Westside Gunn, the tastemaker from Buffalo with a thousand talents, is once again putting his salty stamp on the scene. Not only is he a lyrical heavyweight and entrepreneur, but now a professional wrestling promoter with his own independent wrestling circuit, 4th Rope. And as if that's not enough salt for your soup, he now drops the twelfth mixtape in his epic "Hitler Wears Hermes" series. This project proves that Westside Gunn's name is forever etched in the hip-hop history books.
After his strong debut with "FLYGOD" and the stunner "Supreme Blientele," he shows with his latest release that his fire is not going out. After we last heard him on "And Then You Pray for Me," a stunner that was a follow-up to "Pray for Paris," he now brings us another overload of salt with "Hitler Wears Hermes XII." This comes just in time for a joint pay-per-view event by 4th Rope and Game Changer Wrestling in Las Vegas, right during WWE's big WrestleMania XLI. And it's all happening live via Comcast Corporation & NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service.
It all starts with the introductory track "Michelle World," after which we are immediately thrown into the hardcore atmosphere with "Boswell." On this we hear Estee Nack and Stove God Cooks on a salty, five-minute boom bap banger that grabs you hard by the neck. On "Adam Page," named after the legendary AEW Champion, Stove God drops rock-hard lines about wealth and success. Estee Nack and Stove then taste even better on the drumless, piano-driven "Feather," a track produced by Daringer, while the soulful "055" forces you to give West and Stove the credit they deserve.
On "Health Science," featuring Brother Tom Sos, the beat, cleverly put together by Cee Gee, fires like a personal attack. This leads into the funky "Gumbo Yaya," where the twosome highlights their lifestyle and grasp of the game. "East Miami" paints a gangsta lifestyle in four and a half minutes without drums, and on "Bury Me with a Stove," Estee Nack lets it be known that he continues to hustle even after death.
The only song released as a single, "Outlander," ends the epic story of this 12th edition. The song nods to iconic wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and confident jazz-like vibes. The drumless "Dump World" featuring Stove God Cooks is a shot at the people who thought they could stop them.
The release of "Hitler Wears Hermes XI" on Devil's Night already proved that this series is alive and well. And "Hitler Wears Hermes XII" feels like a worthy sequel to "Peace FLYGOD," with strong contributions from Estee Nack and Stove God Cooks, as well as production that will send you into raptures. For an album full of salty vibes and solid bars, we give this record a well-deserved 7 out of 10.
Immerse yourself in these salty vibes and let us know if you crave it as much as we do. Let's talk about what you think! Because if hip-hop gets your blood flowing, this is definitely one for your collection. Peace.
#hhz #houhet salt #hiphop #westsidegunn #hitlerwearshermes #rap
