by Jamil Weeks

Westside Gunn is an anomaly in hip hop. Priding himself on being more of a curator than a rapper, Gunn has carved out his own niche in the rap game that has him standing in a class of his own. As the unofficial leader of the GxFR campaign, Gunn’s projects, whether it be mixtapes or studio albums, are some of the most anticipated releases from the Griselda movement.His latest effort, And Then You Pray For Me, is no exception. 2023 has been a relatively quiet year for Griselda. However, Gunn has plans to shake up the industry with his usual brand of grimy, spooky tunes, just in time for Halloween. The difference is that with And Then You Pray For Me, Gunn uncharacteristically shifts gears to expand the sound of Griselda to reach a wider audience.

Gunn has throwback, underground sound that is reminiscent of golden era 90’s rap music. And Then You Pray for Me is no exception.Featuring production from Beat Butcha, Daringer, Rza, Denny LaFlare, Conductor Williams, and others, Gunn continues delivering that signature gutter sound that has become the standard for the Griselda brand we all know and love. The album opens with “Mama’s Primetime.Here Gunn rhymes about the obstacles he has overcome while maintaining his integrity over hard-hitting drums and trademark eerie melodies. The boom bap throwback nostalgia continues with records like “Suicide in Selfridges”, “FLYGOD 2X”, and “The Revenge of Flips Leg”, which features Rome Streetz performing surgery over a head-nodding Conductor Williams beat. Gunn seems at his most comfortable on these records, as this is what we love about Westside Gunn. Likening himself to a living God in the flesh and spitting the type of braggadocios rhymes that leave haters punching the air like Tre in Boyz N the Hood. Westside also proves that when he really puts forth the effort, he is not a bad lyricist.

Like his previous efforts, amidst the sinister vibes of the album is a balance of deep, soulful production where Gunn unveils his versatility as an artist and a curator. Even though this is a Westside Gunn album make no mistake, the star of the album is Stove God Cooks. On the heartfelt drum-less “Kitchen Lights”, Gunn and Stove paint a picture of their tough upbringing and the harsh realities of street life. The duo continues to impress on “House of Glory” (a beat that sounds tailor-made for Ghostface Killah), where they recruit the Zig Zag Zig Allah, Rza. Despite the subject matter being cliché (haters and success), the chemistry between the pair is undeniable. And Then You Pray For Me makes you wonder what an entire Stove album executive produced by Gunn would sound like. The album concludes with the title track, where Gunn allows KayCyy the opportunity to close out the record. Everything is seamlessly tied together with religious themes of using the power of prayer and faith to remain strong throughout life’s torrential storms.

Where the album begins to lose steam is when Gunn deviates from the proven Griselda formula. In the case of this album, one should approach the music with an open mind. To be fair to Gunn, he has never been a stranger to taking risks, as proven with songs like “French Toast” from Pray For Paris. Here, however, the album incorporates more of a trap sound than Griselda fans are accustomed to hearing. Part of the appeal to Griselda, particularly amongst “old heads” like myself, is Griselda has restored the feeling that most of us felt has been missing since the 90’s. The trap sound present through most of the album may throw people off. Nothing wrong with growth as an artist, but it’s all in how the experimentation is executed. Songs like “Kostas”, “1989”, “Disgusting” and “LL Bool Gunn”, sound like left over Rick Ross and Jeezy records from the late 2000s.On those records, Gunn raps noticeably off-beat, which makes for a laborious listen. On a positive note, those records do pass the car test, as each trap-inspired beat seeks to blow out your speaker with the precision of a drown explosive. As the master curator, Gunn recruits artists like Benny the Butcher, Rick Ross, and Jeezy that know how to attack those pockets to salvage those records. Upon first listen, the initial reaction you might have might be to cringe. With more listens, I find that feeling subsides and you begin to have fun with these types of records.

While And Then You Pray For Me may not be the best Westside Gunn project, the album does get better with more listens. But therein lies the problem. Will the average Griselda fan genuinely give this album a chance to digest before judging? The replay value is there as the album has enough quality music to keep the streets fed. Most Gunn albums need time to take it all in, and his latest effort is no different. With music like this, the knee jerk reaction is to trash the album because of expectations for what we, as the listeners, wanted the album to sound like sonically. People from the South might gravitate to this album more than their neighbors North of the Mason-Dixon line. Not the perfect project and certainly not the note we expected for this reportedly being the final Westside Gunn studio album. Gunn attempted to satisfy both boom bap and trap fans, which I fear may have left some within his fan base disappointed and disillusioned. However, it is my belief that this album will age better than most people think. I pray (pun intended) people ultimately judge this album by the artist’s intended vision whether than their own assumptions. Long live big Griselda!