ALBUM REVIEW: Westside Gunn ‘And Then You Pray For Me’
Sports and Music editor Will Lyons takes a look at the latest release by Buffalo and Griselda’s own Westside Gunn. The brainchild behind the Griselda brand continues to up the ante on album curation and art.
The Griselda general Westside Gunn is back with his 5th studio album ‘And Then You Pray for Me’. The Buffalo Emcee looks to reprise his title as one of Hip-Hop’s greatest curators with carefully selected production, features and album artwork designed by the late Virgil Abloh. Gunn pulled out all the stops assembling a list of features that could make DJ Khaled envious with Rick Ross, Jeezy, Denzel Curry, Ty Dolla Sign, and a slew of frequent collaborators from the Griselda empire (Benny the Butcher, Stove God Cooks, Boldy James, Rome Streetz and Conway the Machine).
The 21 track project is another successful album in the masterfully crafted catalog of Westside Gunn. You can see a blend of the formula of soulful production with flashy lyrics that Gunn is known for along with some experimentation over trap beats that may not be as easy on the ears for day one fans. All in all the project has some really good tracks and is almost like a history lesson with appearances from DJ Swamp Izzo, Trapaholics and DJ Drama. With all of his love of fashion and being fly it is evident that Westside is a fan/student of rap which is why he has been able to carve out his own lane.
Standout Tracks
‘Mama’s Primetime’ ft. JID & Conway the Machine — Westside Gunn and Conway brought their trademark bars, energy and bravado to the track but the star of the show was Atlanta’s and Dreamville artist JID. After dropping ‘The Forever Story’ JID continues to show that he is one of the dopest in all of Hip-hop.
“B*tch, it’s Gunn and JID, a blind man can see the vibe is immaculate,
I never gotta try, it’s elaborate,
I adamantly move like a madman,
To the cash, I’m a magnet,
They baggin’ up the bullets in fragments,
I’m smokin’ on a pot for the cataracts,
I put the red dot on a MAGA hat,
That cracker pulled me over, look like Bob Saget,
I’m overseas, out in Paris, pants all saggin’,
I bet they paid me my whole fee like Lamar Jackson…” — JID went crazy on this‘Kitchen Lights’ ft. Stove God Cooks Gunn and Stove God are one of the most dynamic duos in rap right now and ‘Kitchen Lights’ is just another shining example. Stove God continues to bring a unique sound as a feature with witty bars and choruses sung in a manner that only he can (“The bricks shine different under them kitchen lights”). It feels authentic and that is important when you’re talking Griselda.
“You ever had to watch the work disappear?,
Water turn from foggy to clear, you just stand there and stare?,
TEC in the Fear of God sweats, he gon’ air sh*t (Brrt, baow, baow),
Tell ’em n*ggas they can’t mirror this,
Everything I whip is, like my wrist is, way ahead of its time,
Food for thought and the dishes like Pete Maravich’s (Woo),
God of the kitchen (Yeah), they should have listened (Yeah),
They couldn’t see my vision,
I had Chanel dreams and yayo wishes (I did),
I had to dodge the ringer with seven bricks in the car seat like an infant (I did),
Imma cook indefinite, I’m heaven-sent,
Sh*t get dirtier than Bill Laimbeer with the Pistons (Keep goin’)….” — Stove God with another standout feature‘Jalen Rose’ ft. Boldy James Boldy’s voice, flow and lyrics have made him a standout among fans that find pleasure in finding the gems outside the radio hits. The Detroit rapper has shown a tremendous work ethic and aptitude for standout features since the beginning of his time with Griselda and he really shines on ‘Jalen Rose’. One of Detroit’s best spitters on a track titles after one of the most famous hoopers from the D is fitting. Westside definitely hopped in his bag on this track as well rapping about hitting baby moms, Porsches and the usual Fly God antics.
“I’ve been serving fire on the hell block since I was knee-high to a water bug,
Damn near pulled a hamstring, blew my knee out first time I ever caught a run,
It was all or none and I was all-in with the fiends, tryna serve all of ‘em,
We was never into chasing clout, see my haters out and I’ma ball on ‘em,
.223s left the paint chipped,
227, know we change shit,
Niggas know the whole gang rich,
Gutter lane and I don’t lane switch,
All blue strips, fuck a bank slip, we be game timing, but this ain’t Twitch,
Lil’ cuddy fighting four attempts, hit the double frame on thе same switch,
Dropping bags off big as Saint Nick, they say, “Bo Jack, that nigga can’t miss….” — Boldy James starts ‘Jalen Rose’ off with an insane verse‘The Revenge of Flips Leg’ ft. Rome Streetz When Westside Gunn wants to really rap he can really provide some great stuff. He and Rome Streetz join forces to showcase that feeling of throwback Hip-Hop and the hustlers that they are.
“Ayo, stepped in my dope spot, Lord,
I had the door swinging, broom sweeping up residue,
I seen Bruce fiendin’, said he needed three more dollars (Ahahaha),
I told him, “Boom, keep it” (Conductor),
Sherell shot him the cash, he jumped up screamin’,
Landed on the third floor, eatin’ Thai, rockin’ furs,
Shit gettin’ dry, use my passports to get them birds,
Hear me out, we break ’em all down, go to Jackson,
Plus Sherell go to Jackson State, we could tax ‘em…” — Westside Gunn on Flips Leg“Aimin’ fire at your favorite (Baow, baow),
Bum-ass n*ggas is fugazi, I spit in all of they faces (Ahaha),
Flagrant, was pushin’ Percocets on the pavement,
Now we in Paris posin’ in Prada like it’s the Vogue pages (Conductor, uh-huh),
All praise is due, I teach you n*ggas like I’m Noble Drew,
We global, you not even close to notable (You n*ggas trash),
We eatin’ Nobu, blow C-notes, get paid for quotables
Take notice, I’m a star like the logo on Golden Goose,
Allergic to broke, my only focus is foldin’ loot…” — Rome Streetz on Flips Leg
Conclusion
We are in a time where artists are making albums too long, it is rare to create a 21 track product and keep the listener engaged for the entire duration but Westside Gunn was successful. I am not crazy about the beat selection on “Kostas” as the trap beat doesn’t fit Gunn, Benny or Conway’s styles and I feel like ‘1989’ was a miss as well. With that being said 18 (no knock for track one being the intro) tracks out of 21 being quality is hard to do. Gunn brings something familiar while still exploring different sounds and collaborations on each product. The Griselda General gave fans his standard of fly talk, hustler bravado and great production/features to put up one of the projects that should be definitely standout from 2023 releases. Westside Gunn earns a 8.5/10 for a project with plenty of replay value and a plethora of great collaborations.
