Westside Gunn Continues His Saga with 10

Graphic by Monika Krueger

By Parker Bennett

In the many years since its inception, several cities across the U.S. have come to be known as cultural hubs, where the best and brightest voices in rap frequently seem to emerge. There’s New York City, of course, where everything began; often characterized by the grimy boom-bap and lyrical onslaughts of the 90’s. There’s L.A. on the West Coast, Chicago in the Midwest, and Atlanta and Memphis in the south. Buffalo, New York, though, has never really been a city that’s even remotely in the conversation. Things have changed quite a bit, though, for the frigid upstate New York town, and almost all of it is due to Griselda Records.

Founded by brothers Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine in 2012, Griselda has transformed Buffalo into the mecca of underground rap greatness, and their seemingly unstoppable rise to dominance has been soundtracked by album after album of gritty, crime-ridden, hip-hop excellence. While initially, Westside Gunn had no intention of ever being a rapper, and intended to the be Suge Knight to his brother and cousin (fellow rapper Benny the Butcher), it’s been his releases, such as his debut studio album Flygod (2016) that have garnered the most attention and cemented Griselda’s status as undeniable leaders in the modern rap world.

From your first time hearing Westside Gunn though, it’s easy to see why he’s still the star of his label. His formula usually consists of his nasally sing-song voice, accompanied by a barrage of now iconic ab-libs (BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM), and incredibly niche references to the drug trade, high fashion, and life behind bars. While Conway and Benny are both undisputedly great MC’s (both have dropped two of the best albums of 2022 so far), there’s something about every Westside Gunn project that feels like a true hip-hop experience. Regardless of how Gunn sees himself as it relates to rapping (in my opinion, he’s great), his ability to put together a cohesive, one-of-one album is truly something to behold, and the latest installment in his catalog, 10 (his second project in 2022, following Peace Flygod) continues that incredible trend. 

For anyone unfamiliar with Westside Gunn and Griselda as a whole, diving head first into one of these albums can feel a little bit like starting Game of Thrones halfway through. Much like Wu-Tang before him, Westside Gunn has very much carved out a hip-hop cinematic universe with his music, and part of the enjoyment comes from being in the loop on all the references and uncredited collaborators. In the case of 10, this album serves as the ninth installment (I know, confusing) to Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes series, which began in 2012 and has proved to be the most well-known aspect of his career. After last year’s Hitler Wears Hermes 8 – a double album that featured some of Gunn’s best performing songs to date – fans were unsure if he would ever return to the series. While 10 no longer bears the name of its predecessors (a wise decision for sure, although the original title was meant to be a eye-catching play on The Devil Wears Prada, it’s always felt a little tone-deaf), this new album carries every bit of Westside Gunn’s signature pot-scraping boom-bap, with quite a bit of experimentation.

To further run the cinematic universe comparison into the ground, the most apt description I can find for 10 is as the Infinity Gauntlet of Gunn’s career thus far. Over just 12 tracks, he manages to pack in some of his most high profile feature appearances to date (A$AP Rocky, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, Yasiin Bey, just to name a few), the best of his usual crop of producers (The Alchemist, Conductor Williams, Daringer, RZA, and Pete Rock), and of course nearly every single artist that is currently signed to Griselda. Diving into this album truly felt like the Avengers: Endgame of underground hip-hop, and there were times while listening where I legitimately giggled out of sheer rap-fan-boy excitement at the crossovers taking place on this record. However, while all of this excitement in the list of collaborators is intoxicating, it’s really all for naught if the project itself isn’t solid. Luckily, just like literally everything Gunn has ever put out, 10 is an outstanding album that epitomizes the current state of underground hip-hop while steadily pushing it forward.

The first track, “Intro” is a spoken word piece from rapper AA Rashid, who’s made a name for himself as the verbose narrator of several of Gunn’s past few projects. Admittedly, this particular time around his appearance somewhat overstays its welcome, lasting three and a half minutes, but his energetic ramblings and inventive word-choice (“contradistinction”) still can’t help but put a smile on your face. The album really kicks off, however, with “Flygod Jr”, which takes all of the boom-bap, minimalist trademarks of Westside Gunn’s entire career and throws them out the window for a tittering, quick-paced trap beat. Nothing else on the album sounds this way, and neither does anything in Gunn’s catalog, but it’s sort of the switch-up that although unasked for, is wholly appreciated. DJ Drama himself kicks off the proceedings, marking him and Gunn’s first collaboration since HWH 7, in 2019. As always, his presence is an energy-booster, and sets the stage beautifully for Gunn’s laid-back, muttery flow that dances over the tip-tapping drums. The song finishes with a feature from Cleveland up and comer Doeboy, who toured with Griselda earlier this year, who follows Gunn’s suit by spitting a laid-back, instantly infectious verse that manages to be singable and murderous.

