Westside Gunn

Why he matters

Alvin Worthy grew up on Buffalo’s East Side. Before he released anything of his own, he managed his half-brother, Conway the Machine. He started putting out music in 2012, and with Conway and Mach-Hommy he founded Griselda Records, with their younger cousin Benny the Butcher and in-house producer Daringer rounding out the core.

Griselda’s sound is sample-heavy and dusty on purpose: loops lifted straight off vinyl for a lo-fi feel, sometimes with no drums at all, and Gunn’s close-miked voice right up front. Lyrically he puts crime stories next to high fashion and fine art. Early on, the label’s physical releases came through the London label Daupe! in limited pressings that often sold out within minutes, which made owning a copy part of the appeal.

Flygod, his official debut album, came out in 2016. A year later Griselda signed with Eminem’s Shady Records, making Gunn and Conway the first Buffalo rappers on a major. Pray for Paris (2020) was the breakout, with a cover by Virgil Abloh built from a Caravaggio painting and guests including Tyler, the Creator, Freddie Gibbs and Joey Bada$$. After Who Made the Sunshine the same year, he finished his Shady obligations and went back to independent. He called And Then You Pray for Me (2023) his last studio album and kept releasing mixtapes.

What a working rapper can take from it

Scarcity is a strategy. Griselda’s limited physical runs turned records into objects people hunted for. You don’t need a pressing plant: a small batch of numbered cassettes or vinyl at a show can do the same thing, as long as the music backs it up. Release digitally for reach and physically for the fans who want proof they were early.

Get close to the mic. Gunn close-mikes his vocals, and it suits a voice that sits on top of thin, drumless loops. Proximity adds low end and intimacy, but it also adds plosives and room for error. The vocal recording guide covers mic position and what changes when you move in.

Curate the whole package. Gunn treats producers, features, sequencing and cover art as one decision. Critics have called him an album artist in a playlist era, and that’s earned. Before you release, lay the tracks out in order, look at the cover next to them, and cut anything that doesn’t belong in the same world.