Big Week for New Music

Last Friday, Westside Gunn followed up his hit album, “Pray For Paris,” with another one titled, “Flygod is an Awesome God 2”. Westside is the head of Griselda Records and has been paving his way in the industry all year. This album is another example of him building off that same momentum. Westside’s beat selection skills were on full display in this album. The album sounds very good and carries the feel of old school hip-hop. I think this was a bold move given he had just recently released an album that drew a lot of acclaims but, he managed to make both sound great.

Even though, this Westside project is one of my new favorites, he wasn’t the only big release. Chicago’s own Juice Wrld released his posthumous album, “Legends Never Die.” Juice was the victim of an overdose earlier this year. He is managed by another notable Chicago rapper, Lil Bibby. Lil Bibby did a good job of honoring Juice Wrld’s memory and continuing to feed his work to the world. The new album is available on most streaming platforms.

Both of these albums are absolutely worth the listen. They also are two completely different types of albums. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Juice Wrld, I recognized his talent immediately. He came into the music business transcending genre while still being able to rap better than 80% of the rappers today. He had original Hip-Hop roots and was still making a sound of his own that incorporated EDM and Rock and Roll elements.

Even more important was that he was a product of the City of Chicago. He was being groomed to be the biggest mainstream artist from the city since possibly Kanye West. He had the recognition and respect of his peers in the music industry and everything else needed to succeed. It is disappointing, to say the least, that such a star was taken from us so early but, we can at least dream of what he would have been while listening to his music.