Westside Gunn has announced that 2023 will be the last year in which he releases new music of his own, citing a number of career accomplishments warranting his early retirement.
The Griselda Records co-founder made the announcement with a series of tweets on Friday (December 30) that saw him listing out a number of his past collaborators and the milestones he’s achieved since launching his imprint in 2012.
“23’ def my last year doing this shit,” Westside Gunn tweeted. “I don’t have nothing else 2prove, I put my team on, I put my city on, I worked w/everybody I ever wanted to work with, plus MFs still don’t even understand 1-10, FLYGOD, Awesome GOD, or Pray for Paris(mind u Virgil did the cover) im the [goat emoji] [shrug emoji].”
What followed was a number of tweets shouting out the Hip Hop luminaries he has worked with during his career, starting with securing partnerships between Griselda and both Eminem‘s Shady Records and JAY-Z at Roc Nation. He also listed off the rappers and producers he has collaborated with, paying homage to fallen comrades MF DOOM, Prodigy, DMX, Sean Price and Combat Jack.
The list of stellar collaborations alone took up two separate tweets, in which he touched on having earned guest verses from Slick Rick and had music produced by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and RZA.
He also made note of his 2023 Grammy nomination, thanks to an appearance on Mary J. Blige’s latest studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous.
“My music played at Fashion Shows in Paris, Japan, countless Tattoos, Countless murals,” FlyGod added. “I’ve never taken longer than 10-14days to make ANY project.. not 1x a year either multiple albums a year and I elevated every single time.”
Westside Gunn admitted that some fans may expect him to go back on his decision, as he has before; but explained that his early retirement was inspired as much by the struggles he’s experienced in the music industry as the heights he has attained.
“I know I say I’m a retire all the time so ppl might be like he always say this,” he wrote. “Seriously I been thru so much with this shit behind closed doors y’all would never know, it’s brought more pain than joy I’m just so G that I make it look super easy but I fight these devils everyday.”
He continued: “What makes me also the [goat emoji] is not only have I made the best albums personally in the last decade but I also executive produced the best albums in the last decade and they all sounded diff and made every artist sound immaculate listen to them all again the beats are all NEXT LEVEL.”
Elsewhere in his open letter to the fans, which he delivered in 20 separate tweets over the course of at least two hours, Westside Gunn detailed some of the challenges he has faced due to his dedication to his craft and his determination to fight for all artists to be allowed creative freedom.
He also acknowledged the controversy behind his Hitler Wears Hermes series, explaining that he had been warned to abandon the concept after its fifth iteration for fear of how it might impact his future success.
“I was told I wouldn’t get any endorsements,” he explained. “I would never be nominated, I will only get so far if I kept it going but I knew my heart was pure and my life is ART and explained how I even thought ofthe [sic] name I chose my fate.
“Ofcourse [sic] I would be 10x bigger if it wasn’t for that name,” he went on, “but again I knew my heart &I stuck to my script and did it my way, I can live with that decision many ppl would’ve folded & played the game.”
Before ending the conversation, W.S.G. assured fans that some of his most highly anticipated projects would see the light of day before the end of 2023, including his cryptic MICHELLE RECORDS project. He also added that he will continue to curate and serve as an executive producer for others and confirmed upcoming projects by several artists on the Griselda roster.
“YES ARMANI Dropping again, YES ROME dropping again, YES me and BOLDY gonna cook, YES ME and JAY WORTHY about to cook, NACKSAW JIM DUGGAN is halfway done, the ADOLF movie &Soundtrack &whatever else GOD wants me to do but I’m a go hard all year but after that I’m raising my babies.”
Fans will also have plenty of opportunities to see Westside Gunn before he retires from the rap game, as he announced his first international tour earlier this month.
The first leg of the God Is Love Tour will kick off in Amsterdam on January 13 and see him visit 12 cities in Europe before coming to a close in Lisbon on February 10.
Thanks for saving my ears!! Drop dead already and let Conway and Benny shine. AYO. AYO. AYO. BOOOBOOOBOOO. BRRRR. SKKKKRTTT. DOOOTDOOOTDOOOOT.
Y’all wishing death on people now? Smh
You’re such a coward bro haha, it’s very possible there’s no Benny or conway if wsg didn’t play a major part in their careers. Your ears aren’t saved ima skull f@@@ you through one of your ears while playing the new albums that come out this this year.
