Westside Gunn finally came up with the perfect album title. No notes. Magnificent. My only question is what took this long. If you're an East Coast boom-bap revivalist with a pro wrestling obsession, you need to have an album called Heelmatic, or else you're leaving money on the table. Westside Gunn, the former Griselda impresario, is no longer leaving money on the table. He'll release Heelmatic next month.
Westside Gunn's last full-length album was 2025's Heels Have Eyes 2. This year, he has appeared on records from people like A$AP Rocky and the team of Erykah Badu and the Alchemist. Heelmatic is his first record for Mass Appeal. If it has any guests, the press release doesn't name them. But we do have a Heelmatic tracklist, so we know that it includes some truly great song titles, like "Blowdysseus" and "Martin 4sese." Also, he's got one called "The Bastard Pac," presumably in honor of the great wrestler who suddenly passed away last month.
Denny La Flare produced the lurching, sputtering beat for lead single "Zilla," and it sounds cool as hell, even though Westside Gunn's ad-libs are as annoying as ever. He promises to "drive-by shoot your whole block up out the Waymo" and then adds, "Gettin' Just Don Moët bottles by the caseload, chasin' Jeff Bezos." I know the last part means that he's trying to get stupidly rich, but I prefer to imagine WSG literally running after Jeff Bezos, possibly down a sidewalk, maybe while brandishing a rolling pin. In the Daily Gem-directed video, Westside Gunn rides a camel to the Pyramids and looks unbelievably slick. Check it out below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Grant Heel"
02 "Blowdysseus"
03 "Zilla"
04 "Koke Slam"
05 "Sock A Knee"
06 "Don Pistola"
07 "Martin 4sese"
08 "Tommy Heelfiger"
09 "Hurt + Heel"
10 "Price Choppers"
11 "Egyptian Cadillac"
12 "Bottom Bunk Legends"
13 "Bavettes"
14 "Giant Leather"
15 "The Bastard Pac"
16 "Upstate Farm"
Heelmatic is out 11/13 on Mass Appeal. Pre-order it here.