Westside Gunn has dropped the tenth and final album in his acclaimed series Hitler Wears Hermes.
Simply titled 10 to mark the milestone, his curtain call finds the Griselda head still at the top of his game and ends HWH on his own terms.
Gunn shared the extensive guest list earlier this week which featured heavy hitters like A$AP Rocky, familiar faces like Stove God Cooks, and even some surprises like Goo Goo Dolls lead singer Robby Takac.
Throughout the album, Gunn shows love to rap’s most iconic groups like the Wu Tang-Clan and repeatedly references them. RZA produced the intro track and A.A. Rashad pays homage to the legendary Staten Island group by saying “Grieslda is for the children.”
Later, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon appear with Busta Rhymes and Cooks on “Science Class” over a Swizz Beatz produced track that seems tailor made for the Shaolin masters. It’s a callback to classic New York hip-hop and Gunn executes it with ease.
Gunn concludes his iconic series the only way the head of Griselda can — with an epic 10-minute posse cut featuring nearly the entire label. Over a sinister Alchemist instrumental, “Red Death” is a love letter to Griselda and is a statement that the label’s music will last forever.
DJ Drama drops ad-libs throughout the track, while every Griselda member, from Armani Caesar and Rome Streetz to Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, delivers impeccable verse after verse and dares listeners to debate who came out on top. It’s a crowning achievement for the group and the perfect final note for the project.
Just like the rest of his historical collection of projects, 10 is another winning tape and is a satisfying victory lap for one of rap’s most prolific figures. Now, Gunn looks toward his next album Michelle Records. Named after his aunt who primarily raised him, he aims to have the next drop coming relatively soon. Until then, he caps off HWH with a stunning finale.
Listen to ’10’ by Westside Gunn below!
Westside Gunn to drop final ‘Hitler Wears Hermes’ album on Friday
Westside Gunn‘s celebrated series Hitler Wears Hermes has been an overlooked staple of the hip-hop community since its original tape dropped back in 2012. Now, it seems as though the series will finally come to end on Oct. 28 with its tenth installment.
The rap mogul spoke with Peter Rosenberg on Hot 97 about the final album on Oct. 14, listing some of the collaborators he linked with to properly close out the final chapter. Artists and producers like RZA, Alchemist, Black Star, Run The Jewels, Swizz Beatz, Raekwon, DJ Drama, and more are all on board this time around. Additionally, he even got his son to produce a pair of tracks for him under the moniker “Flygod Jr.”
He also explained that he originally planned to end it after last year’s double album Hitler Wears Hermes 8, but figured a tenth edition felt more fitting.
“It was supposed to have been Michelle first and you already know I have a notorious series called Hitler Wears Hermes, which I started 10 years ago in 2012. Every year, at this time, I made ‘Part 1,’ ‘Part 2,’ ‘Part 3,’ ‘Part 4,’ all the way up to now. So it’s only right if I end it on 10.”
Westside Gunn on Hot 97
He also hinted that there could be some form of collectible edition or potential box set that includes all of the past installments when the album drops.
Gunn’s latest will come just a few months after his first drop of 2022 Peace “Fly” God and will replace the aforementioned, previously announced album Michelle Records. The alleged final album in the Hitler Wears Hermes series is now just days away.
