Early on in our Westside Gunn game, back in 2015, we compiled the definitive introduction to Griselda.
It was bound to happen, we knew it for a while, even back then. We had known in the editorial office this was inevitable. All early signs about how impactful and influential Westside Gunn was about to be, even since his Street Entertainment Gang days, were already there.
Nowadays, this is basically old news, as the world has finally witnessed the strength of the Buffalo’s own imprint, as them dudes now reign the underground, influence the mainstream, and have an indecent amount of copycats basically biting their output.
From slang to visuals, references, fashion meets art and a larger-than-life persona, everybody now is accustomed to Westside Gunn’s overall aesthetics. Anyway, we’re here to set the tone straight.
In the same vein of that episode of our podcast mixtape dedicated to Joey Badass, we’re back.
Possibly to date, the one here below is our most heartfelt monographic mix. Timeless material, the best songs in Westside Gunn’s own catalogue, as some new classics are here. An essential monographic path dedicated to WSG and its unstoppable Griselda Records is here for you, alongside that monster Conway The Machine.
In the own words of our supremo Stromberg The Host, when he originally delivered the mix, back in 2015, he said literally, anticipating the times and final outcomes
(…) there is no competition, without a doubt, Westside Gunn is the most iconic and culturally-relevant rapper that the hip hop scene has seen in recent years, point-blank…
He has swagger to sell…Think about it: his music is pure mainstream material while remaining absolutely grimy underground, it is high-end luxury with a criminal attitude, as spontaneous as incredibly well-thought-out.
I was discussing this Westside Gunn/Griselda imprint with Folto Caruso the other day, and we both agreed that this is the kinda shit that the real industry cats take inspiration from, and then you find it resold elsewhere in their sweetened records, but hey, they can’t fool us!
In the Griselda format, everything is perfect, from music to lyrics, to references, uncut raw…This is clearly NOT for everyone, of course, but this stuff has the potential to arrive at everyone.
No matter when it’ll happen, we will be surely elsewhere. Anyway, I thought I’d pay a tribute and homage to the boys at GXFR, selecting the cream of the crop of the team, from Westside Gunn to Conway and all the entourage, shout out Daringer, Camouflage Monk and all the rest of the crew…hope you like it, peace…
Griselda is dead, long live Griselda and Westside Gunn.
Clearer than that, our man Stromberg couldn’t be. He was right, the Griselda Records movement was meant to blow up, as it did. It did also get “pop“, in a sense. But, finally, it was conceived to do and be so. Now WSG is everywhere, the whole team has gone mainstream, Conway has officially left the team to go solo, Benny The Butcher has his own imprint and artists’ roster, Daringer is an established act on his own, touring the world with Action Bronson and partnering with The Alchemist, alongside The Beat Butcha.
To make this happen, the imprint has taken the market by storm, flooding it with an overabundance of not-always-super-on-point products, which have kept consistent the narrative, and gained actual traction for the brand.
But hey, that’s the ruthless marketing machine conceived and run by Westside Gunn, in perfect sync with the zeitgeist, and people apparently love how it works, as it seems it can’t be stopped. Fueled by constant social media exposure, merchandising drops, fashion statements, wrestling references and whatnot, the whole movement is exactly where its founder wants it to be.
In our opinion, taste and typical fashion, the best is not yet to come, it has already passed. Give us your two cents, if you like. But first, download and listen to Pyrex & Ferragamo.
The Best Westside Gunn Songs Tribute Mix: enter “Pyrex and Ferragamo” from Griselda Records
WSG & Conway – Fendi Seats
WSG & Conway – Hall N Nash
WSG & Conway The Machine – Dinner Plate
WSG featuring Sean Price – Blvck Tar
Apollo Brown featuring WSG & Planet Asia – Triple Beams
WSG – Dear Winter
WSG– Bloody Fieg
WSG – Never Comming Home
WSG featuring Conway & Sadat X – The Town
WSG – Big L & Half-A-Mil
Conway The Machine featuring WSG & Roc Marciano – Rex Ryan
WSG – City, SOS & Me
The Blast Podcast #90 – Stromberg the Host in Pyrex & Ferragamo, a Westside Gunn Tribute by Strettoblaster on Mixcloud
