Westside Gunn – And Then You Pray For Me (Album Review)

And Then You Pray For Me is the new studio album from Buffalo rapper Westside Gunn. The record is a follow-up to the acclaimed Pray For Paris released back in early 2020, which I listened to in preparation for this review to get some added context. The first thing that got my attention was the difference in runtime between the two albums, with Pray For Paris being thirty-six minutes and ATYPFM clocking at an hour and fifteen, which is rather long for a Westside Gunn project. However, both albums are stacked with features (a common trait in Westside’s projects), with only two of the twenty-one tracks being the exceptions.

Full disclaimer: I am not familiar with Westside Gunn’s music, being a bigger fan of his brother Conway the Machine. However, I look forward to diving into this new release to see what he brings to the table, so let’s get into it!

The first thing I want to mention is Westside Gunn himself, and this applies to both of the albums that I listened to. While I will admit that he does perform well in many of these tracks regarding his flow and style of rapping, I cannot stand his voice. I could probably tolerate Westside Gunn rapping for about a minute and a half to two minutes tops, but any longer just becomes irritating to my ears. Of course, as I said earlier, there are times when his performances carries, such as in “FLYGOD 2x”, one of the two songs without a feature and arguably the best song off the album. However, I can count more mediocre and even terrible performances, examples being in “LL BOOL GUN” (the other non-feature track), “Steve and Jony”, and especially “Chloe” with Westside’s cringe-worthy sexual lyrics that are beneath that of a middle schooler.

Production, on the other hand, is quite decent. Sure, you have tracks like “Mamas Primetime” and “JD Wrist” where the beat overstays its welcome, along with beats like “DunnHill” and “Steve and Jony” that I’ve heard so many times before. That being said, there are many beats and instrumentals on this record that I love, such as the orchestral sections of “KITCHEN LIGHTS” and “House of GLORY”, along with the menacing beats of “Suicide in Selfridges” and “Babylon Bis”. However, everything fell into a dud with the last two tracks being pretty bland compared to what could’ve been made.

When it comes to the features on this record, it’s pretty hit or miss. “Kotas” includes the best of Westside’s relatives, being Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher. Stove God Cooks is present on a good chunk of this album and does fairly well in all except for in “KITCHEN LIGHTS” when he started rambling off towards the end. Others, such as Denzel Curry in “Ultra GriZelda” and Boldy James in “Jalen Rose”, completely overshine Westside Gunn and carry those songs to their greatness. Meanwhile, you have DJ Drama, who is unfortunately present on several tracks on the album (I didn’t even like him in Tyler, the Creator’s CMIYGL), along with artists like Giggs and KayCyy who added nothing to their respective songs.

Here are my ratings for each song on a scale of 0-4:

1. FLYGOD DiD – N/A
2. Mamas PrimeTime (featuring JID, Conway the Machine, & Cartier A Williams) – 3
3. Kostas (featuring Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher) – 3
4. 1989 (featuring Stove God Cooks & DJ Drama) – 2
5. Suicide in Selfridges (featuring DJ Drama) – 3
6. KITCHEN LIGHTS (featuring Stove God Cooks) – 3
7. FLYGOD 2x – 4
8. DunnHill (featuring Rick Ross) – 2
9. House of GLORY (featuring Stove God Cooks) – 4
10. JD Wrist (featuring Stove God Cooks, Estee Nack, & Trap-A-Holics) – 1
11. Disgusting (featuring Giggs) – 0
12. Chloe (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) – 1
13. LL BOOL GUNN – 0
14. Babylon Bis (featuring Stove God Cooks) – 2
15. Ultra GriZelda (featuring Denzel Curry) – 3
16. Jalen Rose (featuring Boldy James) – 3
17. Steve and Jony (featuring Est Gee) – 0
18. MR EVERYTHING (featuring DJ SWAMP IZZO & Jeezy) – 1
19. Freddy Js (featuring DJ Holiday & Peezy) – 2
20. The Revenge of Flips Legs (featuring Rome Streetz) – 2
21. AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME (featuring KayCyy) – 2

SCORE/Mediocre: As I stated at the beginning of this review, I’m not too familiar with Westside Gunn’s music and came in almost blind. In regards to sound and style, I got what I expected, with the record created in a similar mold as Pray For Paris and the music of Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher. Regardless, with the hype I’ve seen around Westside’s music and the talent of his relatives, I have to say that I left this album disappointed. It’s just a simple case of an album that had too much packed into it, while also not having a lot to offer. If ATYPFM was the same runtime as Pray For Paris, and included the best material, it would’ve definitely been a more enjoyable listen.

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