Westside Gunn — Hitler Wears Hermes [mixtape]

Until someone found out "Flyest Nigga in Charge, Vol. 1", and I think it was between late 2019 and early 2020, this was the first record produced by the new emerging East Coast rapper in the game. This first effort is a punch to everyone's mouth, it's a SWAT entrance in the hardcore rap game: you break the door and kick every f*cking ass you find there. Starting from the title, which isn't for everyone: "Hitler Wears Hermes".

What the f*ck? Westside Gunn takes the famous "Devil Wears Prada" title of the movie (2006) and turns it upside down. It's a tape of a little over a quarter of an hour and it's a good tape, but at the time it had practically gone unnoticed like most of the mixtapes of most of the rappers who try to emerge from the deep and dark underground world. Without "FLYGOD" it'd have remained hidden for a long time, together with versions "2" and "3". Instead, thanks to the enormous and fully deserved success of that (semi)classic album, we can fully rediscover this jewel, because it's a dirty-n-raw jewel.

Produced by Daringer, with one rhythm of DJ Fu (simplistic and annoying boom bap with functional hook and a little inspired delivery in the failed "Me and My Eagle", with a sample from "I Get Physical" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth), Westside Gunn is launched in the game through "MKQueens Dead", which features some trademarks: his opening "ayo", Daringer's tight jazzy rhythm, WSG slow and determined delivery over a sample of Bill Wright's "Everything Look Good (Ain't Good)". A poem performed by Keisha Plum follows.

It continues with the psychedelic boom bap jazzy of "Rayfuls Plug", where the rapper from Buffalo delivers relaxed over a dope sample from "Telescope" by Wiz Khalifa and 50 Cent, Harry Fraud behind the keys in the original track. After the previously mentioned cut of DJ Fu, there's a freestyle with disguised delivery over disturbing beat. "Messhall Talk" is Daringer's light jazzy boom bap rhythm, also rapper's disguised voice on the hook. It closes what Westside Gunn names as "Hitler musik": boom bap jazzy midtempo, the only provided here by Daringer, accompanied by dark guitar reefs, Westside delivers hard, powerful, determined, with a couple of simple and dark verses, smoothness. Towards the middle of the track, it closes and leaves Hitler's speech to the kameraden (or similar) over the same beat, then bridge-change-rhythm towards a light, midtempo, spectacular, cheerful boom bap, which willows at the end, brilliantly.

Historically, important, because it's the first (or as mentioned above, the second; however, one of the very originals) steps in the career of the rapper who brought the New York hip hop music scene to life after years of slamming, restoring dignity to East Coast hardcore. 7/10.