“Super Kick Party” brings things back to a style that feels much more familiar to Westside Gunn fans, with an ominous, off-kilter Conductor Williams beat that grounds muffled vocal chops with a steady drum-line of head-bobbing percussion. The track is also one of the few moments on the album where Gunn is unassisted by any sort of feature, and just serves as further proof that even if he doesn’t consider himself as a rapper, he’s still a pretty damn good one. (“Judge wanna send me up the hill, like Jack Jill”). The outro of this song also introduces one of the album’s key distinctions: the influence of Buffalo native Eastside Flip. Flip is the man featured on the cover of the project, wearing Gunn’s iconic jewelry and posing in front of a convenience store counter. Throughout the album – and his entire career – Gunn has always taken time to highlight and uplift Buffalo as much as he possibly can, and showcasing corners of that world that can only come from someone who has seen its ugliest nooks and crannies. Throughout 10’s runtime, there are several field recordings of Eastside Flip freestyles, most likely recorded by Gunn himself. One performance, on the track “God is Love”, makes up more than half of the track and dwarfs Gunn’s own verse by a wide margin. The verses are incredibly solid, and it breathes a life into this project that very few rappers can attain. For uninitiated listeners, the appeal of Westside Gunn and Griselda might seem difficult to grasp at first, but it’s moments like these – Gunn’s loving inclusion of an unknown person from his city – that make 10 feel like a living, breathing piece of where he comes from. 

“Shootouts in Soho” presents the first stacked line-up of the feature list, with verses from Gunn, A$AP Rocky, Stove God Cooks, and the track is an absolute stand-out. The beat is a laid-back, sci-fi-sounding sample loop that provides more than enough room for the three MC’s to operate in top form. Rocky’s verse in particular has been long anticipated for Westside Gunn fans, with Gunn’s IG teasing his inclusion all the way back in May of this year, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint (“Pull up in some deadstock dress socks wearing Crocs”). On the following track, “Peppas”, none other than Blackstar (Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey) make an appearance, rapping over one of the best beats on the project. Courtesy of frequent Griselda collaborator Conductor Williams, the pitch-shifted vocal chops on this record provide a strangely beautiful backdrop for lyrical greatness to occur, and the three MCs do not disappoint. Because of their relative distance from the limelight, hearing both Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey on a track together is an almost tear-inducing moment for any hip-hop-head, and their chemistry is able to blend seamlessly with Westside Gunn and his vision for the track.

On a scan of the tracklist, chances are that the features on “Science Class” were the most eye-catching to any rap fan. Westside Gunn, Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Stove God Cooks – it’s the generational New York posse cut the world didn’t know it needed. The beat here is an immaculate production from none other than Swizz Beats, built around an organ-heavy sample loop of 60’s singer-songwriter Margo Guryan, and even sees Busta Rhymes taking a crack at her singing part. As expected, every single rapper here shows up in top form, and no matter how many times you loop it, each listen still feels like an underground hip-hop Christmas every time someone new pops up. Somehow, relative newcomer Stove God Cooks might just be the ultimate stand-out in the line-up, though, with his crooning lyrics offering some of the most potent quotables on the project (“They caught him on camera blamm-ing somn, they got it on tape, Kid Rock and Pamela”). A few tracks later, Cooks appears once again next to legends, rapping alongside Run the Jewels on “Switches on Everything”. Once again, Cooks’ contribution is absolutely fantastic, but veterans El-P and Killer Mike might take the cake on this one. El-P’s verse especially is a heartfelt tribute to his childhood, growing up, and even Griselda itself, with him tipping his Yankee cap to Gunn’s movement, and it’s enough to the hip-hop gods weep from enjoyment. 

When all’s said and done, 10 is a hell of a project. While the star-studded feature list is easily the most exciting and conversation-dominating aspect, the entire album is really a testament to Westside Gunn’s impeccable curation abilities. While his rapping is certainly solid, and he has the ability to maintain focus on tracks by himself, it’s his willingness to let others shine and create moments of hip-hop that make him a truly exceptional artist. In another rapper’s hands, a feature-list like this would just be a cheap attempt at credibility, and a waste of upper-management connections (take Russ’ CHOMP 2 (2021) for example). But here, everything is done with a love of hip-hop, Buffalo, and artistic excellence, and it pays off in spades. The outro to the album, “Red Death” is a ten and a half posse cut, featuring almost every single Griselda signee rapping over an absolutely disgusting Alchemist beat. For most other rappers, a posse cut like this would be a chance to showcase their skills in contention with their peers, but for Gunn, it’s a victory lap of the brand he’s created, and the incredible artists he’s supported. It doesn’t matter who has the best verse on the song (it’s Rome Streetz), because the song is simply an unabashed celebration of the current state of underground rap, and the singular role Westside Gunn and his work ethic have played in that success.

Note: This article has been edited as of 11/01/2022 at 7pm. We previously incorrectly stated that Stove God Cooks was signed to Griselda. He is signed to Babygrande Records. We apologize for this error.