Ten years ago, Westside Gunn released Flygod. At the time, it felt like another underground release coming out of Buffalo. Looking back now, it is clear the album became something much bigger. Flygod laid the foundation for what would grow into one of the most influential movements in modern underground hip hop.
Before the industry started paying attention, Gunn and his collective Griselda were already building a world of their own. Together with Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, Gunn pushed a sound that felt almost rebellious for its time. In an era dominated by trap drums and glossy production, Flygod sounded raw, dusty and deliberate.
Much of that atmosphere came from producer Daringer. His loops felt haunting and minimal. Soul samples drift through the record while the drums often stay stripped down or disappear completely. The approach brought the music closer to the grimy aesthetic of Wu-Tang Clan classics than to the mainstream sound of the mid 2010s.
Yet the real centerpiece of the album is Gunn himself. His style never followed traditional rap structure. Verses feel fragmented and almost impressionistic. One moment he references high fashion, the next moment he paints vivid street imagery. Wrestling ad libs explode between bars. Art references appear out of nowhere. It should feel chaotic, but instead it forms a signature style that only Gunn seems capable of executing.
That approach gave Flygod a unique identity. The album feels curated rather than simply recorded. Features from artists such as Danny Brown and Your Old Droog added to that underground network surrounding the project. The collaborations hinted at something bigger forming beneath the surface of mainstream hip hop.
Ten years later, Flygod stands as a turning point. It is the project that crystallized the Griselda aesthetic and pushed a new generation of listeners back toward grimy sample based rap.
