Westside Gunn Asks All the Right Questions on New Album 'WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE'
One of the Griselda heavyweight’s final releases before his retirement.
Westside Gunn has dropped off his Shady Records debut album, WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE.
His third release this 2020 following his celebrated Pray For Paris studio album and his FLYGOD is an Awesome God II mixtape, WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE was originally scheduled to drop on the second annual Westside Gunn Day, August 28 — a day in Buffalo commemorated by the Mayor in recognition of everything the Griselda founder has done for his hometown. This was moved, however, out of respect for the death of DJ Shay, the man who “paved the way” for Griselda Records and their sound.
WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE clocks in at 40 minutes with a total of 11 tracks, and features a stunning array of guests that include the full Griselda roster — Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, Armani Caesar and Boldy James — plus Slick Rick, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Smoke DZA, A.A Rashid, Stove God Cooks, Flee Lord, Estee Nack, ElCaminio, and Keisha Plum. Faithful GxFR producers Daringer and Beat Butcher lend their hands to the album’s production alongside the likes of The Alchemist, Just Blaze, and Conductor Williams.
Gunn, a strong believer in the power of album art, finds inspiration close to home for this release and utilized a creation by his daughter WS POOTIE for the cover art. “I live my life based on ART, everything is ART, sometimes you might understand it sometimes you might not, sometimes you might not get the masterpiece until later on, but I knew it was a masterpiece the moment I made it,” he said in a statement. WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE marks one of his final releases before his retirement and he’s set to drop his Madlib collab and Hall & Nash 2 with Conway The Machine.
The album arrives with a short documentary that’s set in Alabama, where Gunn lived for three years while he was on the run before getting locked up. The rapper’s mother, Connie, is a central figure in the visual as she provides insight into his past, and Gunn honors her by giving her a new car and more.
Stream Westside Gunn’s WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE on Spotify and Apple Music, and watch the documentary above.
In related news, Boldy James spoke to HYPEBEAST about his authentic storytelling.
