I’m not sure what it is about this summer but it just feels different, my friends. It could be because this is our first “official” summer back outside or it could just be the fact there’s no summer anthem out right now that you can’t escape. Maybe thats a good thing. This summer I’m avoiding the pop anthems for gritty hip hop booms and baps…or at least thats what I’m doing for now since Westside Gunn just released Peace Fly God. A 10 song album with a plethora of designer name drops, drug dealer soliloquies and braggadocio quotes that make you feel just that much flyer while your getting dressed for an evening out.

Peace “Fly” God begins with a spoken word interlude from multiple time collaborator and Griselda’s own Bro A.A. Rashid. To be honest with you I would normally skip an intro like this but the beat that lies beneath Rashid’s poetic piece is so beautifully crafted by Don Cerrera that its a must listen. Rashid’s words seem somewhat unorganized at times and gives it the mystique that they weren’t written down beforehand. Its a perfect start that leaves Rashid’s voice imprinted on your mind as he echoes “Peace Fly God” to end the intro.

Where the first track does a great job of setting the bar high, the second and third entries titled “Jesus Crack” and “Ritz Barlton” fail to vault over it for me. “Jesus Crack” just comes off as more album filler than anything else. Don’t get me wrong anytime you can get a verse from  Syracuse-bred emcee Stove God Cooks its a victory but the production and raps fail to mesh cohesively here. Both would benefit better alone than together. I will add that there’s a great story to be told and Gunn continues to stay on brand painting the image of a rags to riches hustler who has come a long way from the hoods of Buffalo, New York.

“Big Ass Bracelet” comes on and the gloves are off. It takes 3 tracks to get here but track 4 finally delivers the Westside Gunn we all love and have become accustomed to. The flyest raps and flexes over slow BPM soul beats. “Chrome Heart goggles like I'm scuba diving. Hermès seats, it look like the coupe was flyin” Gunn echoes halfway through. Several designer name drops and bars filled with opulence and we’re not even close to the end of the song. Westside throws a perfect alley oop to Stove God Cooks who picks up right where Gunn leaves off and slams the point home. “They wire the money now, they used to wire the room”… What a fucking opening bar… Gunn and Stove God know what works for their dynamic and display it perfectly here.

For “Derrick Boleman” Westside Gunn reaches out to illustrious producer Madlib and I just want to take the time to applaud Gunn on his ear for production. He may be one of the best in the game at choosing beats and thats a talent not to be overlooked as we’ve seen a great quantity of rappers suffer from not being able to choose the beats that best elevate their efforts. Once again Gunn and Stove God trade verses with these 2 raising the bar even more than the last. The 2 emcees vocal tones are made for this beat and the beat sounds like it was put together with them in mind. It’s a stand out on the album.

At the end of the day “Peace Fly God” is another gold medal in Westside Gunn’s already solid discography and songs like the “Horses On Sunset”, equipped with an eerie hook from Stove God that makes it one of my favs, and “Open Praise” which shows Gunn’s more vulnerable side leave a lasting impression that will keep the album in my playlist for the foreseeable future. This is in my Top 5 as far as favorite albums this year go, my friends. I say all of that to say stream the album below and don’t forget to say “Peace” Fly God.