"The Griselda philosophy is rap about what you know, sound like who you are, and let the world find you" - Music Redef writes in their new thread on Griselda Records, an underground hip-hop label and crew from Buffalo, New York. At the foundation of Griselda, there are Conway the Machine, his brother Westside Gunn, and their cousin Benny the Butcher, all of whom have released notable albums in the past five weeks as the label continues to edge its way into hip-hop's spotlight.

Buffalo soldiers
September 25, 2020

Griselda - East Coast impressionist-rap

"In 2020, the Griselda Records boom works as a sort of canny counter-programming to the streaming-era rap mainstream" - Stereogum says presenting the unusual un-mainstream un-alternative hip hop collective and record label. "Instead, the rappers and producers in the Griselda braintrust have come up with their own version of Roc Marciano’s broken, impressionist take on East Coast impressionist-rap". The core of the collective are rapper Westside Gunn, his brother Conway the Machine, their cousin Benny the Butcher and in-house producer Daringer.

"'Pray for Paris' is one of the best albums to come out of the Griselda camp so far, good enough to help you forgive the obnoxiousness and make you understand why the crew now have a cultural cachet that rap legends are dying to be attached to" - Pitchfork says in a review of Westside Gunn's new album 'Pray For Paris'. Westside explained in the GQ interview what's the connection this album has with fashion and Kanye West.