A week ago, Griselda sat down with Rap Radar for an expansive conversation, speaking on their triumphant rise, What Would Chinegun Do, and the current state of the culture. And while many have come to associate Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny The Butcher with grimy boom-bap hip-hop, that's not the only style on their radar. As they tell it, they're keeping track of all the contemporary trends, even going so far as to predict a few new ones.
"The thing about it is, we about to make this shit popular too," predicts Westside, around the 38-minute mark. "You about to see your favorite rapper trying to rap over Daringer and Alchemist beats in a minute. It's a popularity contest. It's not even who really make the best music. If you want to talk about who the best, make the best music, I feel that it's us. We might not be the most popular, but when it comes to ripping ill authentic street shit from where we all came from. I excuse the young homies cause they grew up two-thousands.
Gunna, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, & Trippie Redd">"To me that shit fire," chimes in Conway. "I'm fuckin with the lil homies. The Gunnas, the Lil Babys. Polo G. Roddy Ricch." Westside throws Trippie Redd into the mix. "Sometimes this shit is a hustle," continues Conway. "That's what this music shit done became. You gotta be a sharp n***a man. A hustler and a go-getter. I like that attitude. I'm not the most lyrically-inclined n***a, but I'ma find me a wave and a lane, fuck it. That's what a lot of these young dudes is doing and I commend that."
The Machine also blasts anybody looking to play gatekeeper to "real-hip-hop," explaining that the youth play a pivotal role in the expanding the reach of the culture. Clearly, Griselda have their fingers on the pulse, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Westside's prediction come to fruition. What it would be, however, is interesting? Could you imagine a return to grimy, boom-bap music, after years of mainstream melodic-trap dominance?