Westside Gunn doesn't play around when it comes to music. He's one of the hardest-working rappers in the game, and he has the catalog to prove it. Gunn has dropped 10 projects in the last four years, both as a solo artist and with other members of Griselda. He doesn't need to rely on hype or press tours in which he says wild things about other artists. That said, 2024 has been the year of rap beef, and fans want to know their favorite rapper would fare in a battle.
A fan tweeted at Westside Gunn on April 28. He voiced his desire to see Gunn challenge another rapper to a battle, citing how entertaining it would be to watch. "I wanna see @WESTSIDEGUNN in a music only rap beef," they wrote. That would be some entertaining sh*t." Gunn got back at him and shut down any chance of seeing him in a "for sport" beef. "Maaaaaan," he quote tweeted. "F*ck all these n**gas!!!" It makes sense, given how many actual beefs Gunn has been involved in. He's thrown subliminal shots at Hus Kingpin, and had a diss aimed at him via Griselda affiliate The God Fahim.
Westside Gunn and The God Fahim squashed their beef in 2020, however. The rappers made up X and even posted a couple photos together on Christmas. "Don’t think @THAGODFAHIM wasn’t there too," he tweeted. "Now let me get back to my original plan. I’m the curator of ALL curators... Just start wit a fresh canvas." Gunn similarly sparked a feud with Griselda affiliate Mach Hommy around 2019, but it was again squashed in favor of making great music. There's no time wasted on social media antics or trolls, as has been the case in the mainstream. Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and the rest involved in the "Civil War" have taken it beyond the music.
The irony is that Westside Gunn has indirectly influenced this mainstream "Civil War." He was one of the first rappers to work with Conductor Williams, who would go on to provide beats for Drake on his latest album, For All the Dogs. Conductor also co-produced J. Cole's diss towards Kendrick Lamar, "7 Minute Drill." Westside Gunn's ear for production and his popularization of the Griselda sound has shaped the beef he so wants to avoid. Go figure.
Reggae metal band Skindred have announced new UK tour dates set to take place this Autumn – see the full list of dates below.
Earlier this week, the Welsh band took to social media to announce a new slate of tour dates across the UK, marking the second trek in the region in support of their 2023 album ‘Smile’.
Dubbed the ‘Smile (Again)’ tour, Skindred will begin their run of shows in Hull on October 18, and will conclude the tour at the O2 Academy in Oxford on November 2. Other shows include Liverpool’s Olympia, Glasgow’s Barrowland and Leicester’s O2 Academy among others.
Tickets to all shows – excluding Leicester and Oxford – are on sale now. Tickets to the Leicester and Oxford shows will be available at 10am local time today (May 17). Get your tickets here.
OCTOBER
18 – Hull – Hull University
19 – Glasgow – Barrowland
20 – Sunderland – Fire Station
24 – Holmfirth – Picturedome
25 – Liverpool – Olympia
26 – Leicester – O2 Academy
31 – Portsmouth – Guildhall
NOVEMBER
01 – Bexhill – De La Warr Pavilion
02 – Oxford – O2 Academy
The tour announcement comes just months after the band performed a small handful of shows in the UK in March, which included a headlining slot at Wembley. Before that, they embarked upon a tour of the UK and Ireland in late 2023 in support of ‘Smile’.
Earlier in 2023, Skindred became unlikely TikTok stars after their song ‘Nobody’ sparked a new dance trend on the social media platform. Following their viral moment, the band made their debut appearance on Later… With Jools Holland to perform ‘Gimme That Boom’.
