Westside Gunn talks about their relationship with Eminem.
It’s been fascinating to track the collaboration between Westside Gunn’s Griselda and Eminem’s Shady Records. Given the Griselda empire’s status as a household brand, it’s difficult to envision a time when Westside Gunn was a relative unknown in the rap business. In truth, Gunn has been slaving since the early 2000s, before making a name for himself in Buffalo’s underground scene with his long-running Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series. Their record was fast-growing, as was their reputation as up-and-coming musicians, thanks to his own work and that of his brother Conway, who was also refining his own expertise.
Shady Records’ Griselda, which consists of Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, and Westside Gunn recently sat down with RevoltTV for a new interview where they talk about Eminem, their brand of music, being from Buffalo, figuring out how to make non-commercial hip-hop successful, how do they create a vibe in the studio, being managed by Roc Nation, working with The Alchemist and more.
“FLYGOD”, Gunn’s debut studio album, was instrumental in the signing of a deal with Eminem’s Shady Records, and it is one of his most remembered works. The significance of FLYGOD should not be underestimated, given that it sparked an entire movement, with albums like FLYGOD Is An Awesome God 1 & 2 following in its footsteps.
The first Shady Records collection by the Griselda collaboration was issued in 2019. Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher from Buffalo, as well as in-house producer Daringer, contributed to the album. On the song “Bang (Remix),” Eminem even makes a cameo. WWCD featured Raekwon and 50 Cent as well.
Griselda is an indie record company established in New York that preserves the filthy early 2000s sound that hip hop fans still enjoy. The trio is now taking things a step further by releasing its major-label debut, WWCD, on Shady Records, which is owned by Eminem (through Interscope). What Would Chine Gunn Do? is a 13-track compilation that pays homage to Marchello Lowery, who was killed in Buffalo in 2006. Lowery was Benny’s blood brother and Gunn’s cousin, while Machine Gun Black was his stage name. On his face and breast, the latter having Black’s name tattooed permanently.
The trio also talked about their relationship with Shady Records’ boss Eminem. “That’s the homie. I love Em,” says Conway The Machine. “I got love for Em, Paul, everybody at Shady Records and Interscope. I’m super thankful for the opportunity they gave me to be a part of that. To be able to create and make history that could be in the history books with all the shit that Marshall did. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Benny the Butcher continued, “Em’s the big homie. You see he’s on that “Bang” track. We f**k with Em. We were inspired off of Em, the wordplay, and the longevity in the game.”
“It’s good,” says Westside Gunn about his relationship with Eminem. “Every time we see each other, he leaves with a smile. I leave with a smile. We’re not together all the time. He has his life, I have mine. We’re grown men… I respect people and when I see you, I’ll see you.”
“When I was signed to Shady, I never even wanted to do an Eminem song cause our styles don’t even mix. I don’t do s**t just because ‘Oh I’m with Shady, I gotta do hundred Eminem songs.’ It was not like that but it was an opportunity of being over there with them guys. That’s all I really wanted. I still wanted to have my sound. I’m looking at, trying to do movies. I’m a creator. I wanted to do that Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and 8 Mile s**t. I wanted to do all that s**t. That’s why I jumped and went that rout. I’m still thankful. Shout out to Paul. We talking right now because I’m trying to get this weekly show on Shade 45 finished. So I’m about to crush him with my own show on Shade 45 cause I’m all for the culture.” – said Westside Gunn
Check out their full interview here on RevoltTV.
