Discover Hip-Hop’s Underground Fashion Rebels: Griselda Records
“Griselda, by Fashion Rebels” is what you might hear at the beginning of a Griselda member’s song, but what is Griselda, and who are the fashion rebels? The man responsible for the birth of Griselda is Alvin Lamar Worthy, commonly referred to as WESTSIDE GUNN and also known as “FLYGOD.” The other two faces of Griselda are Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, who happen to be Gunn’s brother and cousin. The trio is from East Side Buffalo, where they credit their success and drive despite its harsh conditions. Before they could even fathom their future success, the group was making drugs and selling them, and if you listen to their music, they won’t let you forget it. Drugs are a massive part of the label's identity. The name is inspired by Griselda Blanco, a notorious Colombian drug dealer for the Medellin Cartel. All the label members have had a history of drug dealing, as it was their way of life. Every other punchline and rhyme is drug-related, and there's never a lack of creativity for Griselda when it comes to making new drug-dealing music.
Before it was a label, Griselda was a clothing brand that WESTSIDE GUNN was working on. When you listen to Gunn’s music, you can tell how heavily influenced and inspired he is by fashion. His most popular album series, Hitler wears Hermes (a play on and spin-off of The Devil Wears Prada), perfectly represents the clever ignorance that fills Griselda’s lyrics. Gunn and the rest of Griselda use their music to show how to stay true to your roots and appreciate your past while still working extremely hard to escape it. The premise behind “Vogue Cover,” a song on WESTSIDE GUNN’s Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf, represents this perfectly, as Gunn and his label mate STOVE GOD COOKS talk about how they let a pot of dope they cooked dry on top of a Vogue Magazine. The juxtaposition of the luxury fashion magazine and their rugged lifestyle shows how the magazine serves as their vision board and how their dreams and aspirations are way bigger than the situation they were born into. The way they rap about going from cold streets to fashion week is inspiring and, on some level, sort of relatable.
Griselda’s slow infection into the mainstream can first be highlighted in 2017 when the label was signed under Shady Records– rapper Eminem’s label that is signed under major distributor and music label Interscope. This can be considered the moment that the music industry was first introduced to Griselda, as doors started opening for the group. Griselda’s most notable contributions to mainstream Hip-Hop can be when WESTSIDE GUNN and Conway the Machine appeared on the GRAMMY-nominated album DONDA by Kanye West with features on “Keep My Spirit Alive” in 2022, and Benny the Butcher featuring on Grammy-nominated album Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs with the song “Frank Lucas” the year prior. Although the group doesn’t worry about mainstream recognition, these accolades can be looked back on in the future as the first steps toward stardom for the label.
Their unique sound and consistent releases set Griselda apart from the rest of Hip-Hop’s groups and labels. With production from in-house producer Daringer and GRAMMY-nominated producer Alchemist, the beat selection for the label is unparalleled by anyone else in the rap game. If you’re looking for classic boom-bap hip-hop, they’ve got songs like “Drumwork” by Conway and “327” by Westside. If you want to hear hard bars over soul samples, you can listen to “Illegal Search & Seizure” by Boldy James or “Fly With Me” by Benny featuring Conway. In 2022, the label saw six releases of new projects from their artists, leaving their fans constantly fed with fresh music. This isn’t anything compared to other major labels, but Griselda has the feel of a small family business. They don’t seek external validation or major commercial success. As long as they’re proud of the art they’re releasing, that’s good enough for them.
The lore behind Griselda and their success are long enough to write a book, and the amount of music the label’s artists have is enough to max out an old MP3. With this, here’s a list of the label’s artists and some of their best projects to introduce you to the fashion rebels.
WESTSIDE GUNN
Pray For Paris
Supreme Blientele
Peace “Fly” God
Benny The Butcher
Tana Talk 4
Pyrex Picasso
Burden of Proof
Conway the Machine
From King To A GOD
LULU
God Don’t Make Mistakes
Boldly James
Fair Exchange No Robbery
Super Techmo Bo
Bo Jackson
Armani Caesar
The Liz 2
Mach-Hommy
Pray For Haiti
Wap Konn Jòj!
Strike Out,
JD Delcastillo
Boca Raton
JD Delcastillo is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine. He loves consuming media and thinking critically. A major know-it-all, anything related to pop culture, music, and sports, he has knowledge in. Reach out to him on Instagram @jd.delcastillo or email @ jd.delcastillo954@gmail.com
