Westside Gunn Continues His Hot Streak On “HEELS HAVE EYES 2”

Westside Gunn seemingly has no idea how to slow down. In February, he released 12, a mixtape that earned a place on our midyear list. A couple of months after 12, he dropped HEELS HAVE EYES, the EP that shares a name with his professional wrestling venture, which he began in April 2024 during the weekend of WWE's WrestleMania XL.

Now, he's back with the sequel in what could prove to be another long-running series for Gunn when all is said and done. This tape is much more fleshed out than the five songs and 10 minutes of the first one. And, instead of a Ted DiBiase photo being used as the cover, he opted for a photo of Virgil, DiBiase's old bodyguard. Of course, the homage to Virgil works in two ways. It's a tribute to a fallen wrestler and a bit of a reference to Virgil Abloh, who gets a shoutout on this tape.

HEELS HAVE EYES 2 is about as consistent as 12, so most Westside Gunn fans should find a lot to like about it. The feature list is fairly short for a Gunn project as well. Brother Tom Sos appears on "AMIRA KITCHEN" and "PRICK." Benny The Butcher raps next to Gunn on "POWER HOUSE HOBBS." Skyzoo shows up on "AUNT GINA" and sounds the most energized he has in years.

Additionally, Stove God Cooks continues his collaborative streak with Gunn on "BRIKOLAI VOLKOFF." The most surprising feature is MIKE, who sounds completely at home on the sample-heavy, "boom bap"-style production that Griselda MCs are known for rapping on, which is not his usual style.

Overall, HEELS HAVE EYES 2 is another worthy addition to the ever-expanding Westside Gunn canon. At 37 minutes, it's among his breezier non-EP listens as well. Check out the tape below.

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