I can still remember the first time I discovered West Side Gunn. I was on the bus after work, I saw the artwork for ‘Fly God Is An Awesome God 1’ and it intrigued me to the point of fascination, so I clicked play and the obsession began.
This man has a catalogue that is unmatched, from that first mentioned album to his ‘Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B’, they are two of my favourite rap albums of the modern era, and he’s still out here working, and with this latest album, he’s trying to outlap the other rappers twice over!
Brand new full-length album by WestSide Gunn. 12 tracks, 37 minutes, and production from the likes of
-MR GREEN
-CEE GEE
-DENNY LAFLARE
-CONDUCTOR WILLIAMS
-HARRY FRAUD
-DJ MUGGS
-MYLES
-CRUCIAL GUILLOTINE while he handles executive production himself!
Right off the bat, this production is beautiful! This feels like the classic Westside aura that I loved about the albums I mentioned above. Which is the fine line between cinematic and stripped-back and raw sounds and instrumentation.
I’m talking about those kinds of beats that highlight a few specific instruments that are turned masterful and crafted into gold.
For example, ‘AMIRA KITCHEN’ where we have a combination of delicate piano keys, minimalistic drum patterns, and gorgeous saxophone by JEREMY KERN!
Only a small handful of elements, yet CEE GEE and WestSide found a way to elevate and take these sounds to a new surreal plane and turn them into an unforgettable track!
Or we can even look at the track ‘POWERHOUSE HOBBS’ which has a different tone and sound structure than the one that came before but still has a similar formula.
On this track, we have some heavy banging drums with sharp and eerie chords with deep bass!
Once again, with only the essentials, they turn water into wine. A collection of skeletal instruments into a top hit! This is the magic that WestSide Gunn inspires and executes alongside his various producers!
This is why West is on everyone’s list of artists who have the best beat selection in the game. Because he chooses instrumentals that perfectly represent the ‘less is more’ blueprint and has become a household name with it, and this album is an absolutely incredible example of that!
West. What an original MC he is. He has a style many have tried to copy but none can master. No one can hope to replicate his infinite aura, energy, and charisma. His larger-than-life persona speaks for itself and then some.
With his high-pitched voice and over-the-top adlibs, he came into the game swinging and has refused to slow down since he started, and on this album, he sounds as hungry as he did on his first album!
As usual, he brings his colourful and sparking fast-paced flow that feels like a sonic bomb going off and exploding in every direction, hitting anyone and everyone in the radius!
He brings a special kind of street poetry to the table with his vivid imagery and off-the-cuff moments and stories that make him sound like a king!
With his creative and artistic pen game, he’s sure to leave any number of his lines engraved into your head to be memorised for months to come! Like ‘38 special, my mom said I was special’, something as simple as that can be left in the mind of the listener!
He’s like hip-hop’s Tarantino. Extreme, violent, and cinematic all in one. There’s only one FLYGOD, and this album and sequel are a cold reminder to NEVER look past the icon that is
WEST SIDE GUNN.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7oXDJH6q9NOxB0QyOiG4ko?si=7PyAUM5QQGqEKVWiDfYiFA
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