Westside Gunn has released what he’s calling his final studio album, And Then You Pray For Me — stream it below.
The Griselda rapper’s new project arrived on Friday (October 13) and features appearances from Rick Ross, Jeezy, JID, Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, Denzel Curry, Boldy James, DJ Drama, Giggs, Ty Dolla $ign, EST Gee, and more.
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Behind the boards, the 21-track offering boasts production from RZA and Tay Keith, as well as familiar names like Daringer, Conductor Williams, Beat Butcha and Mr. Green.
And Then You Pray For Me serves as the spiritual successor to Gunn’s 2020 effort Pray For Paris. Much like that project, this new album features Renaissance-era artwork designed by the late Virgil Abloh.
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“At first I said I was going to make a trilogy and the Mona Lisa would represent all of them as 1, and then I was gonna make it 2 parts ‘PRAY FOR PARIS.. AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME,'” Gunn explained on Instagram last month.
“And have the Mona Lisa represent both but have the last 2 pieces Front and Back bc I want to be able to give the World the ART as we intended too by keep spreading the knowledge and I’m not sure where I’ll be in life to want to make another album in this series.”
He added: “So in order for me to get our ART in the world the time is NOW!!! VIRGIL is a [goat] and I’m honored to be able to carry on legacy this album is dedicated to Him.”
Westside Gunn announced that And Then You Pray For Me would be his last full-length album during a conversation with Rolling Stone earlier in October.
“[This is] going to be the last album where I take the time to say, ‘This is an album,’” he said. “When I was doing the Hitler Wears Hermes series, I was doing all them projects like mixtapes. I was recording the whole shit in two, three days.
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“I’m not saying I won’t come with a five-song EP with Madlib or I won’t do a seven-song EP with Alchemist or I won’t rap. I’ll do all of that, but making a studio album, I’m done with all that.”
He continued: “It’s back to dumping until I don’t want to dump no more. I’m going to have fun now. It’s no more pressure. This album was pressure to me. I’m testing the waters on a few different things, but it’s all me.
“It’s not like I’m going out of the box with it or I’m not being me. I’m still me, it’s just kind of a different sound. But at the same time, I don’t know how long I want to ride for.”
Westside Gunn is clearly looking to go out with a bang. In addition to assembling a heavyweight supporting cast, the Buffalo, New York native confidently called And Then You Pray For Me “album of the year” ahead of its release.
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“It’s the album of the year, first of all, let me say that, y’know what I’m sayin’?” he told TMZ. “I’ma be honest with you, it’s nothing out there. I done heard everybody, y’know what I’m sayin’?
“We already in October, we 10 months in, I heard everybody — it’s not even close … ’cause I got 21 tracks on here. Just the first 10 is better than everybody album of the year.”
Stream And Then You Pray For Me below:
