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Not to be confused with the hashtag PrayForParis.
2020 studio album by Westside Gunn
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 using Caravaggio's David with the Head of Goliath. During the album's recording Westside learned he had contracted COVID-19 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.
Pray for Paris received critical acclaim from critics. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average 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 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 stated "The Buffalo rapper continues his unlikely ascent into hip-hop stardom with an album of feverish excess and the best raps of his career". In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau said that "this album enjoys old-fashioned hip-hop materialism with dauntless esprit". Exclaim! 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."
McKinney, Jessica; Skelton, Eric; Setaro, Shawn; Tharpe, Frazier; Diaz, Angel; Wisenthal, Lucas (June 17, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020: Top Albums So Far". Complex. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
McKinney, Jessica; Gee, Andre; Skelton, Eric; Ortiz, Edwin; Diaz, Andre; Schube, Will (December 2, 2020). "The Best Albums of 2020". Complex. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
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