Buffalo native, Westside Gunn, continues his series of albums kickstarted by “Pray For Paris” with the new installment “Still Praying”. Following last year’s installment, “And Then You Pray For Me”, Gunn released two projects in 24 hours with “Still Praying’s” predecessor “11” coming out the night before. With “And Then You Pray For Me” being a switch-up from his usual work, fans built skepticism on Gunn’s future succeeding the album. Gunn quickly put this narrative to rest with this album.
First off, the mixtape released the night before, “11”, worked as an appetizer to the main course. The five-song track list brought a seemingly retro Gunn to the forefront. With this being the 11th “Hitler Wears Hermes” (HWH) entry, Gunn seems to have a specific style he’s perfected for these projects. “Big Dumb Ballad” and “Cain Tejada” accentuate the most enticing elements of Gunn making this 16-minute listen well worth the time.
The next night Gunn brought out the main course. While largely a one-note album lyrically, this project overall impressed me as a return to form for the “flygod.” In the first two intro tracks, Gunn brings himself in with a WWE-type intro showing his deep love for wrestling. “Beef Bar” opens up the album with DJ Drama welcoming the listeners to the “lifestyle of the rich and famous,” as Gunn easily flows and brags over the beat. Towards the end of this track, Gunn relents on his success and confidence where he promises “Flygod is an Awesome God 3” is on the way.
“Max Caster” is rather forgettable for me along with “Runway Pieces at the Last Supper” and “Duran Duran.” All of these songs aren’t bad, but rather run-of-the-mill Westside Gunn songs that bloat the tracklist.
Gunn hits a solid three-track run through the fifth and seventh songs on this album. The catalyst of those being “Dr. Britt Baker” where Gunn reflects on his past in the streets relenting on how God is his protector and how he can’t be messed with. Brother Tom Sos steps all over the second half of the track in which he expresses that Griselda won’t slow down for at least another 10 years. “I Know Verdy” and “Speedy 40” ride the wave and continue the flow of Gunn at his best. On “Speedy 40” Gunn hints at potentially making it to a HWH 15. Gunn mixes flows throughout these songs with a sense of free-flowing confidence displayed by Gunn.
“Bike Air interlude” breaks up the album with A.A Rashid speaking on the scientific and cultural innovation from Gunn.
“Free Shots” with Conway the Machine kicks off an even greater three-track run. The repeated sample with additional sampled vocals backed by the unbeatable chemistry of Gunn and Conway create one of their best records in either of their discographies. Up next is, in my opinion, the best song on the album. The title track “Still Praying.” This seven-minute ballad features a slue of Griselda’s greatest with Conway the Machine, Stove God Cooks, Benny the Butcher, and Boldy James all featured. This group project evenly distributes the workload, as everyone contributed a memorable verse with my personal favorite, brought by Boldy James. The beat is rather simplistic for a Gunn song, but with the quality verses spat by every artist the beat hardly matters. “Underground Kings” caps off these three standout songs with Gunn kicking off the song with his best lyrical performance where Gunn refers to his opponents as Harold Minor who was a subpar NBA player in his time in the league. Halfway through the song, Gunn’s daughter interrupts the action with a quick verse capped off with a reminder to stay humble. “LeSalle Station” closes out the album with a quick minute and 20-second long track where Raekwon starts off the track before Gunn hops into his rap. The track closes with sounds of gunshots as this return to form album commences.
First you Pray For Paris. And Then You Pray For Me. Today. We’re Still Praying.
