Westside Gunn is the recording name of Alvin Lamar Worthy, an American rapper from Buffalo, born in 1982. He is part of the Griselda rap collective and is associated with Griselda Records, Shady Records, WestsideDoom and Hall & Nash. He works in boom bap, drumless hip hop, east coast hip hop, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop and hip hop.

Career

Westside Gunn forms Hall N Nash with his paternal half-brother Conway The Machine. He is also the cousin of Benny the Butcher, who is from Buffalo as well. In 2014, he founds Griselda Records and the clothing brand Fashion Rebels. His first commercial album, Flygod, appears in 2016.

In 2017, Griselda Records signs a deal with Shady Records, the label run by Eminem and part of Interscope. This makes Westside Gunn and Conway the first rappers from Buffalo to sign with a major label. After the signing, he releases Flygod Is Good... All the Time, a collaborative EP with producer Mr. Green.

He later works with Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak, Jadakiss, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, The Alchemist and MF Doom. He also performs at Coachella, Firefly and Governors Ball.

Albums and mixtapes

Supreme Blientele is named by Ambrosia For Heads as one of the best albums of 2018. In 2019, he signs a management deal with Roc Nation alongside Benny the Butcher. In 2020, he releases Pray for Paris, his third studio album, which features Tyler, the Creator, Joey Bada$$ and Freddie Gibbs and receives a positive critical response, including an 8/10 rating from Pitchfork.

He also releases his tenth mixtape, Flygod Is an Awesome God 2, as a sequel to Flygod Is an Awesome God. Later in 2020, he issues his Shady Records debut, Who Made the Sunshine. The album includes the full Griselda Records roster and is accompanied by a short documentary about his life before prison. It is first planned for Westside Gunn Day in Buffalo, an event recognised by the mayor, and is then delayed in response to DJ Shay's death.