The Public’s weekly local music reviews and previews.

Westside Gunn — Flygod  album  Recommended if you like: Madlib, Nas, Raekwon

A rapper who hails from Buffalo, Westside Gunn is now located in Atlanta and has just released a full length record that features a bunch of familiar names. Gunn worked with the likes of Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Danny Brown, The Alchemist, Apollo Brown, and another Buffalo-based rapper, Conway on his latest album, Flygod, which was released March 11 on Griselda Records. 

“I did this for my homies behind the wall, my ones I lost, my fans who keep me going and BUFFALO.” the rapper said in a recent interview with Complex.

One of the album’s highlights, “Mr. T” features the very Madlib-esque production of Apollo Brown. The low-key track is accompanied by a video with multiple shout outs to Buffalo—Jim’s Steak Out, Loganberry, another track is straight up called “Albright Knox”—and includes some well known faces from the Buffalo hip hop scene. Another highlight, “Bodies on Fairfax” features the irreverent Danny Brown as irreverent as ever rapping about his love of weed over a stripped back, almost beatless production. 

The dreamy, stripped-back aesthetic continues on what might be the album’s climax featuring Action Bronson titled “Dudley Boyz,” a reference to the 18-time ECW/WWE tag team champions. And Action and Westside Gunn trade verses like true tag team champs on the track produced by the prolific producer The Alchemist who has crafted beats for hundreds of well known artists including Ghostface Killah, Nas, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Schoolboy Q.

Gunn is still a fairly unfamiliar name to most hip hop fans outside of Buffalo, and for most other rappers that might make it difficult to distinguish themselves alongside a record full of stars like Flygod, but Gunn still manages to outshine the star power on his own record. 

As chill and beautiful as any hip hop record you’re likely to hear, Flygod is truly fly.