How a 38-year-old Buffalo, N.Y. native became rap’s most enticing star.
Westside Gunn had an important decision to make.
After Conway’s injuries, Worthy considered his next move.
“I just was able to move around and spread my wings," says the Buffalo rapper. “I got to be able to see and experience other things and make money in other places.”.Setor Tsikudo
“I’m a hustler, so the way I move, I’m like a one of one.
Gunn confirms that approach.
“you’re able to put me wherever.
“The mentality of somebody from Buffalo, they don’t even think about making it out,” says Westside Gunn.Setor Tsikudo
“The mentality of somebody from Buffalo, they don’t even think about making it out.
They’re stuck.”
He often visited his mother in Atlanta, which gave him more exposure to a world outside his hometown.
Westside Gunn simultaneously courted Eminem’s Shady Records and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation — and ended up signing a deal with both.Courtesy of Griselda Records
“There really wasn’t too many leaders.
Even the leaders you did have was the bad guys too.
It just trickled down.
Westside Gunn in front of a mural of former Griselda associate Demetrius “DJ Shay” Robinson, who passed away in August.Griselda Records
It’s honestly sad.
It’s still like that to this day.”
Gunn soon found himself living on the run, in Alabama.
“I was like, I’m better than these dudes,” he remembers.
“I look better than these dudes.
My story’s realer than these dudes.”
(“When I heard him, I thought he was a teenager,” recalls DJ Premier.)
The formula proved successful.
It also landed Gunn a meeting with Eminem’s manager, Paul Rosenberg, to discuss a record deal.
At the same time, he was working on a separate arrangement with Roc Nation.
The trio have responded to their all-star affiliations by releasing music at a historic clip.
The clothing they sell often showcases work that Westside Gunn commissions from artists he respects.
“Somebody sells a shirt for $50, it’s just a $50 shirt.
“I appreciate the people that support them, but I’m also not giving them trash.
Next up, Gunn will debut a line of hats with streetwear brand Just Don.
But internally, the crew has weathered recent turmoil, including Westside Gunn’s battle with COVID-19.
“My last two shows of tour was in L.A.
I left L.A., flew to New York [to visit] Raekwon, flew to Wyoming.
Left Wyoming, flew back on the [private jet] with [Kanye].
Two days later, I couldn’t even get out the bed,” he says.
Flair,” which he could only finish one verse for.
“My breathing was very bad.
(“Shay wanted the whole city on,” Gunn recalls.
“He’s seen way more than me because he had the studio.
He had the connections.
Everybody wanted to come down and record.
He opened up his doors to anybody that was nice.")
“It’s like we lost two people on the same day,” Gunn says.
“We had to bury one, and then lost one to prison.”
It’s a lot for a crew like Griselda, where members are literally and figuratively family.
“We’ve been through a lot, still go through a lot.
It’s like, it don’t stop man,” he says.
“We just got to keep pushing and moving forward.”
Gunn still has complications from COVID-19, with his weed habit causing him chest pains.
Still, the new record sounds like something that would make Shay, and all Griselda fans, proud.
“I’m not going to anybody else’s world.
I’m going to make people come to mine.
I’ve never switched up….
I still to this day, have not been on the radio and don’t even care to.”
What’s also notable aboutSunshineis who doesn’t show up.
“Shady fans are going to be hurt,” Gunn says with a chuckle.
Not even just as a rapper, but as a curator.
I’m a one of one.
I don’t feel I have to have Marshall, or call Jay-Z or Kanye.
At this point, he’s earned the right to bet on himself.
