Westside Gunn has released his new project, WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE. The Buffalo, New York-based rapper announced this as his debut album, despite having well over 15 projects to his name previously.
Gunn is a member and co-founder of Griselda, a record label, clothing brand and hip-hop collective formed by him, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher. All growing up in Buffalo, Griselda Records was officially founded in 2012.
Since then, the core members of Griselda have all seen their fair share of success and Westside Gunn has been no exception. With this project being his third of 2020 and his debut album, the expectations were high for WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE.
While still a solid project, WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE seems to be a continuation of Gunn’s previous project, Pray for Paris, in April 2020.
“The Butcher and The Blade (feat. Benny The Butcher & Conway The Machine),” the first song following the intro, is a gritty track with an infectiously repetitive piano synth instrumental. Gunn’s verse almost seemed like an afterthought, as the features’ verses were far more energetic and memorable.
“All Praises (feat. Boldly James & Jadakiss)” is yet another gloomy instrumental with smooth, hard flows from each artist. Similar to “The Butcher and The Blade,” the features seemingly one-up Gunn with ease on the track. Boldly James’s nonchalant verse meshed well with the instrumental, as did Jadakiss’s classic, hoarse-sounding flow.
For a debut album, however, there are things to be disappointed about. Gunn only has one solo track on the entire album, which can easily suppress his contribution to the project in its entirety. There are also a lot of tracks that seem to have no place in the album, as they aren’t beneficial to the theme that Gunn is trying to make.
“Liz Loves Luger (feat. Armani Caeser),” for example, is an atrocious attempt at whatever kind of love song the track classifies as. Armani Caeser’s lackluster vocals paired with Gunn’s vulgar, tasteless verse does an immense disservice to the project.
Luckily, that’s the extreme low point of the project. That does not mean, however, that WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE is not without its other flaws. Most of the other tracks seem to serve as fillers, as they mostly sound like B-Sides from Pray for Paris.
In actuality, the two highest points of the album have almost nothing to do with Westside Gunn himself.
One of the most outstanding parts of the album is the album cover itself. The drawing is reminiscent of the cover of 88-Keys’ “That’s Life (feat. Mac Miller & Sia).” If you changed that cover for a Griselda project, WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE’s cover is exactly what you get. The kid-like illustration with blood stains over it is possibly the best album cover of 2020.
Music-wise, “Frank Murphy” is easily the high point of the project. While it tops all other tracks on the project, this could easily end up being one of the best songs of 2020. Featuring a multitude of artists such as Stove God Cooks, Flee Lord, Estee Nack, Elcamino and Smoke DZA, the track is an 8-minute masterpiece. The horrifying, beautifully screechy beat is something fit for a horror scene, and the verses are all some of the rawest ones of the year.
Ultimately, the best aspect of the album, sadly, was not Gunn himself. The featured artists on the album made it what it is. With better verses and more energy from Gunn, this album could’ve been one of the best of the year.
Rating: 3/5
