Westside Gunn has turned professional wrestling into a full creative language — and HEELMATIC is his most direct statement in that language yet.

The Buffalo rapper’s new album is out today, Friday, Nov. 13, on Griselda Records and Mass Appeal. It runs 16 tracks, every title leaning into wrestling, fashion and the luxury street world Gunn has spent a decade building.

A heel in wrestling is the villain — the character the crowd loves to hate — and Gunn has always played that role with a grin. The tracklist tells the story before the first note: “GRANT HEEL,” “KOKE SLAM,” “TOMMY HEELFIGER,” “HURT + HEEL” and closer “UPSTATE FARMS.”

The album was previewed by the single “ZILLA,” released Oct. 22 with an official video on the GRISELDA VISION channel.

Gunn’s chart record backs the confidence: Pray for Paris reached No. 67 on the Billboard 200, and And Then You Pray for Me climbed to No. 29. He also reached the Hot 100 as a featured artist on Travis Scott’s “Lost Forever.”

HEELMATIC lands on one of the most crowded Fridays of the season — Offset, Benny the Butcher and Wiz Khalifa all drop today, and Benny’s release makes it an unofficial Griselda showcase day. Gunn’s answer to the competition is characteristic: no gimmick rollout, just a 16-track world built on wrestling mythology, fashion and Buffalo street life.

Source: stupidDOPE

Photo: Stephen Dann / Wikimedia Commons — a WWE wrestling ring.