Westside Gunn – “Flygod Is An Awesome God” (Album Review)

Westside Gunn is an MC from Buffalo, New York who’s been making noise with his label Griselda Records since 2016 with the release of his debut album FLYGOD. They eventually signed a distribution deal with Shady Records in 2017 but now that their major label debut is finally on the way as well as a little over a year after dropping his incredible sophomore album Supreme Blientele, Westside is preparing us for it with his 3rd full-length album & the sequel to the one that got him where he is today, “FLYGOD Is An Awesome God”.

The album starts off with “Jul 27th”, which is mostly a spoken word piece from Raekwon over some synthesizers. The next song “Sensational Sherri” with Benny sees the 2 about living what he raps over a sinister beat from none other than The Alchemist while the track “Bautista” gets confrontational over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat. The song “Lunchin’” gets mafioso over a luscious beat & while the song “Ferragamo Funeral” gets murderous over a soulful beat, it’s way too short. The song “1,000 Shot Mac” with Conway, Hologram & Meyhem Lauren sees the 2 talking about hustling over a classy sample & while I do like the chilled out beat on “Birkin”, Westside’s delivery does nothing for me.

The song “Pete Sake” has little to no Westside Gunn appearance at all, but Conway & Benny make it work as they deliver a raw prelude to their upcoming collab album. The track “Amherst Station 3” is a somber conclusion to the titular trilogy while the Evidence-produced “Dance Floor Love” is a soulful love tune that works better than I had expected. The penultimate track “Gunnlib” while brief makes me hope that Westside & Madlib do a whole album together in the future because their chemistry on here is flawless & then the album finishes off with “Lakers vs. Rockets”, where the FLYGOD brags over a gritty rap rock beat. However, the Sauce Walka feature is kinda vapid.

While I personally prefer the original FLYGOD, this sequel is definitely worth checking out. A few joints could’ve been stretched out a bit longer & a couple features I could’ve done without, but Westside’s vivid street bars remain & grimy production most definitely remain intact throughout it’s 32 minute runtime.

Score: 7/10