''Pray for Paris'' is the third studio album by American rapper

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American Rapping, rapper and fashion designer. He co-founded the Independent record label, hip-hop record label Griselda Records in 2012 with his paternal half- ...

. It was released on April 17, 2020 through Griselda Records with distribution by

Empire Distribution Empire Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (stylized as EMPIRE) is an independent American record label, distribution and publishing company founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. Based in San Francisco, EMPIRE has offices in New York, London, ...

. The album was produced by

Daringer A derringer or deringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepper ...

Beat Butcha Eliot Dubock, best known as Beat Butcha, is an English record producer, disc jockey and songwriter best known for his production work for SZA, The Carters, Brent Faiyaz, Dreamville, Banks, $uicideboy$, Tyler, the Creator, and various members of ...

the Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968) professionally known as DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of h ...

, and

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

. It features guest appearances from

Benny the Butcher Jeremie Damon Pennick (born November 27, 1984), known professionally as Benny the Butcher, or simply Benny, is an American rapper and songwriter. He came to prominence in 2018 following the release of his debut album, '' Tana Talk 3''. Along w ...

Conway the Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine, or simply Conway, is an American rapper and co-founder of the hip hop label Griselda Records, alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn. Acclaimed for h ...

Joey Badass Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom h ...

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

Boldy James James Clay Jones III (born August 9, 1982), better known by his stage name Boldy James, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop collective Griselda. Recognized for his deep voice and laid-back delivery of vivid stories, he often ex ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample bas ...

Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places * Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England * Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People * Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and televisi ...

, Joyce Wrice, Billie Essco, Keisha Plum, and Cartier Williams. The album debuted at number 67 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Background and development

Westside Gunn announced he was recording a project called ''Pray for Paris'' after having attended Virgil Abloh's Off-White Paris fashion show on January 18, 2020. He revealed the album's artwork on April 3, 2020. The cover was created by

Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transfor ...

using

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

's '' David with the Head of Goliath''. During the album's recording Westside learned he had contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and recounted having to do promotion for the album while suffering symptoms from the virus. "A few days before dropping the album, Westside revealed that he contracted COVID-19 but has since recovered. "I have a confession to Make I’m a Corona Survivor," Westside wrote on IG. "I didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for me I had to thug it out for weeks I didn’t get to see my kids I went to the hospital feeling like I was breathing my last breath the fans and the love I was getting kept me strong." Before the album's release, Westside Gunn and Virgil Abloh live-streamed the entire project on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

Critical reception

''Pray for Paris'' received critical acclaim from critics. At Album of the Year, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 77 based on six reviews. Gregory Castel of ''Earmilk'' stated "Pray for Paris is a soulful yet, grimey masterpiece. This album is a handpicked selection of high-level artists, in lyricism, soulful production, and visual artwork". Riley Wallace of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' said, "Pray For Paris seems to show Gunn resisting being boxed-in artistically. For some critics who may have found past offerings more of an acquired taste, this is the camp’s most inviting project to date". Alphonse Pierre of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated "The

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

rapper continues his unlikely ascent into hip-hop stardom with an album of feverish excess and the best raps of his career". In his "Consumer Guide" column,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said that "this album enjoys old-fashioned hip-hop materialism with dauntless esprit". ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' reviewer A. Harmony said "Though Gunn's vintage sound might not work for everyone, ''Pray for Paris'' is a total delight for those who want to reminisce without feeling stuck in the past". In another positive review, Dylan Green of DJ Booth stated "In the age of streaming and playlists, Pray For Paris further solidifies Westside Gunn as an album artist. He knows how to craft experiences from start to finish, what beats sound best next to each other, which features will yield the wildest results". Ryan Middleton of Magnetic Magazine said, "Despite this album having the sheen of opulence and examining fuck you money at the outset, it remains grounded with an ear to the streets."

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2020 albums Albums produced by Conductor Williams Albums produced by DJ Muggs Albums produced by DJ Premier Albums produced by Beat Butcha Albums produced by Tyler, the Creator Albums produced by Daringer (producer) Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician) Empire Distribution albums Griselda Records albums Westside Gunn albums