Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B (Album Review)

Westside Gunn proves that his curation skills are on point with “Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B.”

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TOP 5

Honorable Mention. Free Kutter

Was “Free Kutter” recorded at a fancy restaurant where they serve horderves and duck liver?

Seriously, the song’s beat is exquisite as hell. Anywho, in “Free Kutter,” Westside Gunn and Jay Electronica trade verses… I repeat, gutter-ass Westside Gunn and “I’m using 10 percent of my brain”-ass Jay Electronica trade verses in “Free Kutter.” The former sounds like a rowdy-ass gangsta that someone rogue invited to a rich white folks dinner party, while the latter sounds like a dude that is teaching a masterclass in rap, even though no one asked him to. The combination makes for the ultimate mind-f**k.

Honorable Mention. The Fly who couldn’t Fly straight

Westside Gunn and Tyler, The Creator go off in “The Fly who couldn’t Fly straight.”

I’m not going to lie, after listening to Call Me If You Get Lost, I’ve become a mixtape Tyler fiend. I DEMAND MORE MIXTAPE TYLER, BIDEN! Thankfully, Westside Gunn was able to procure a Tyler rap verse for “The Fly who couldn’t Fly straight,” and as expected, the California rapper shines by dropping punchlines that will make you say “what the f**k did he just say?” and hitting us with a slurry but steady flow, choosing to interrupt his flow with random halts here and there. As for Westside Gunn, how about we don’t talk about his verse on this song (It’s atrocious).

5. Ostertag

Greg Ostertag was an average center in the NBA. “Ostertag” is not an average song at all.

Do you know what’s funny (I promise that this is going to be funny)? I thought that Stove God Cooks murdered Westside Gunn on his own s**t on Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side A. Oh, that’s not funny? What about this: Growing up my sister used to call me microwave head.

Steve God Cooks picks up where he left off in “Ostertag,” a song that features production that is absolutely amazing, and a verse by Steve God Cooks that is full of NBA-related punchlines and inside drug-dealing jokes. Though this song is short and doesn’t feature Westside Gunn, I think it is amazing.

If “Ostertag” wasn’t so short, it would be the best song on the album.

4. Best Dressed Demons

Westside Gunn and Mach Hommy spit truth to power in “Best Dressed Demons.”

“Best Dressed Demons” grew on me quite a bit. Initially, I thought the song was too muddy to enjoy. After listening to the song with an open ear, I fell in love with it.

I just love how effortlessly rebellious “Best Dressed Demons” sounds. The song starts out with a Mach Hommy hook that calls out all of the white swagger jaggers in music history. From there, you get lyrics that will let you know how fly/prosperous both Hommy and Westside are. While I absolutely love how the former toys with flows that are hard to keep up with, don’t sleep on how the latter made the song’s energy turn up a little.

3. Forest Lawn

You get perhaps 2 Chainz’s best verse of 2021 in “Forest Lawn.”

I love it when Westside Gunn goes left field with his features. In “Forest Lawn,” he calls on Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz. Westside’s gamble worked because Chainz absolutely kills his verse on this song! Not only does he bless us with punchlines galore, but he simply sounds like a dude that was built for the terrifying beat that he was handed.

I don’t love Westside Gunn’s verse on this song, but absolutely love the catchy hook that he blesses us with. I don’t love Armani Caesar’s verse on this song, but I do like the aggressive energy that she blesses us with.

2. Celine Dion

“Celine Dion” is harder than trying to get an Uber after leaving a ball game.

“Celine Dion” might just feature the best production on this album (That’s saying a lot because most of the beats on this album are outstanding). So, why do I want to sign this song’s beat to a max contract? Because I love how it switches faces, how it gives me authentic 90s gangsta east coast rap vibes, and how it made me want to sign up for BRINKS. The good news is this: Over the production, Westside Gunn, Chase Fetti, Flee Lord, and Heem hit us with consistent flows, scary-ass deliveries, and lyrics that will let you know that they really were in the trenches during scary hours when they were coming up.

1. Hell On Earth Part 2

Hell never sounded so damn ill.

Whenever I hear songs with Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher these days, I tend to have this proud smile on my face. Remember, there was a time that rumors were circulating about Griselda breaking up. Well, the group’s chemistry is on point in “Hell On Earth Part 2.”

“Hell On Earth Part 2” is powered by a beat that would fit nicely on a Tales From The Hood soundtrack. It has a nice tempo and frightening vibes attached to it. Over the beat, Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher kill s**t in their own unique ways: Westside kills s**t by hitting us with animated/demented bars, Benny kills s**t by coming across as a humble/focused/competitive dude, and Conway kills s**t by coming across as the sliest dude on the block. The combination of everyone’s verses makes for quite the listen.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. Brodie Lee (N/A)

2. End how You start intro (N/A)

3. Hell on Earth, Pt. 2 (5/5)

4. Free Kutter (4/5)

5. Richies (3/5)

6. Julia Lang (3/5)

7. Celine Dion (4/5)

8. Best Dressed Demons (4/5)

9. Forest Lawn (4/5)

10. Why I do em Like that (4/5)

11. RIP Bergdorf (4/5)

12. TV BOY (4/5)

13. Survivor Series 95 (3/5)

14. Eddie Kingston (4/5)

15. Ostertag (5/5)

16. Munch (3/5)

17. 99 Avirex (4/5)

18. The Fly who couldn’t Fly straight (4/5)

19. Big AL (4/5)

20. BYE BYE (N/A)

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RGM RATING

(B-)

My wifey just walked past my room while I was bumping this album and asked me if I was listening to a hip-hop Looney Tunes symphony album. Yes, I am, honey.

Westside Gunn is a genius when it comes to picking beats. On GOD, I’ve never heard a rap album with the type of beats that I heard on Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B. Most blended 60s soulfulness with quiet dinner party and grungy hip-hop vibes. When you weren’t getting those types of beats, you were getting either authentic 90s east coast beats or beats that were constructed out of 70s television theme songs that no one remembers. What’s makes the beats on this album stand out, even more, is that you get to hear these hard-ass raps from dudes that probably can’t vote over them. I don’t know if I’m impressed or weirded out.

Westside Gunn is a genius when it comes to putting folks in a position to succeed. A bunch of folks is featured on this album: Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, AA Rashid, 2 Chainz, Mach-Hommy, AZ, Tyler, The Creator, 2 Chainz, Jay Worthy, Larry June, Jay Electronica, and many more. Every single person tries to bring out their most wicked/illegal versions of themselves; the versions of themselves that GOD will deny at the gate to heaven like a goalkeeper. Without the features, this album would be like listening to a cuckoo millionaire that knows how to put raps together.

Westside Gunn is a genius when it comes to sampling s**t. Does this dude just sit around watching TV Land or something? Like, where does he get all of these rare-ass snippets from? That s**t is tight as f**k; especially when the snippets are plugged into the middle of songs.

Westside Gunn is alright when it comes to rapping. Actually, his rapping is growing on me. I wouldn’t call Westside a good rapper, I would call him an entertaining rapper. By no means do I think that he can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world, but I do think that he knows how to hit us with lines that will make us say “did he just say that?” (Not a lot of rappers know how to do that). Like, one of the lines he said that stood out to me was, “You can die, you can come back, you can die, then come back again and I will still be the flyest.” Like, what the f**k made him say that?

I think that Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side A is better than Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B. The former is just a little more polished and steady. I do think the latter features better beats. Whatever the case may be, can you believe that Westside blessed us with more than 30 tracks to drive us crazy with?