Westside Gunn and Benny the Butcher Rank Street Films

The rappers also talk about making Conflicted, Griselda’s first feature film
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Westside Gunn and Benny the Butcher in New York, February 09, 2020.Bennett Raglin / Getty Images

Griselda Records, the acclaimed Buffalo rap label founded by Westside Gunn, has long been praised for restoring ‘90s East Coast aesthetics to contemporary hip-hop with their focus on hard-hitting boom bap beats and even harder lyrics. Considering the commercial surge the collective has been on in the last couple of years, it makes sense that they would look to extend that aesthetic and branch out beyond music, just as the ‘90s legends did. Their new lane? Film.

Griselda began the new year with the release of Conflicted, the label’s first feature film, which was directed by AK Reed and written by Deuce King (who also plays the lead). The movie tells a familiar story: Hunt, an ex-con, attempts to dodge the lure of the streets following his release from prison. Conflicted also features two-thirds of Griselda’s core: Gunn and Benny the Butcher, who plays Hunt’s cousin Nick.

Courtesy of Griselda Films

Benny and Gunn’s love for the street and mafia film canons comes through in their lyrics (“Eatin’ with snakes probably get him killed/’Cause trust me, every family had a Henry Hill” on Griselda’s “DR. BIRDS,” “Life like Pesci in Goodfellas” from Gunn’s “The Almighty”). But their appreciation for cinema extends far beyond that. GQ recently spoke to the Buffalo, New York natives about Conflicted, what they’ve been watching, and what they’re looking forward to watching in 2021.

GQ: What was the inspiration for your roles? How did you get those characters to where you wanted them to be?

Westside Gunn: Man, we're naturals. At the end of the day, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know we're from the street and street culture, so it wasn't hard at all. We’re really just being ourselves. And it's crazy, because just like Benny was supposed to be the main character, I was supposed to be Benny's character. Everybody was bustin’ moves at the same time, but everything worked out perfectly. And you would never know that certain roles were switched or I was added on to something different. That's just how dope Deuce is as a writer. He can call an audible so fast and you'd never even know it.

Roc-A-Fella made a few reputable cult films during the early-to-mid 2000s—and really the late '90s, if you count Streets is Watching—when they expanded to feature films. Is Griselda looking to do something similar?

Westside Gunn: Of course. This is just the beginning. Like I said in the beginning, I've wanted to do films for a while. Even when I was locked up, I was writing. I'm a writer, I'm a curator, I'm a creator, so I always wanted to tap into the movies. Deuce gave me this opportunity, now I'm excited to just see how far we can really take it. You've got to start from somewhere and I think starting off this way was the best way I could. I did it with family. I did it with close friends. I did it with people from home. And I think we'll all grow from this.

Courtesy of Griselda Films

Every street movie isn't a rap movie just because it has rappers in it. When I think of films like Boyz n the Hood and Menace ll Society, rappers are part of the cast, but the movies are much bigger than that. What do you see Conflicted as? Because rap isn't the focus at all.

Westside Gunn: That's the thing: this isn't a rap movie. It's like you just said, it just has rappers in it. With some movies that are known as rap movies, you can tell they’re rap movies. I don't look at Conflicted as that at all. I think a rap movie would be too easy for us. Right now I'm talking to Rick James' brother and he's working on getting the Rick James series out and he wants me to be executive producer on that. I'm pretty sure we're going to tap into a few more hood classics and all that, but it's really about how far we can take this. Five years from now, we could be on some Will Smith shit—especially Benny, man. Benny is a natural.

Benny the Butcher: I love it, man. I love acting. It's fun, baby.

Benny, you've talked about how much work you put into your performance and how proud you are of it. What was your favorite scene to film?

Benny the Butcher: My favorite scene is when my character, Nick, walks into the room and sees Hunt and they're just chilling with the light off, then they cut the light on and Hunt really starts understanding who Nick is. That's the first time since he's been home where [he’s really like], "OK, I understand my little cousin Nick is a different person." So he's trying to have that talk with him, but Nick lets him know that just because he's home doing him doesn't mean he has to follow in Hunt’s footsteps.

Gunn, would this Rick James show be an original television series or a documentary?

