Westside Gunn puts an end to the "Hitler Wears Hermes" series with the eighth chapter, a double album, divided into two: "Sincerely Adolf" and "Side B". Originally, it should have been a single double LP, however, following some unexpected, the two twin tapes are published at a distance of about one month from each other. The rhythms are made entirely by the new group of producers of Griselda, The Heartbreakers, formed by Denny LaFlare, Conductor Williams and Camoflauge Monk. It's the first mixtape of the series to not boast Daringer behind the keyboards. Flygod sets himself aside for most of the time in its tenth mixtape and gives another showcase for the spectacular talent of Stove God Cooks, after "Flygod Is an Awesome God 2" (2020), present in five tracks. The other guests are Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Mach-Hommy, Boldy James, AA Rashid, Rome Streetz, Jadakiss, Sauce Walka, Lil Wayne and DJ Clue.
The Intro boasts a boomy fat ill bass guitar, rhythm provided by Denny LaFlare, ideal instrumental on which to open a double album to close one of the best mixtape series of the decade. The sound gives a moroderian image, it seems an indirect tribute to "Scarface" (1983). The second cut is actually a second Intro, recited by AA Rashid, but it's another pearl: That "conductor we have a problem" is splendid, it's worth the price of the whole album, then dark jazz rhythm with piano keys. Conductor Williams makes a gigantic step compared to the beginning and the previous LP of Westside Gunn. There's still Conductor Williams behind the "Mariota" keyboards, and the contribution of him is gorgeous: sample soul male melodic fantastic from "You're My Last Girl" by Herb Lane and Rhythm Makers, light drum, perfect rhythm. Wonderful attack by Gunn, smoothness like silk on a brilliant beat; his sung chorus is simple and annoying. Stove God Cooks delivers inspired, confident, flowing, dope. Magnificent interlude for the outro, cartoonistic.
Track number four is the best of the album, personally. Beautiful melodic female sample soul, drum midtempo, resounding rhythm of Denny LaFlare: In reality, it's taken from a 7" of an unknown male band of the seventies, slowed and high-pitched to make it as a chipmunk soul female sample. It seems that Mary Weiss is singing in loop, it's extraordinary, beyond the ordinary, this boy did an incredible job. Stove God Cooks lets it breathe intelligently for a few seconds, then performs an intro sang, simple. The following is a spectacular manifest of the talent and skill of Westside Gunn. The lyrics is the one who distinguished him in all these years compared to the rest of the hip-hop scene: frayed lines that mix the materialistic bravado, crime, violence and vicious brag, cloaked by a series of fascinating and stunned adlibs, there are five different in this minute.
His attack on the beat is at the level of the best ever. He pulls out bars with a slow, fragmented, chopped flow, and shortly afterwards, with the same cleaning and clarity, he allows to flow with greater smoothness, unstoppable. He's really at his best. Sudden bridge to "Baby Hold On to Me" by Gerald and Eddie Levert, to which the author has just referred, is beautiful, and raises the song. Stove God Cooks enters hardcore and tight delivery with a slow, sharp, clean, dominant style, kills the track. "Margiela Split Toes" is a masterpiece. Perfect drum, immense sample from "The Shadow Of Your Smile" by Jackie Trent and the Tony Hatch Orchestra, rhythm left breathing a few seconds, velvety sound panorama of Camoflauge Monk: Gunn delivers concentrated, hardcore, velvety, then Mach-Hommy destroys everything with an unstoppable flow, great track.
"Draymond" is a joint with Rome Streetz, Westside Gunn and Stove God Cooks: good rhythm of LaFlare, hard and dry drum machine, melodic samples, dark vibes, excellent rapping, they all sound impeccable, Rome gives a heavy stab at the beginning and Cooks kills it at the end. Denny LaFlare invents a fantastic piano loop for "Peri Peri", impeccable drum, Rome Streetz has one of the freshest flows of the period, Gunn completes the work with a final tribute to Biggie, before the outro of Westside Pootie. "Right Now" is another easy favorite.
Simple boom bap of Denny LaFlare, dirty, dusty, perfect drum, good samples: Stove God Cooks hook, Westside verse, Jadakiss in the second stanza, hardcore, inspired, excellent flow. The main interpreter isn't part of "Westheimer", to make room for Cooks, Boldy James and Sauce Walka: haunting loop of LaFlare, still melodic and accessible, there's a good piano that holds the loop and does the work of drum, absent here, while the boys deliver bars with their own style: they do all a good job, Sauce Walka is overwhelming, exceptional, boasts the finest stanza. She closes a short musical interlude. "Bash Money" presents Lil Wayne as the only guest on a measured production, the consecutive and final fifth of Denny LaFlare, which made an impeccable production: light and slow drum, sample that flickers, well WSG, while Weezy goes calm, slow, smooth, with a sharp delivery, with a sober flow, better than usual.
"Claires Back" is a Griselda cut. Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher. Production of Camoflauge Monk. It's Buffalo. It stays in Buffalo. The title honors Claire Mel. Who? The answer is in the "WWCD" cover. Obsessing and simple loop, few piano keys, slow drum. The intro is of DJ Clue. West hook, good delivery in rapping, second chorus, outro. From the tracklist, you can see how there are no solo tracks of the author. This was the solo song of him, is unique solo. It's hidden in this double track. But there is. After four minutes, the second piece begins. Sample from the Main Theme of "Confessions of a Police Captain" (luckily, the English-speaking headline writers had the gift of synthesis in this case), films of the trend of Poliziottesco of the Italian cinema of early seventies, son of the Years of Lead and the strategy of tension, derived directly from the success of the previous trend of Western, of which the themes resumed, simply changing in the setting of the scenes. Local directors try to transport the exasperating climate of anguish, tension and violence in their movies, and in some cases, the same are dragged by the soundtracks, which are masterpieces. Riz Ortolani is one of the best composers of Italian cinema, but the name of him isn't quite celebrated. Those guitar licks are simply the perfect sound landscape for the intense hardcore rap of Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher. Flawless drum, excellent sample, inspired hardcore rapping and phenomenal: the second part of this track is among the highlights of the hip-hop season. Classic.
Conductor Williams returns to produce a song in "Spoonz", which is a jewel: brilliant rhythm, boom bap with sample soul female melodic chopped and looped, lively piano, unique verse delivered back and forth by Westside and Conway. Fourth musical carpet of Conductor Williams, for "716 Mile", the last track: excellent sample, percussion dusted, drumless beat, good Gunn's rap, Boldy James tears the track with his style. Outro with melodic interlude to end the tape.
The Heartbreakers, Denny LaFlare, Conductor Williams & Camoflauge Monk, have no mistake. Anything. Production is wonderful, dirty, obscure, raw, soul, jazz, one of the best of the year. Practically perfect. I can't ask anything better, personally. The lyricism turns around drugs, crime, bravado, violence and gangsterism. The rapping is excellent, extremely smooth, there's a surprisingly coherent selection between veterans, young emerging and guys established in the underground. It sounds like a great collaborative album of Griselda & Friends more than a Westside Gunn solo album and perhaps this is one of the few points that play against it, probably the only one, if you want to find a low point. There are only five hooks in total, more or less, with thirteen tracks and forty minutes of listening, it maintains an ideal replay value. The tape is a gift, one of the best albums of 2021 in the hip-hop and Side A (the title makes a curious assonance with "Side B" that I haven't idea how random is, sincerely) of a double album for long stretches impeccable.
Rating: 8.5/10.
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