Steve 'Flash' JuonLet’s not avoid the obvious — that’s Sid Vicious (a/k/a Sid Justice & Sycho Sid) on the cover of Westside Gunn’s new album “Still Praying.” On August 26th the wrestler born Sid Eudy passed away after losing his fight with cancer, and the internet was promptly flooded with tributes to the larger than life superstar. With a billed height and weight of 6’9″ and over 300 pounds, Sid looked every bit of it any time he stepped in the ring. He was not a naturally gifted talker on the mic and memorably botched a promo on Kevin Nash in WCW, claiming he had “half the brains that you do,” but that awkwardness was part of his charm. In fact during the peak of his WWF (WWE) run, fans in New York rejected the promotion’s golden boy Shawn Michaels in favor of the tall drink of water from West Memphis, Arkansas. It was one of the most amazing moments in Survivor Series history — one you can’t possibly forget if you were a fan at the time.
I’m going out of my way to explain this on the off chance it wasn’t obvious that that Gunn is a pro wrestling fan, something I’ve known for at least a decade. I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m one either given I’ve written for Wrestling Observer and Cageside Seats and run my own small pro wrestling website. Dismissing it as “fake” misses the point. Movies are fake. TV is fake. Most rappers who pose with Lamborghinis in their videos rented one. Entertainment isn’t about everything you see being real and pro wrestling delights in blurring the lines between their scripted events and real life animosity. The man born Alvin Worthy doesn’t act like he’s too good for the squared circle or that there aren’t obvious parallels between the worlds of rap and wrestling. He even has former WWE and current AEW ring announcer Justin Roberts “introduce” him on this album.
“I’m on my fucking wrestling shit though, I don’t give a fuck nigga” quips Gunn on “Beef Bar.” You might think I’m playing this up too much but after listening to “Still Praying” I’m pretty sure I’m not playing it up ENOUGH. He’s the only person I know who is sampling Max Caster on skits and then naming songs after said same rapper/wrestler. At some point I fully expect to see Gunn appear on a live pay per view and hit someone with a powerbomb worthy of Sycho Sid. He lives for this shit and as far as I can tell the wrestling community has embraced him the same way they did Action Bronson. There’s even a noticeable similarity in their nasally New York accents that led both to be compared to Ghostface Killah, and the Wu has never shied away from pro wrestling references either.
All of this is to simply say that if you don’t like pro wrestling you’d better look elsewhere because “Still Praying” won’t be for you… UNLESS you simply “don’t give a fuck” like Gunn himself. You don’t really need to know who Britt Baker is to appreciate the DJ Muggs produced “Dr. Britt Baker” featuring Brother Tom Sos. “Now you see the vision, this shit crystal clear” is the hook and I do — it’s some smooth mellow shit where Sos spits “y’all niggaz is boring, she like it over here just a little bit better/I got the gift of gab, bitch I’m a little bit clever/I’m still hungry I can’t lie, but the portions getting better.”
I’m tempted to say “Still Praying” is a mixtape for a few reasons. It’s presented by DJ Drama and on a lot of streaming services he’s listed as a co-author. His “gangsta gri-zills” drop is all over songs like the Statik Selektah & Crucial the Guillotine produced “I Know Verdy.” This one is also a bit short at 37 minutes total. Yes I know that’s long by 2024 standards, but as a fan of both Gunn and wrestling, I’d prefer a full hour of entertainment. Two is alright, more than three hours is pushing it, but if a major promotion’s TV show was only 30 minutes I’d think something went horribly wrong. Besides it’s just fun to hear Gunn and his Griselda comrades like Rome Streetz talk their game on songs like “Underground King.” When it’s bad you can turn it off but when it’s good you always want more.
The album is flooded with shoutouts to the deceased from both worlds ranging from Fatman Scoop to Virgil and bars like “the ‘Total Package’ like Lex Luger.” This hits me in all my feels because I was born into wrestling (my grandpa loved Verne Gagne) and I’ve been a rap fan since nine years old. I’m 50 now so that’s multiple generations of this shit I’ve been through and seen change. Both rap and wrestling have had their share of clones who imitated the success of others, and both have had no shortage of scandals, but both have thrived in the face of (and sometimes because of) public outrage. So yes I enjoyed “Still Praying,” maybe a bit more than you will, but if you’re built like me this one is a win.