![]() When you hear the lyrics, these are those days. I was talking to him on the phone, and I was like, "I'll hit you when I get over to Atlanta." Because at that time, I was making moves. See, back in those days, that's when we were still in the streets. I vividly remember that day - what was going on, what I was doing, where I was going, everything. And it's crazy because I just went to his grave site. Out of all my projects ever, this is the most fun I ever had making one.ĭoes it feel like it's been 17 years since he died? That's his spirit.īut I think he would love this album. The grimy part of Westside Gunn, that's Machine Gun Blak. Westside Gunn is a perfect example of Machine Gun Blak - just the raw, the grittiness. Even when he's not here, he's one of my biggest fans, I feel like. If he could see you now, and if he could hear the new album, what do you think he might say?įirst of all, he'd be all on. Not to start on a super serious note, but as I was preparing for this conversation, I realized that we just passed the 17-year anniversary of the murder of your cousin, rapper Machine Gun Blak. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. We discussed his creative pairing with Abloh, why he's really a curator at heart, and his views on underground rap's evolution over the past decade. caught up with Gunn as he was, naturally, shopping in New York City's SoHo neighborhood ("I'm over here on Mercer, so it's Lanvin, Balenciaga, Marni, Bape - it's all right here," he boasts). He's making movies, planning big moves in the fashion world, and continuing to guide the careers of other artists. Gunn has recently referred to And Then You Pray For Me as his last album, but don't expect him to slow down. But there are also surprising appearances from artists you might not normally associate with Griselda - Jeezy, Rick Ross, Denzel Curry, and Ty Dolla $ign. It contains stellar guest turns from old friends like Conway, Benny, Stove God Cooks, Rome Streetz, and Boldy James. While the 21-track album features plenty of Gunn's trademark neo-boom-bap sounds, he updates things a bit by including some songs that have a trap music influence. Abloh was the art director for both albums, which feature figures from iconic artworks laden with Gunn's signature chains And Then You Pray For Me uses both the Mona Lisa and Caravaggio's The Entombment of Christ. The rapper is positioning the project as a sequel to his 2020 LP Pray For Paris, which was inspired by Gunn attending a Paris Fashion Week runway show as a guest of the late Virgil Abloh. ![]() ![]() He is obsessed with fashion and high art, more prone to mention going to see opera or buying a painting than jumping into a rhyme cipher.Īll of Westside Gunn's obsessions come together on his new album And Then You Pray For Me. And as the founder of independent hip-hop label Griselda (and its related rap collective), Gunn's influence is felt through stars like his brother, Conway the Machine, his cousin, Benny the Butcher, and the enigmatic Mach-Hommy.īut Gunn considers himself more a curator than a musician. The veteran rapper has spent the last decade-plus providing hip-hop with a streetwise, neo-boom-bap style that echoes heavily in the music of today. When Westside Gunn refers to himself as "the king of the underground," it's not hyperbole.
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