Westside Gunn “And Then You Pray For Me” Album Review

And Then You Pray For Me

Westside Gunn

• Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
• Date: 13 Oct, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Track(s): 21
• ℗ 2023 Griselda Records / EMPIRE

Gunn adheres to his principles while expanding his musical horizons on his most recent and apparently final album, “And Then You Pray for Me,” drawing inspiration from vintage trap music. It’s a long, tedious record, but “And Then You Pray For Me” has some significant moments. Westside Gunn serves as the curator and ringleader as always, never allowing his own voice to take center stage.

Along with the typical cast of Griselda signees, this LP features appearances from Rick Ross, Jeezy, Denzel Curry, JID, EST Gee, Ty Dolla $ign, Giggs, and Peezy. Rappers frequently claim that their most recent album will be their final one, and only time will tell if that stays true for Gunn.

Album Cover Art

The late Virgil Abloh created the official cover art for AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME, which features an edited version of Caravaggio’s painting The Entombment of Christ that includes Westside Gunn’s chains. This cover is similar to the one for Pray for Paris, which was also created by Abloh and is based on a Caravaggio masterpiece.

In keeping with the unpolished cover designs of his past mixtapes, Westside Gunn purposefully chose to photoshop his chains from the Pray for Paris album cover into this one. From left to right, the chains show the independent wrestling school emblem for House of Glory, the FLYGOD album cover by Westside, Gunn’s one-of-a-kind Jesus Piece plate pendant, and the Tana Talk 3 album cover by Benny The Butcher.

Tracks and Features

The first song, “Mamas PrimeTime” featuring J.I.D, is a dusty boom bap opening produced by Beat Butcha & Mr. Green that follows the “FLYGOD DiD” intro and boasts about the artist’s celestial status. Tay Keith’s comments about boiling up a batch and spitting at the crack of dawn lead “Kostas” into trap zone.

Even if Westside’s chopped and screwed verse is annoying, the two turn up 36 ounces in public housing in “1989” featuring Stove God Cooks. To help DJ Drama formally usher in the new golden age, “Suicide in Selfridges” features Conductor Williams’ kicks and snares in a hazy loop.

For the symphonic version of “Kitchen Lights,” Stove God makes a comeback. Gunn brags and explains that his wrists are shining differently before “FLYGOD 2x,” in which he flexes about how he can get anything these days over a lo-fi boom-bap beat. In “DunnHill” with Rick Ross, the two are over more trap production, making it abundantly obvious that the protocol is to hit everyone.

The song “House of Glory,” which Westside Gunn & Master P invested themselves into and was titled after the Amazing Red & Brian XL’s independent circuit wrestling organization of the same name, features a gorgeously sophisticated RZA instrumental. Estee Nack collaborates with Westside & Stove God on “JD Wrist” over a futuristic trap beat from FLYGOD Jr. DJ Trap-A-Holics adds additional vocals warning against making this kind of trip.

Giggs’ “Disgusting” maintains the ethereal atmosphere by incorporating some hi-hats while discussing how these scumbags are actually broke. While West sings “LL Bool Gunn” over some keys and hi-hats while paying respect to LL Cool J, “Chloe” returns to the boom-bap production while showing his romantic side.

JR Swiftz connected up a luscious boom bap quality to “Babylon Bis” featuring Stove God Cooks talking about them knowing their preferred substance. Denzel Curry’s “Ultra GriZelda” boasts rightly that they are running trash over a murky trap rhythm. In “Jalen Rose” with Boldy James, Daringer displays their global nomadism by pulling off an uncanny trap feel.

Over a woozier instrumental, EST G and Gunn in “Steve & Jony” compare themselves to the Steve Jobs and Jony Ive of the streets. While “Freddy Js” featuring Detroit trap star Peezy sees the 2 talking about their eastside heritage over some piano chords, Jeezy slides through on the upbeat “Mr. Everything” to dish some braggadocio in their own distinct approaches.

While “The Revenge of the Flips Leg” featuring Rome Streetz brings back the kicks and snares to honor the king, the title track, featuring KayCyy, ends Westside Gunn’s final studio album on a serene and beautifully sung note.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	ARTIST	TIME
1	FLYGOD DiD	Westside Gunn & AA Rashid	1:56
2	Mamas PrimeTime	Westside Gunn, JID, Conway the Machine & Cartier A Williams	4:59
3	Kostas	Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher	5:33
4	1989 (feat. Stove God Cooks)	Westside Gunn, Stove God Cooks & DJ Drama	4:11
5	Suicide in Selfridges	Westside Gunn & DJ Drama	2:51
6	KITCHEN LIGHTS	Westside Gunn & Stove God Cooks	5:00
7	FLYGOD 2x	Westside Gunn	1:47
8	DunnHill (feat. Rick Ross)	Westside Gunn	3:59
9	House of GLORY (feat. Stove God Cooks)	Westside Gunn & Stove God Cooks	3:12
10	JD Wrist (feat. Stove God Cooks)	Westside Gunn, Stove God Cooks, Estee Nack & Trap-A-Holics	6:19
11	Disgusting	Westside Gunn & Giggs	4:01
12	Chloe	Westside Gunn & Ty Dolla $ign	3:51
13	LL BOOL GUNN	Westside Gunn	2:12
14	Babylon Bis (feat. Stove God Cooks)	Westside Gunn & Stove God Cooks	5:04
15	Ultra GriZelda (feat. Denzel Curry)	Westside Gunn	2:28
16	Jalen Rose	Westside Gunn & Boldy James	3:15
17	Steve and Jony	Westside Gunn & EST Gee	2:56
18	MR EVERYTHING (feat. Jeezy)	Westside Gunn & DJ Swamp Izzo	2:45
19	Freddy Js (feat. DJ Holiday)	Westside Gunn & Peezy	2:46
20	The Revenge of Flips Leg	Westside Gunn & Rome Streetz	2:40
21	AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME	Westside Gunn & KayCyy	3:32

Album Theme

Gunn shows he is enjoying living his best life while still gunning for more. The record also touches on some personal experiences.

Production Credits

Beat Butcha, BeatsByJuko, Brother Tom Sos, Conductor Williams, Daringer, Deats, Denny Laflare, DJ Benoit, Dxpe Mikie, FlyGod Jr., FOREVEROLLING, JR Swiftz, Mario Luciano, Miguel da Plug, Mr. Green, NFE Paris, RZA, Tay Keith & TooDope produced the album.

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