The Griselda kingpin who turned grimy 90s-boom-bap nostalgia into high-art couture, all rasp and Wallabees.
MOODS · gritty · luxurious · boastful · raspy · cinematic · underground · stylish · intense · boom-bap · eccentric
BIOGRAPHY
Westside Gunn (Alvin Lamar Worthy, born July 27, 1982) is a rapper from Buffalo, New York's East Side who co-founded Griselda Records in 2012 with half-brother Conway the Machine and cousin Benny the Butcher. After an early unreleased mixtape in 2005, he debuted properly with the EP Hitler Wears Hermes in 2012.
In 2017 Griselda signed with Eminem's Shady Records, making Gunn and Conway the first Buffalo rappers on a major label; his lone Shady solo release, Who Made the Sunshine, arrived in 2020 before he went independent. His 2020 album Pray for Paris charted on the Billboard 200 and drew praise from Pitchfork and Earmilk, and 2023's And Then You Pray for Me reached the chart's Top 30. He is also known for a nearly million-dollar art collection and his Fashion Rebels clothing line.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Westside Gunn built Griselda Records into one of the most distinct crews in modern rap, pairing raspy ad-lib-heavy delivery with luxury art and fashion sensibilities rarely associated with underground hip-hop. Signing to Shady Records made him and Conway trailblazers for Buffalo on a major label, while Pray for Paris earned critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork for its feverish excess and refined production. His parallel life as an art collector and designer adds a curatorial, almost gallery-owner air to his rap persona.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
George has played this artist 2 times.
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