Westside Gunn is opening an art gallery in Buffalo
The Griselda emcee’s love of art will be displayed in his forthcoming Buffalo Kids store.
Westside Gunn’s love of art will now be displayed in an art center. The Griselda emcee is preparing for the upcoming launch of his art gallery in his hometown of Buffalo, New York.
“I’ve always dreamt of my flagship store, and I worked so hard for this,” he penned an Instagram post. “Even the mall said they never seen anything like this..everything designed by myself and team, a place where celebrities will frequently fly in just to experience Buffalo culture.”
According to Westside, the gallery will feature hats he designed himself as well as toys, original arts, vinyls, magazines, kids clothing and more.
“Ppl will travel around the world to see this, and I thank u in advance,” the FLYGOD rapper wrote. “I’m so excited and grateful bc now u will see the brand how I always envisioned it. I’ve been designing since 12yrs old, and now I have a home for it all… Welcome to the BUFFALO KIDS store… GOD IS THE GREATEST.”
Westside Gunn has made a name in the music industry as a talented rapper and successful leader of Griselda Records, which he founded alongside his brother Conway the Machine, their cousin Benny the Butcher, and their in-house producer Daringer in 2012. Throughout his musical ventures, however, he’s managed to include some form of art. The custom merchandise that accompanies every release, for example, derives from a painting designed by a skilled artist.
“I commission a dope artist and have them do the original painting, and then I turn that into merchandise,” Westside previously told Business Insider. “Now you have your fashion lovers and your art lovers. It’s killing a lot of birds with one stone.”
Westside also has an art collection valued at $1 million that consists of toys, sculptures, wrestling memorabilia, contemporary artwork and original works that were created for just for him.
“I’m from the inner city, you wouldn’t even think looking at me that I’m into art that seriously,” he said. “But you come to my place, I literally just got a penthouse just for my art. It’s like a museum.”
Westside Gunn’s Buffalo Kids store is slated to open up sometime next month.