"There's God and there's my daddy, praise both" Westside Gunn's daughter says to start the album. Her father, the gritty and charismatic rapper out of Buffalo, uses a variety of aliases, the most notable one being "Flygod." Gunn's latest album Flygod Is An Awesome God is the newest chapter to the rapper's "Flygod" persona.
The sequel to Gunn's critically acclaimed debut album Flygod, which dropped over three years ago, is meant to expand on the persona created by the rapper. Gunn has always been about tenacious tales of robbing and drug dealing over beats that are styled after 90s boom bap along with chopped up soul samples but anything that has to do with "Flygod" has more braggadocio attached to it lyrically. Take the beginning lines to Gunnlib for example, "Ayo, street sweepers hanging out the Corniches/Walked on water way before Jesus/Cooked the brick with no stove, pushed the gold Demon." Those lines are blunt and vivid and are just one of the many examples of how he takes his grimy imagery to the next level on this album.
The track Gunnlib is notable for being the first ever collaboration between Westside Gunn and Madlib. Gunn proves himself worthy with his raps and Madlib continues his stretch of top tier production as well. The rest of the production comes from two other first time collaborators, Al.divino and Denny LaFlare, along with usual collaborators, The Alchemist and Daringer, and Sadhugold, JR Swiftz, DJ Muggs and Evidence adding to their recent catalog of work with Westside Gunn. But regardless of the producers experience with Westside Gunn, the beats all have the traditional sound that Gunn raps over and the album's cohesiveness stays intact as a result.
All of the features are uncredited on the album, which is different from the rest of Gunn's projects. Nonetheless when listening to the album, typical collaborators such as Keisha Plum, labelmates Benny the Butcher and Conway, and fellow New York rapper Meyhem Lauren all make notable appearances and fit well as they always do when coupled with Gunn's raps. But a first time collaboration with Houston rapper Sauce Walka, on the last track Lakers vs Rockets, is the biggest standout.
Gunn and Walka come from different regions and have different production choices as a result but Walka is able to detail his lifestyle of crime and luxury vividly just like Gunn. "The jacket Bathing Ape, but my shoes Al McQueenin'/My bulldog a pimp too, 5K for his semen/His stud fee worth your plug fee/I'm in the Maybach, curtains lifted up, watchin' rugby" Walka boasts as he raps the last verse on the album. Those lines, as well as the rest of Walka's verse, are encompassing of the themes that "Flygod" represent as well. He's grimy, flashy, and most importantly, he's awesome.
Final score: 8/10
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