‘Still Praying’ for a More Interesting Westside Gunn Album

Full of boastful opulence, “Still Praying” is a largely one-note album. 

Released Nov. 1, “Still Praying” is the latest installment of New York rapper Westside Gunn’s “Pray For Paris” album series. 

Coming off a seemingly nullified retirement announcement from late last year, Gunn released two projects in 24 hours — the EP “11” and the full-length album “Still Praying.”

“Still Praying” is littered with wrestling references, exemplified by a photo of WWE wrestler Sid Eudy on the album cover. However, “Still Praying” fails to elicit a fraction of the excitement inside of a wrestling ring.

Much to the album’s detriment, the record is hosted by mixtape royalty DJ Drama. His incessant shouting on each song utterly diminishes the vibe of an otherwise cohesive song — acting as more of a nuisance than a hypeman. Luckily, a version of the album without DJ Drama’s over-the-top adlibs was released shortly after the original.

Gunn flaunts his life of luxury and his propensity for cocaine usage, which quickly loses its edge the more it’s repeated.

The intro track “Waly Fay” is a jazzy instrumental featuring distant saxophone and horns. The following track, “Justin Roberts,” imitates the famed WWE announcer of the same name, introducing Gunn with a wrestling-esque voice.

The majority of “Beef Bar” is Gunn bragging over a spacey piano loop and punchy drums. The title comes from a restaurant located in the Four Seasons Hotel in Athens, Greece.

“Max Caster” — named after another famed professional wrestler — features a repetitive, monotonous two-note piano loop and an out-of-place shoutout to former President Donald Trump.

“[They] got a free comma from Trump,” Gunn said, about the stimulus checks given out during his presidency.

Sound mixing issues also plague the first bout of tracks, burying Gunn’s vocals under the atmospheric beats.

Yet again, another song is named after a wrestler — “Dr. Britt Baker” — and again, the wrestler doesn’t share any common ground with the eponymous song. Brother Tom Sos, the newest member of Gunn’s record label, Griselda Records, delivers a melodic chorus and a verse not only examining how far he’s come but proclaiming he’s the new face of the Griselda pack.

“I Know Verdy” is carried by a drum-heavy loop with sparse piano chords as Gunn parades his wealth yet again. His verse is cut short by gunshots — a common motif throughout the album — and the beat switches to an electric bass-based instrumental outro.

The sonically darker and heavier “Speedy 40” features a pitched-down and slowed chorus. Although slower and more laid-back, it’s a unique moment on the record. 

“Duran Duran” continues grimy production and discusses Gunn’s drug dealing past, referencing Jeff Hardy, an ex-WWE wrestler who struggled with substance abuse. 

In “Runway Piece At The Last Supper,” Gunn compares himself to Leonardo Di Vinci over a straightforward piano loop, proclaiming they’re both “artist[s] of the century.”

As the name suggests, “Bike Air Interlude” serves as a quick break in the tracklist, with a spoken word passage from A.A. Rashid, a common collaborator of Gunn’s. 

“What they say, ha / If you never took a chance, you never had a chance / Ha, go figure / Ayy, ha, yet again, here we have another profound / And extremely intentional display / Of both cultural and scientific innovation / You see, this is where God’s hand / Reaches down out of the clouds / And gives man the gift of fire,” A.A. Rashid said.

“Free Shots” is a high point of “Still Praying,” with a dizzying, chopped-up wailing vocal sample as the basis of the track. Even though the subject matter is the same as the rest of the album, both Gunn and Conway the Machine rap with a yet unheard urgency. The unique beat matched with an invigorated performance makes the song a stand-out moment.

The title track is a seven-minute posse cut, which unfortunately reverts to dreamy, repetitive production. While the song harbors four guest features, they fail to leave an impression, instead making the song feel like a slog. 

On “Underground King,” Gunn crowns himself king of the underground rap scene. The song is complete with a verse by Gunn’s daughter, who warns other rappers not to copy her father’s style. The back end of the track features Rome Streetz, whose verse flows over the groovy, shimmering beat.

The closing track “LeSalle Station” alludes to various locations around Gunn’s native Buffalo — a homecoming to an album seemingly being a victory lap for Gunn.

“Still Praying” falls short of the extremely ornamented and lavish beats of Gunn’s previous two albums. While most of the songs don’t break the two-and-a-half-minute mark, many of them overstay their welcome with overly spacey production, whereas others don’t seem to last long enough.

“Still Praying” is available for streaming on all major platforms.