Griselda: The Introduction to a Dynasty
By: Alex Leventhal and Omari Romain
On June 28th, 2020—despite spending the better half of the year at the mercy of chance— I thought, “nothing can surprise me anymore.” But after watching in astonishment as the Migos took home their fourth consecutive Best Group BET award, I realized that 2020 will always find a way. No disrespect to the group, but considering the last Migos project dropped in 2018 and no member released a solo project in 2020, the academy’s pick felt lazy. Luckily, I don’t think award shows matter(and neither should you). Regardless, the real best rap group out right now that I believe deserved the honor is none other than Buffalo’s very own, GRISELDA.
Griselda is more than a group or a record label—they’re a family. The label was founded in 2012 by Westside Gunn, the “Flygod,” who added his lyricist brother Conway the Machine and later their cousin, Benny the Butcher. Griselda has since signed a distribution deal with Eminem’s label, Shady Records, and released their debut group album, WWCD, in November 2019. Although they carry a classic 90’s NY Hip-Hop sound, Gunn and the Griselda crew believe this is the start of something bigger for Buffalo. Drawing inspiration from fashion, art, wrestling, and the streets of Buffalo, the three have released a deep catalog of mixtapes and projects over the years. Through these inspirations and their gritty, vivid lyricism, they have been able to create a mafioso-like persona in the rap game. Here’s a primer to the three-headed beast themselves, and all that they’ve done to help push Griselda that much closer to complete rap supremacy.
Westside Gunn
If there’s anyone who deserves credit for the growing Griselda empire to where it’s at now, it’s the Flygod himself, Westside Gunn. When Gunn founded Griselda Records in 2012, he had a vision in mind. The mafioso, Godfather-like themes that can be seen in their music today was one of the results. In an interview with Complex earlier this year, Gunn explained that “ever since day one it’s always been art, it’s always been wrestling, it’s always been fashion.” Since the beginning of his career, Gunn has always found a way to rap about one of those things. In 2012, Westside Gunn released the first of his mixtape series Hitler Wears Hermes, a title that is extremely controversial, but also perfectly fitting for him. The series is now seven releases deep, but Gunn never seems to run out of WWE wrestlers, designer brands, and classical artists to rap about. In 2016 he released his debut studio album, FLYGOD, under Griselda Records. The album was instantly praised as an underground classic, but was soon taken off of streaming services over sample clearance issues. Shortly after the release of FLYGOD, Griselda signed their deal with Shady Records, allowing Gunn to continue growing the label and work with rap legends like Jadakiss, 9th Wonder, Busta Rhymes, and the DJ Premier. He has released two more studio albums since, Supreme Blientele (a reference to Ghostface Killa’s Supreme Clientele) in 2018, and most recently Pray For Paris in April. Gunn came up with the name Pray For Paris while attending a fashion show in Paris with Virgil Abloh, who also designed the album cover art. Pray for Paris received high praise from many, and featured some unlikely collabs like Tyler, The Creator and Jay Versace.
Conway the Machine
If there’s one current MC that lives up to their name, it’s Conway the Machine. His side-mouthed, menacing flow may be the grittiest of all the Griselda crew, but his delivery was not always so slow and unique. In 2012, two years before the formation of Griselda Records, Conway was shot in the back of the head outside his Buffalo home in an unsolved drive-by shooting. Despite being told that he would be paralyzed from the neck down, Conway was able to walk within a year through extensive rehabilitation. His injuries left him with Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes the paralysis of half of his face. Despite his condition, The Machine was determined to continue churning out music. In 2015 he released his first two mixtapes under Griselda Records, The Devil’s Reject and Reject 2, which both received overwhelmingly positive reviews launching his cult following out of Buffalo to around the world.
Much like the rest of the Griselda crew, Conway embraces the nostalgic sound of 90’s New York Hip-Hop, spitting drug dealer flows over dusty, minimalistic beats. Conway has worked with and earned the respect of Hip-Hop legends like Havoc and Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Method Man, and Eminem. After inking their deal with Shady Records, Conway released his G.O.A.T. project and began his Everybody is F.O.O.D. mixtape series. Earlier this year Conway also released LULU, a collaboration album with the legendary producer The Alchemist. On LULU the two showed incredible chemistry, dropping a 22-minute project jam-packed with hard hitting lyrics and smooth production.This album came only a month after The Price of Tea in China, The Alchemist’s collaboration album with Boldy James, who is also a member of Griselda Records. Most recently, Conway released his much anticipated first solo studio album, From King to a God. The album, which has received incredibly positive reviews, boasts impressive production credits like DJ Premier, The Alchemist, Hit-Boy, and Murda Beatz, and features Method Man, Freddie Gibbs, Benny the Butcher and more.
Benny the Butcher
Rounding out the third spot in the Griselda trifecta is none other than the God Father of the Black Soprano Family, Benny the Butcher. Benny has proved to be no slouch, producing a litany of triple A-grade Hip-Hop albums since his 2016 release of My First Brick. Although Benny was not an official “on paper” member until the release of his following album Butcher on Steroids, on the track “Tom Ford Socks” we hear the Griselda trio link up to flex their lyrical prowess for the first time over a crying violin, elegant piano and eerie orchestra loop. Unfazed by his absence on the Griselda-Shady records deal in 2017, Benny followed up his first Griselda record with two albums in 2018: Stabbed & Shot—a joint album with Rochester NY rapper 38 Spesh— and A Friend of Ours, a Black Soprano Family album. Both felt overlooked by the Hip-Hop community at large but beloved by his core cult following.
The buzzing MC rounded out his year with the release of his official Griselda Studios debut Tana Talk 3 inspired by the block that raised him, Montana ave. Produced entirely by Daringer and The Alchemist, the duo created a dark and moody atmosphere with rustic, slow-roll beats paired well with gritty verses laced with street knowledge that Benny gained from years of traphouse menuevers. Not overlooking the streaming success of “97 Hov,” I personally believe the standout track on the album is found right before the outro, “Langfield.” On it, Benny describes how it felt growing up during the height of the crack epidemic with his mother selling to provide for eight children, coping with the trauma of his older brother’s murder during a prison bid, and addressing those who still doubted his ability. The doubt would soon be laid to rest with the release of The Plugs I Met and, ultimately, Burden of Proof the following year. Proving he could go toe-to-toe with legends like Pusha T, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, and Black Thought, the game had no option but to take notice of the Griselda shooter for his talent and authenticity.
Despite the shared frustration of every “real Hip-Hop” head across the country during this year’s edition of “The BET awards did bad” after Griselda’s snub, the crew seemed to be in good spirits. On Twitter shortly after the Best Group Award was announced, the Flygod captured the historic moment in a single word, “GRATEFUL.” You know that saying, “Minor setbacks for major comebacks.” The album run by Griselda after that moment embodies that to its zenith.
Starting with the release of Flygod is an Awesome God 2 in early July and Benny handling the end of the month with the release of The Respected Sopranos, the Griselda label had the Summer heating up. Latest label recruit Boldy James debuted his first Griselda studio album The Versace Tape in mid August. September was blessed with the aforementioned release of Conway the Machine’s From King To A God. A week later Griselda formally introduced the “First Lady” of the Label Armani Caesar with her debut album The Liz. Repeating the July procedure, Gunn was the first member to drop a project this month with the release of Who Made The Sunshine on October 2nd, and Benny regained the spotlight with the release of heavily anticipated Burden of Proof shortly after in mid-October. With every release the group pushes the needle towards total industry dominance. As we arrive at the end of 2020, no one knows what’s next for the most energetic and outspoken group in the rap game.
