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Westside Gunn’s discography is now a daunting one to sift through. Spanning now seventeen mixtapes & albums of just solo material, its hours worth of content. Throughout it all, you can find so many amazing productions, as his ear for beats is second to none. Here we’ll guide through some of his best.
Westside Gunn – Elizabeth
Such a perfectly simple loop in the track “Elizabeth” makes for one of his best. Bare minimum switches throughout the track keep it moving forward, small drum segments & a subtle turntable scratch appear. The star of the show is that beautifully jazzy loop brought together by The Alchemist. Westside’s performance drenches the beat in adlibs & adds to the texture of it all.
Westside Gunn – Mr. T
If there was ever an album to introduce someone to Westside Gunn with, its FlyGod. Not only is it packed with some of his best production & verses to date, it also has the magically produced “Mr. T.” Done by Apollo Brown, its a beat that feels straight of the shelf of a vinyl record store. As Gunn talks his coke talk, the sample’s vocalist creates a heavenly world with these short DJ brakes that kick right back up.
Westside Gunn – Rolacks (ft. Skyzoo)
A beat brought by Camouflage Monk, Gunn teams up with Skyzoo to make a more prototypical hip hop beat. It feels old school in the best way, with prominent DJ scratching & hip hop samples from all eras playing throughout. Skyzoo even gives a subtle nod to the lush sample in his verse:
Okay, forever money rooted
Level with the losers
Similar to the sample; never one to lose it
Westside Gunn – RIP Bobby (ft. Conway The Machine)
Production done by Daringer & The Alchemist, Conway & Gunn rap over a bare minimum sample. Drums barely in sight, its unsuspecting sample until the beat switches in the second half to a more horn driven beat. Its haunting vocal line are sure to send chills down your spine as they rap throughout.
Westside Gunn – Dean Malenko
One of the most menacing beats here, Daringer brings a piano beat that has all these subtle sound effects layered throughout. Even Gunn is aware of the vibe of the beat, as his content on this track shifts more toward gun talk than the usual coke talk. All accumulating into news of a Sotheby’s auction, it shows in what regard Gunn held this beat to.
Westside Gunn – 98 Sabres (ft. Armani Caesar, Conway The Machine & Benny The Butcher)
Entirely done by Just Blaze, he makes one of the best Griselda posse cuts to date. Blaze manages to keep his signature bombastic sound with hard hitting drums, but scaling back just enough to meet Griselda’s world. As if that wasn’t enough, each of the Griselda members drop a fantastic verse.
Westside Gunn – Lucha Bros (feat. Curren$y & Benny the Butcher)
Another Alchemist production, he hooks up Gunn with one his most soulful joints. The way Benny comes in on the track sounds like the beginning for a boxing sparing match, hyping up the song off of Curren$y’s verse. Simple drum work lets the beat ride out into the sunset.
Westside Gunn – Ocean Prime (ft. Slick Rick & Busta Rhymes)
This one done by Beat Butcha & Daringer, has a vibe like no other in his discography. It has this strangely aquatic feel to it, with chords feeling as if they’re getting lost at sea. Its a beat that you will recognize from a mile away, all elevated by the legends Busta Rhymes & Slick Rick.