Seventh chapter of the mixtape series inaugurated by Buffalo emcee Westside Gunn. The music is handled by King JVY B, Cee Gee, Daringer, The Alchemist, Sadhugold, JR Swiftz, DJ Green Lantern, Statik Selektah, M-A, Animoss, Denny LaFlare, Diamante and August Fanon. The guests are Keisha Plum, Boldy James, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Jay Worthy, Estee Nack, DJ Drama, Fat Joe and Curren$y.
"Fcxnxtwk" opens this tape, DJ Drama's wonderful jazzy soulful boom bap that blesses this record by shouting in Puff-style. Heavenly sample from The Montclairs' "Ease the Pain". Cee Gee produces the second track: splendid cheerful rhythm, with a wonderful piano scale, Westside Gunn begins to drop bars with his smoothness style, here a little faster than usual, it closes the daughter of WSG. "Size 42" is the first of an infinite series of highlights. Daringer brings out a masterpiece of ingenious simplicity, he pictures a great boom bap jazzy very tight, beautiful, the Buffalo MC arrives and finds himself lying in front of a perfect carpet, he flows calmly, safely, excellent tune.
King JVY B creates a similar, more soulful soundscape for the next one, "Connie's Son", supreme delivery of Gunn stabbing the rhythm over splendid samples from Moments of Truth's "I'll Step Aside". Estee Nack is the first guest of the tape, he makes his figure on a classic jazzy soulful rhythm [typical of] Griselda, brilliant beat that boasts a sample from Collage's "Laura", excellent Westside delivery on this production of Denny LaFlare / Diamante. "Gondek" is one of the short tracks here, August Fanon's good dark jazzy, dirty rhythm, on which the rapper drops some bars, follows "Kelly's Korner": extraordinary jazzy beat pulled out of Statik Selektah, excellent Westside delivery which creates a classic, well Fat Joe who returns to his best, directly from the late nineties, hardcore, flowing, energetic, powerful, exalted by the beat, plays Don Cartagena and brings out one of his best verses in the last twenty years.
At this point, the album doesn't need to be rip further. It doesn't matter, Conway eats the essential and distorted jazzy that Green Lantern's genius provides him, Hall 'n Nash deliver as never before in a crazy piece. "Whoopy" follows, second beat provided by King JVY B: splendid ethereal jazzy boom bap with dope soulful sample left to breathe quietly in the background, beautiful, taken from Oral Caress' "You Gave Me Love", excellent short track by Gunn that goes smoothly, clean, practically perfect cut. The Buffalo rapper plays with the listeners and for the tenth song he decides to save the rapping on an excellent jazzy rhythm of Animoss, with soulful samples from "Maybe, if I Leave You" by Richmond International left to breathe in the background, and decides to deliver a simple single repeated bar, ruining the track for some fans.
It's quite funny, because this song is followed by another classic, "Kool G": the joint is Griselda, deeply Griselda, despite the production is pulled out by the old and wise fox The Alchemist. Curious sample from "Southern Roots & Celebration" by Ian Carr and Nucleus. You don't notice it, Westside Gunn immediately starts very strong, velvety, rough and much faster than usual, immediately going to attack and destroy the severe, very dark, tense and bleak jazzy boom bap created by the alchemist, Benny exploits the momentum of Westside at his advantage and he also delivers with determination, technically cleaner of all and tears the cut, Conway closes the body bag and gets rid of the beat with a slower and calmer delivery, which is handed, incredible piece, instant classic.
"It's Possible" features an alternative jazzy boom bap with wonderful tight looped soulful sample from Piero Piccioni's "It's Possible" (the song is performed by English singer Catherine Howe), great beat; Jay Worthy goes well, delivers worthily, Boldy James goes strong and technical to meet the beat face-to-face with a heavy, decisive, severe flow, Gunn at the last verse, good closing, slow, dope. The Alchemist proves to be fully up to Griselda expectations with another masterpiece for "Lucha Bros": modern jazzy boom bap with soulful sample from "A Colourful Dream" by The Bendeth Band left to breathe calmly in the background, Westside delivers serenely above with his times, fantastic, then Currensy smoothness and technically dirty, Benny closes and takes the track home with an absurd, phenomenal, genius verse.
The self-celebrating "WestSideGunn Day" follows, a nice rhythm by JR Swiftz that makes the jazzy beat sadder, dirty and more underground than the previous ones, great delivery by Gunn. On August 28, 2019, the mayor of Buffalo proclaimed that day as Westside Gunn Day in the city. M-A produces "Kensington Pool", another underground, jazzy, pure NY production, heavenly sample from "Sentimental View 2" by the Polish pianist André Tchaikowsky (not to be confused with the Russian composer Tchaikovsky), excellent delivery by the Griselda rapper. Keisha Plum puts an end to the games with a poetic outro on Alchemist's jazzy beat, with a sample from Icelandic prog rock band Náttúra's "A Little Hymn for Love and Peace".
When "Hitler Wears Hermes 7" comes out, Westside Gunn is a polarizing force in hip hop. Not because we're in the seventh volume of his series — due to a happy coincidence, I repeat, one of the best series in hip hop in the last twenty years — but because the artist comes from twenty efforts, twenty. There isn't one of these records that you can judge "weak". It begins to be such a solid discography that it could make Ghostface Killah envious, without fear of hyperbole. The Griselda trio in these years has amply demonstrated in every way to be worthy of the Wu-Tang Clan stigma, that of the best times, that of the nineties, the time in which Griselda products live. "7" is there, with the others. Very high in the discography of the one who called himself without awe, the new King of NY.
Highlights: "Size 42", "Connie's Son", "Banana Yacht", "Kelly's Korner", "Undertaker vs. Goldberg", "Kool G", "Lucha Bros", "WestSideGunn Day", "Kensington Pool".
Rating: 8.5/10.
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