Westside Gunn - Pray For Paris ALBUM REVIEW
Like myself, not a lot of people have heard of Westside Gunn before the release of his latest album, Pray For Paris. The record label he founded, Griselda, was with his labelmates Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher. Of course, both of these artists appear on Pray For Paris, but they all have had recognition at some point. Westside Gunn first got acclaim and attention from his series of Hitler Wears Hermes mixtapes that have been going since 2011, along with his Griselda group record WWCD, which is one of the most overlooked and underrated rap albums of the past decade. So now, since I have you somewhat educated on Westside Gunn and Griselda, let me take you into the mesmerizing record that is Pray For Paris.
Pray For Paris is one of those records that is chock-full of soul sample-heavy instrumentals that are manipulated to create chills down your spine. As a mainstream example, it’s a more lo-fi approach to the instrumental to Dreamville’s “Under The Sun” from Revenge of the Dreamers III. As a more experimental example, some of the instrumentals can be described as tracks that were left off of Earl Sweatshirt’s more recent projects like FEET OF CLAY because they weren’t experimental enough. The production on Pray For Paris is some of the best that this year has to offer so far, and Westside Gunn’s midtempo, druggy flow perfects them. The best moments on the record come from Westside Gunn and his aforementioned Griselda cohorts on “George Bondo” and “Allah Sent Me” doing what they do best: become one and just make great music. What originally drew me to this record is its surprisingly high profile features. The two biggest features, Joey Bada$$ and Tyler, The Creator, are both on “327,” but Westside Gunn nearly overshadows them both. Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano feature on “$500 Ounces,” which is a banger for the ages. There are also many references to the WWE/WWF, with a handful of tracks containing a sample from the wrestling superstar The Million Dollar Man. Even one of the songs is called “Shawn vs. Flair,” another highlight.
There are some missteps, though. The biggest ones are that some of the tracks are way too underdeveloped. “Euro Step,” “Party wit Pop Smoke,” and “No Vacancy” would’ve all been great tracks, but they were too short for me to leave enough of an impression. This part wasn’t a big problem for me, but I know that there will be some that are annoyed by this. Many, if not all, ad-libs on Pray For Paris consist of Gunn shouting “BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM” endlessly. While it was fine at first, it got to be a little grading as the record went on, but it’s more of a taste thing than a negativity thing.
Pray For Paris is a breakout record for not just Westside Gunn, but for Griselda as a whole. As stated, the best moments are from the three members just doing what they do. I hope that because of this, he will gain some new fans of his. He certainly gained a new fan in me because of Pray For Paris. Like me, a lot of people went back through his other things to see how he was, and I can happily say that he’s been pretty consistent. It just happened to be that, albeit not the perfect album, Pray For Paris was where he finally made it.
7/10
Stream Pray For Paris here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
I also can't stop looking at that left nipple, not sure why.
Pray For Paris is one of those records that is chock-full of soul sample-heavy instrumentals that are manipulated to create chills down your spine. As a mainstream example, it’s a more lo-fi approach to the instrumental to Dreamville’s “Under The Sun” from Revenge of the Dreamers III. As a more experimental example, some of the instrumentals can be described as tracks that were left off of Earl Sweatshirt’s more recent projects like FEET OF CLAY because they weren’t experimental enough. The production on Pray For Paris is some of the best that this year has to offer so far, and Westside Gunn’s midtempo, druggy flow perfects them. The best moments on the record come from Westside Gunn and his aforementioned Griselda cohorts on “George Bondo” and “Allah Sent Me” doing what they do best: become one and just make great music. What originally drew me to this record is its surprisingly high profile features. The two biggest features, Joey Bada$$ and Tyler, The Creator, are both on “327,” but Westside Gunn nearly overshadows them both. Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano feature on “$500 Ounces,” which is a banger for the ages. There are also many references to the WWE/WWF, with a handful of tracks containing a sample from the wrestling superstar The Million Dollar Man. Even one of the songs is called “Shawn vs. Flair,” another highlight.
There are some missteps, though. The biggest ones are that some of the tracks are way too underdeveloped. “Euro Step,” “Party wit Pop Smoke,” and “No Vacancy” would’ve all been great tracks, but they were too short for me to leave enough of an impression. This part wasn’t a big problem for me, but I know that there will be some that are annoyed by this. Many, if not all, ad-libs on Pray For Paris consist of Gunn shouting “BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM” endlessly. While it was fine at first, it got to be a little grading as the record went on, but it’s more of a taste thing than a negativity thing.
Pray For Paris is a breakout record for not just Westside Gunn, but for Griselda as a whole. As stated, the best moments are from the three members just doing what they do. I hope that because of this, he will gain some new fans of his. He certainly gained a new fan in me because of Pray For Paris. Like me, a lot of people went back through his other things to see how he was, and I can happily say that he’s been pretty consistent. It just happened to be that, albeit not the perfect album, Pray For Paris was where he finally made it.
7/10
Stream Pray For Paris here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
I also can't stop looking at that left nipple, not sure why.
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