Buffalo, NY · hip-hop · boom-bap

Westside Gunn

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Griselda's ringleader — dusty loops, ad-libs as punctuation, and an art-world obsession baked into everything, boom-bap as couture.

Westside Gunn is the stage name of Alvin Worthy, a rapper from Buffalo, New York, and the founder of Griselda, the label and crew he built alongside his brother Conway the Machine and cousin Benny the Butcher. He grew up in Buffalo's East Side before moving around the city, including to its wealthier west end, and showed an early interest in fashion, reportedly wearing gold chains as a child.

Before rapping himself, Gunn managed Conway's career, turning to music only in 2012 after Conway was shot. That year he began the Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series and soon after co-founded Griselda Records with Conway and producer-rapper Mach-Hommy. His debut album, Flygod, followed in 2016.

His voice is high and nasal, and his verses are broken up by squealed ad-libs and imitated gunshots, delivered over grimy, largely unquantised loops. Records such as Supreme Blientele and Pray for Paris pair drug-trade narratives with references to high fashion, professional wrestling and contemporary art, an aesthetic he extends into the packaging and rollout of his releases.

Griselda signed to Eminem's Shady Records in 2017, becoming the first rappers from Buffalo on a major label. Gunn's only solo release for the label, Who Made the Sunshine, arrived in 2020, after which he returned to independent work, later signing a management deal with Roc Nation alongside Benny the Butcher.

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