Westside Gunn’s visionary mind has led to some of the most exciting releases of the past few years, including several of his own solo albums. Most recently, the Griselda auteur delivered the first half of his Hitler Wears Hermes 8 double album, queuing up the second half for release on October 9th.
Today, Gunn sat down with Nadeska Alexis on Apple Music one, where he discussed several topics — including one that many have pondered over the years. Naturally, his invocation of Adolf Hitler in the album title — which has appeared on Billboards in Time’s Sqaure — has raised more than a few eyebrows throughout the years (while still being acknowledged as some of the finest underground hip-hop out there).
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As he explains to Alexis, he never meant to offend anybody. “I remember when I thought of the title, I’m like, “Yo, this is bugged out,” he reflects. “It’s either going to make me or break me off rip, because I was taking a chance. You know what I mean? When nobody knew who I was. Nobody knew what I looked like. I just wanted the music and the art speak for itself.”
“My mind state then and now, really not caring about a lot that I care about now,” he continues. “It was a different time. Nine years ago the whole world was different. I was only out of prison like a year when I did part one. I was still fresh out and moving totally different.” He explains that Side B will close the Hitler series for good, as he’s set to retire the title.
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“Even though I used that title, it’s never been in a negative way,” he explains. “But it’s just like, I’m an exec. I’m just not an artist. I own Griselda Records, so it’s a lot of partnerships, a lot of things that I want to do. And that title kind of hinders those things… It had its mark. It did what it did. I mean, we on Part 8. So, even though I make it for more the underground, it’s still mainstream now. You just got to be mindful of other people’s feelings. I get it.”
Another interesting moment arises when Alexis asks him about the artists he’d like to executive produce an album for. In fact, don’t be surprised if many fans begin immediately campaigning for it to become a reality. “I’ve already hit Jadakiss up,” he reveals. “Because I felt like when we make music together, it’s always incredible. And I just know that production that I have on my team. If I played 10 of those beats for Jadakiss, it’d probably be Jadakiss’ best album.”
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“But then also like Sauce Walka from Houston,” he continues. “I love Sauce Walka. I would love to do something with Tyler. I think that’s kind of… I’m not going to say easy, but I think that’s probably something he would want it. I already talked to Tyler today. That’s somebody I’m real cool with it…That’ll catch people off guard. I even want to do R&B, I want to do a Solange album or something.”
For more from Westside Gunn, be sure to check out his full interview with Nadeska below. Do you want to see him take the helm on a Jadakiss album?