Dude really? You’re gonna “skull f—k” him? Lol, you couldn’t think of anything else?
Haha I’ve been tired of that bums bs negative comments for months so I had to say something extreme. He may enjoy it you never know. Why would someone click on someone’s article just to hate on them, I know it’s the internet but it’s real loser stuff haha. And you criticize wsg fans, if you don’t like someone’s music, don’t click on their article just to hate. Happy new year!
I saw the headline and came straight to the comments, hope that bum stays retired for real, worst member from griselda and most annoying voice in rap, great way to start the new year, that guy sucks and everyone who likes that bs needs to get their ears cleaned out cause it must be clogged up, that’s the only way that high pitch voice is not annoying because can’t hear properly
Learn how to spell idiot. “I know I say I’m a retire all the time so ppl might be like he always say this,”. How illiterate is this dumbo? Goats know how to form a sentence, clown. Prrrrr prrrrr prrrrr p1ss off already, spit ugly no talent fatso. I bet he still has to pay for pussy. Hideous braggy bastard….
LOOOOOL
Word
Good riddance.
This fool said he was gonna “retire” last year and still dropped more albums after that. Out of all the overused words that get thrown around way too loosely in hip hop, “retire” is at the top of the list for me, since MF’s really don’t know what it means.
Bless the Flygod for being more responsible than any other human for bringing back that real HipHop energy! Can’t wait for everything you’ve got lined up this year… after that, raise your babies and stay EPing these incredible albums – you deserve it!
GXFR!!! 🦂⚖
THIS JUST IN: Mr droopyface-noflow quits rap before he got somewhat good at it, what a shocker!
Westside Gunn is now inducted in Silkk the Shocker’s Hall of Lames
Thank god.. dude’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard
Thank god.. dude’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard
Thank god.. dude’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard
Eastside Knife finally caught up with him…
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Hope its cap like when he said it before. World needs more Gunn albums. Also wheres the Stove God album?!
What did you prove? The entire Griselda group axts like they’ve been in the game for 20 plus years and dropped classic after classic.. all the classics came before they even madethe big leagues..they’ve dropped nithing but s*** since they came
Finally some good news.
I can see if those retirement statements came from Nas, Jay Z, 50 Cent, AZ, Snoop Dog, Ice Cube, Too Short, E-40 etc…. Westside Gunn, you’re okay but you’re definitely not a GOAT at all. Try making one classic album.
I don’t get Westside Gunn just because he has some tracks where it’s just bs ayo ayo with no actual rhymes then he’s got records with nice lyrics nice flows. so I appreciate Westside Gunn even though half the time when you post a song of his it’s just nonsense and you’re wondering when the rap starts
i heard one song from this midget, just wanted to hear what hes got. damn cuh this dude is full of himself, like listenin to some street crackhead mumble shit
Nobody in rap really retires, this fool will be no different. And even if he did, he wouldn’t be missed. Conway is Griselda. Wes sounds like a bitch.
Nobody in rap really retires, this fool will be no different. And even if he did, he wouldn’t be missed. Conway is Griselda. Wes sounds like a bitch.
Nobody in rap really retires, this fool will be no different. And even if he did, he wouldn’t be missed. Conway is Griselda. Wes sounds like a bitch.
It would be great to get one more Griselda album with WSG, Benny, and Conway.
Literally can’t name a track from him or anyone from Griselda. These dudes are like 40 and JUST got relevant enough to be afterthoughts. The delusion is rough.
HAH THAT ONE TUNE DEAN MALENKO HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT
Thank god. He is terrible. His voice breaks me into pieces. Proper crap. I respect the hustle though. Still shite
This dude sucks. Never did he elevate anything. The worst rapper in the crew. Hitler did not hold him back, it probably gave him more notoriety because it got people’s attention. All he does is ruin songs with his ad-libs and shitty flow and shitty voice. He has nothing else to prove because everyone is in agreement that he is wack, he has proven this repeatedly. He claims he is so dedicated but never takes more than 10-14 days to make something. Ridiculous. He helped bring benny and conway to the forefront, that is the only thing I appreciate about this dude. Other than that, please sail off into the sunset.