearly 1 million listeners on Spotify". Musically. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  12. ^ I Interviewed Glorb. YouTube. MoistCr1TiKaL. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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