This is funny cos WSG himself was saying he's the least lyrical in his crew, but he's the most visionary and masterminded albums, artwork, merch and attack-plans.
I think out of the Griselda big three he is easily the weakest lyrically but he was the one with a plan. It goes to show how important it is to have the right team
His self awareness is actually his strength and skill that a lot of artists don't have. That's why his projects still come out great. How many great rappers out there have mid discographies because they don't have the ear and awareness Westside has?
I was just talkin about the three leaders, first 3 members, blood family - Benny, WSG and Conway - WSG said he's the weakest lyricist out of all 3. But of the whole crew Boldy is a contender for the best on the roster for sure but I might prefer Rome Streetz tbh. I don't think I've heard enough Boldy to judge tho.@@ezibreezy3417
Labels of the twenty tens advertised and targeted young people who were not familiar with the tenants, culture, or history of hip hop. White young suburban 12-24 year olds. Its cool to show how hip you are appreciating lyricism, but shows a willing ignorance about the industry, the issues presented, and leaves me with my classic question: Did you even watch the video?
I’m so happy about this video it really put into words how I feel about griselda like westside is an architect fr his vision is crazy and the dynamic between him benny and Conway unmatched
thank you so much for talking about this in a way where youre not just getting mad at new rappers with different styles. seeing lyricism as a style rather than a prerequisite is a much better way to approach rap imo, and steers away from the annoying "real hip hop" narrative that ends up pushing people away
Melodic AND lyrical is the move tbh. But as an artist I feel its more important to be true to whatever you feeling vs worrying about a specific group of folks….unless you getting paid to be a battle rapper or something….otherwise the whole conversation is pretentious. As a listener I enjoy both respectively
Maybe different target audiences.. Yeah, lots of people like both, but I never liked the "melodic Rap" stuff.. If i listen to Rap it's because I want lyricism and rapping, I don't mind a melodic song here and then by rappers I like, or a melodic chorus but when every song is melodic it gets very repetitve and boring.. It's not what I listen to Rap for, but rappers who can be rapping rapping, doing a melodic song and experimenting is cool to me, versatile rappers are some of my favorites, apart from pure lyricism, but "melodic rappers" are barely Rap to my ears, I only can like a few of them if they voice and flow is unique, Like Juice, Trippie and Lil Uzi, but they can rap rap.
I agree. The merging of both is definitely the move nowadays and like you said the artist should be true to themselves. People get so lost into trying to pick a side (super lyrical / melodic) instead of enjoying the music.
I liked the Lauryn Hill still of singing and rapping or 50 Cent’s melodic hooks, but everyone else who tries to do both has been really boring to me. I guess it’s because they’re not good at either
@@KVROACEGGI think the juice wrld, uzi, Trippie, X type of shit died out way faster than it was meant to, I feel like somebody needs to come along and finish what those guys started. I don’t think we rlly saw the full evolution of melodic rap because the goats of it are dead or washed up.
It's always cool to be lyrical. What's not cool is people thinking they're lyrical spiritual when they have the awareness of a frog. You can't fake wisdom. It will show.
Absolutely. They’re lyrically a lot better than Gunn but they just aren’t as unorthodox. Gunn has an ODB like charm in that way, he can mesh and resonate with so many different artists for that. He doesn’t sound good on regular trap beats tho, Benny and con can, his new album showed us that.
I don’t think lyricism is the only thing rap has to be, however, I like creative rhyming and penmanship and that is my focus first and foremost. But I can appreciate simpler bars, simpler focuses, and an emphasis on “mood”.
@@curtiszyrhip hop is an entire culture. It didn’t even start with rapping at first. It started with flipping samples and disc Jockeying. The Master of Ceremonies came after
With so many channels focusing on the demise of quality music in the mainstream, it is refreshing to hear about some artists to get hip to. I had only cherry picked some WG songs but this video is about to make me listen to his albums for myself.
Roc Marciano should only get credited for starting this modern boom bap trend but outside of that, he didn't make lyrical rap cool again as this video is trying to say. No one really mentions him
@@keejay12 most Griselda members have talked about Roc influence on them or have shouted him out on their records. Then Griselda made the movement bigger but Roc was behind all of that
@@keejay12sounds like selling him short. Marciano is a lyrical titan and a character artist who only improved over time. I'd say started and also mastered by the time rr2 and mt Marci dropped. However, I agree with you 100% when you say that it's the mainstream recognition that WSG has that has mostly eluded Marciano. Just wanted to show the genius some love here
i kinda feel the opposite. its not hard to be lyrical in my opinion but it is hard to innovate on a genre that gets younger and more experimental throughout the day. it’s not easy to be a long running innovator in music and saying that ONLY lyrics will keep rap relevant isn’t necessarily true
@@rngr. hmmm, can you give me some examples of ppl you consider lyricists and also examples of nonlyricists that innovated the genre? Just wanna make sure we on the same page
@@Dc225_ “non lyricists” is kind of a discredit to all rappers in a way. just bc its isnt a lyrical spiritual miracle artist doesnt mean they should be discounted as less skillful. all artists from 2015 onwards have been innovative for the most part, which is how rap music has gotten where it is today. “mumble rappers” have made hip hop the most influential and marketable it has ever been. there are new sounds every day that continue to push the genre. if we focused on only lyrics, rap music wouldnt be the cultural influence that is as accessible as it is today. you need something beyond lyrics. j cole is a “lyrical” rapper but he didnt have that next level of success without innovating the way he raps. commercial success, sure. but him talking his shit and using those flows over trap beats is what took him to the next level. without vocal inflection, beat switches, and autotune, kendrick lamar wouldn’t be the artist he is today. hopefully that makes sense
@@kianibelgrave8134 Not true, WSG was signed too. They signed collectively as Hall and Nash. And then Griselda Records signed to Shady for a distribution deal. Benny was the only one not signed there individually
This just made me even more a fan of WSG I knew of him heard a few features here and there as of the latest album he dropped im definitely about to give that a listen especially after hearing him on Travis Scott album off the “Lost Forever” track.
