Hi, everyone. Newthony Facetano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Westside Gunn project, 12.

Here we have the latest project from Buffalo rapper, boombap auteur, Mr. Westside Gunn, a man who has slowly built one of the most respected brands in hip hop today, that's Griselda. A label and collective that really over the past 10 years has helped usher in a new demand for grimy, coke-dusted throwback rap bangers that have a vintage flair. And specifically in the case of Westside Gunn, we're also talking about bringing a high fashion, artsy energy to this sound and style.

Now Westside Gunn is also a guy who loves a sequel, loves a series. Of all of these episodic projects, 12 here is the latest installment of the most long running strain of them. That would be Hitler Wears Hermes, which title-wise at number 10, he decided to start stripping the title down to just the numbers for obvious reasons. But this is not the only change the series has undergone as of late.

In fact, last year is when we got number 11, and that is the first instance in which I believe something in this series had been whittled down to pretty much an EP's length. We got five tracks and 16 minutes of material on that one. And while the project did get lost in the flurry of other Griselda-related albums to release that year, it's still a consequential moment in Westside Gunn's discography, especially considering that its release is essentially in tribute to a very close associate of his, Big Dump, who was tragically killed in 2024.

Now, he is essentially tributing him once again with the cover art of this latest project here, too, where, again, we see the text "Free Sly for Big Dump". But 12 over here doesn't just simply function as a tribute, but also a snapshot of where Westside Gunn is artistically at the moment.

Now, truth be told, the world of Griselda Records is looking a lot different these days than it did when we initially saw the label really gaining traction, when most records under the Griselda name were pretty much Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher. These days, the circle is still very tightly knit, but a lot of the faces and have changed. As a result, Westside Gunn is leaning a lot more into features from increasingly familiar faces like Estee Nack and Stove God Cooks, who seemingly gets more and more unhinged with each series of appearances he gets on a new Westside Gunn project.

We have a trim tracklist on this record, too, but not a meager one either. Essentially 10 songs and an interlude/intro. Once again, yeah, it's pretty much Westside Gunn curating beats and verses and vibes from those who he seems to trust the most in terms of getting a good solid project together. The interlude and opener, "Michelle World", that I was referring to earlier – I'm not exactly sure what the source material on this track is. I'm sorry to plead ignorance, but if I am to guess (and I am guessing), I'm wondering if this is some weird soul recreation, AI sample type stuff. Because again, it does sound like we are getting a loop from an old soul tune soon, but the vocalist on top of the track is singing "Who is the Goat?". It's very funny and certainly an entertaining tone-setter for the entire thing.

But the first full-length track we have on the record, "Boswell", we dip right into usual boom bap Griselda territory and total lyrical chaos breaks loose, with hype deliveries and colorful adlibs, persistent rhyme schemes, lots of over-the-top lyrical imagery and just the kinetic chemistry between each person on the track of like a Wu-Tang cipher. We have Estee Nack bragging about throwing your baby mama off of a ferris wheel. We have Westside making his usual wrestling references on top of saying, "I don't know Spanish, but for work, I'm going to speak some." Meanwhile, Stove God is describing Louis Vuitton airbags in the midst of a car crash.

Even though I feel like I've heard this before from Westside Gunn, more or less, it still hits, especially since these days it seems like he's putting as much effort into rhyming as he is just creating the vibe. But still, with that being said, as the tracklist continues, whether or not this album is really grabbing my attention depends upon whether or not a particular track just feels redundant in the greater sea of similar sounding songs that Westside has released previously.

For example, the song "Adam Page" is just okay. Meanwhile, the lengthier "Veert" is a drumless lyrical meditation where Stove God Cooks and Estee Nack shoulder the brunt of the song, hilariously, with Stove God Cooks making mention of taking his twins to Disneyland and selling a brick outside of Epcot Center. Estee Nack also brings more very witty wordplay with lots of juxtapositions between just luxury, but also just a very seedy, drug dealing type of narrative frames.

Then soon after this, we have "055", which in my opinion, is the closest I've come to feeling like a Westside Gunn track is like a religious experience, as we have all the crispy soul chops, the vinyl crackle, and Stove God cooks, giving what sounds like a sermon on the song. "Praise fly, praise stove, praise both. Praise fly, praise stove, praise both."

Then we have "Health Science", where things tone down a little bit. This track is much spacier and more melodic than pretty much every other song here. It doesn't have quite the bite of the rest of the record, but it's fine. It does feature a very aspirational verse from Westside Gunn that I like a lot. Then we're introduced to a relatively new voice through features on the project, Mr. Brother Tom Sos, who's an up and comer in the Griselda ring. While I think his flows on the record are solid, vocally speaking, he does sound a little green in comparison with all of these raspy, grimy giants surrounding him on the rest of the project. While there's certainly talent there, he just feels overshadowed in comparison with everyone else here. And I don't know, it doesn't make for the strongest material on the record, I'll say that.

The second half of 12 is a bit of a mixed bag with a couple of more redundant moments. "Bury Me with a Stove" is also mostly memorable for Estee Nack's completely unhinged groaning adlibs throughout the entire song. He's just going.

But then the record really truly does finish out strong with "Outlander", where Westside Gunn brings just incomparable charisma and swagger over these somber and woozy horn loops that are paired with lyricism that seems like Westside is going into a bit of an internal rap monologue, talking about his bitterness toward other lesser rappers, hoping that his friend Sly gets out soon. Then also dropping lines like, "Face in Lagerfeld's stocking, cloaking, line them up / I watched them, wash them every dope head, say I got it," which in terms of the combination of influences, reference points there, that's just quintessential Fly God.

Then we have this amazing closing track featuring Stove God, where he is just singing his way through these luxurious music samples about how the numbers on the stamp might change and the numbers on the scale might change, but he won't change. Rarely have bricks and dealing and cooking sounded so poetic and glamorous. Also, the gospel-style group vocals that turn up later in the track are insane. They're just gorgeous. If only more moments on this album sounded this transcendental.

But yeah, for the most part, I feel like 12 is essentially Westside Gunn, steady as she goes in a way. Another chapter in the ongoing saga of his musical life. It's certainly not the biggest or most ambitious or most radical record that you're ever going to hear in the WSG catalog.

But still, even operating in a somewhat predictable gear, Westside Gunn is putting out some of the best stuff of his career, and I think really getting into a unique collaborative flow with guys like Nack and Stove God, who he's been working with so often at this point that there's just a certain vibe now that they and only they can conjure together, which is why I'm feeling about a strong 6 to a light 7 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, Westside Gunn, Forever.