A lot of artists that drop as consistently as the Griselda group over saturate the market and end up falling off or releasing a bunch of music that doesn’t hold the same quality. Not the case for Griselda though. I am always finding albums and mixtapes that were dropped that I completely missed only to find some of their best work and sounds laced throughout. Their ear for beats and production are top tier
Listen man, I liked what you had to say but I feel like I'm listening to a broken record. You mentioned he was from Buffalo like 20 times and said Tyler was inspired by him 20 more times. Either add more info or just cut the repetition, it feels like when you were writing an essay for school and didn't meet the word count yet.
Westside Gunn made me fall in love with boom bap ny rap. Along with everyone in Griselda ❤ It’s high art hood asf and always a vibe. I would be in the streets of Colombia and Ecuador with Griselda on the headphones
wsg is the kanye west of todays world, who inspired a whole subgenre and took the underground to the mainstream? I've said time after time that trap someday, maybe not tmr, maybe not next year or even 5 years, but someday trap will get boring and everyone will shift their sound to match whats rlly popping in the underground once people get tired of the same substance.
He also adlibs a lot like a younger rapper would, which isn’t a bad thing imo. He combined both the old school and the new school styles in a way which is impressive
@@smaaron_j_46 I respectfully disagree with what you find impressive about it simply because he’s really not that lyrically inclined the OGs or the New Gen. He also doesn’t do well over the trap stuff BUT what I do find impressive and very important is the fact that he was able to develop his own style and it’s dope. Also, I don’t believe WSG is absolutely unbearable. I do enjoy his music and understand why he has a huge fan base but I can never stand when people overrate their fav artist (for example J Cole or Drake fans or the title of this video) and WSG is definitely an artist who never seems to get much criticism. I do think WSG sells himself short and it’s due to the amount of music he releases. His best attributes are highlighted on Kitchen Lights or even on features like Keep My Spirit Alive, where there’s a focus, his style (flexing & his rap flow) & you’re learning a bit about him.
@@double0double0 I can get where you’re coming from. He’s not as lyrically impressive as Conway or Benny imo, but he’s still alright. And I agree, I also can’t stand when people overrate their favorite artist. That’s the main reason why I don’t really check out The Big 4 (Kendrick, Kanye, Tyler and Carti) anymore because their fandoms fucked up their music for me. I used to be big on Tyler and Kendrick til their fandoms randomly started shitting on great artists like Cole and whatnot. It really rubbed me the wrong way and I’m convinced they’re not real hip hop fans. So I’m keeping my distance from those dipshits (Eyy that rhyme tho?! :0)
WSG still gets lyrical. Its not like thats all he does, but he still is most definetly at least focusing more on lyrics than alot of the newer generation. On top of that, even if it wasnt him, he still allowed for people like conway who are amazing lyricists to become a successful artist. This isnt any overrating or anything, this is all facts im ngl. Also, he isnt selling himself short on his music by releasing a lot. Part of the appeal of griselda is how they are able to drop so much and still keep a high level of quality, and he just has proved that overtime.@@double0double0
@@treyharris8408 he doesn't. lmao its like 2 different rappers when you compare a 90s/00s song of his vs hitboy era, not saying its not good, but its doesn't have the modern aesthetic like Griselda managed to create
I’m a big fan of Kendrick, Cole, JID, Denzel, and have UPC by Benny and Cole on my playlist but I’ve never really sat down with WSG before. What should I listen to first?
I'd give a lot of credit to Isaiah Rashad and later JID too for carrying that torch. Some of the better lyricists doing it in the mid to late 2010s to this day.
Rome streetz stove cooks rick hyde jae skeese and more they are still putting out the best mcs its a shame that they aren't the most popular group one of the few only legit hip hop conglomerates left alot "rappers" now got abc 123 simple simon rhymes and still get more hits somehow
Lyricism is everything the new generation don't like. It involves careful listening, rewinding, reading and thinking. Basic learning not encouraged in school.