Westside Gunn: A television series. I don't want to talk too much, but we've been talking twice a week to make this happen. Rick James's brother was also his attorney, so he knows everything from the day Rick was born to the day Rick passed. Everything legally, everything he ever got into in the streets, music, whatever, he was right there. So it's just like hearing all the stories from the horse's mouth. Of course Rick James is a legend, but the story is even more legendary—like, a two or two-and-a-half hour film wouldn't be able to capture it all. So it started off as a movie, but it's just too much, even just the different people in his life. You could do one one piece of his life and it would take up two hours, so he had to change it into a series.

Back to the Roc-A-Fella films. I’m curious as to which one you think is the best?

Westside Gunn: There's nothing better than Paid in Full.

Benny the Butcher: It's gotta be Paid in Full for me.

I agree, but tell me why you put Paid in Full above the rest.

Westside Gunn: Too authentic. It's real life. We're street dudes, so of course we've heard the stories and read the articles and all of that. But just to see it play out was fire and the acting was legendary. Meki Phifer, Cam'ron, the homie Wood Harris. They got so deep into character that you forgot they were acting. And that's what I love about movies: when you forget they're even acting, you really think that they're the characters. Flawless performances, flawless direction. That's some shit you could literally just put on right now or if it's on TV, you're not going to skip. As soon as you see Paid in Full, you're going to leave it on that channel. It's a classic.

What are some of your other favorite street films?

Westside Gunn: I mean, Paid in Full is definitely probably top three, but I love I'm Bout It. Master P did his thing with that. I had never been to New Orleans at that point, so seeing it made it feel like I was there. And then you can't even speak on like Juice, Boyz n the Hood, and Menace ll Society because those are all too easy. I watch little joints like the YG movie, Blame It On the Streets [laughs]. Of course Streets Is Watching; that's a classic. Murda Muzik, the Mobb Deep movie. I like watching the joints that are set in Detroit and Cleveland.

It's interesting that you didn't just mention the classics or the layups that automatically come to mind. Benny, what about you?

Benny the Butcher: All the same joints. You know there's like a Mount Rushmore of hood classics, give or take two or three joints. But lately I've been on the Detroit films— Murda [Pain] has made a lot of shit. I've been watching a lot of them on Hulu and Amazon. I've been on that heavy.

Westside Gunn: Detroit has the illest hood movies.

I have to ask a tough question: which do you think is better: Boyz n the Hood or Menace ll Society?

Westside Gunn: Aw man, that's a crazy question. That's not even right. That's a Biggie-2Pac question. That's not even fair. I can't say.

Benny the Butcher: That's like asking what's better: Casino or Goodfellas? But I remember when I first saw Menace ll Society. I wasn't even supposed to see it, I was at my grandmother's house. We were looking for tapes to put in the VCR and [after] we popped that joint in, my life was different [laughs].

Yeah, I also saw Menace a little too young.

Westside Gunn: That's a hard one, plus I love Juice the same. I can watch Juice every day, all day. But I could watch Above the Rim all day. There's just certain movies like that.

Courtesy of Griselda Films

Tupac did a few movies before he died that had nothing to do with rap. I was watching Gridlock'd the other day with him, Thandie Newton, and Tim Roth, where they're all playing heroin-addicted musicians. What are some of your favorite movies, in general? All genres.

Westside Gunn: It's hard to say because I love movies. I can go on and on and on and on when it comes to movies. Shit, I love Titanic [laughs]. I love Free Willy. There's just so many classics. If you start talking about mafia flicks, you always have to give it up to De Niro and Pacino. You go on and on about Will Smith's movies. You could go on and on about Denzel's movies, from Training Day to Malcolm X. Spike Lee movies like Do the Right Thing. Quentin Tarantino movies...

Benny the Butcher: Goodfellas is my shit, man. That's been my favorite movie for like 20 years.

Westside Gunn: Goodfellas, Casino, Scarface, A Bronx Tale, Carlito's Way...

Conflicted has some similar elements as Carlito's Way in terms of trying to escape the game when it feels like everything is trying to draw back in. Both of you mentioned Goodfellas: What about it stands out to you?

Benny the Butcher: The authenticity of the story. He came in the game, made a lot of money, and look where he ended up. That was like our first vivid look into something like that.

Westside Gunn: I was just about to say that, because the difference between The Godfather and Goodfellas is that Goodfellas got straight to the point. You really felt like this is the mob, you know what I'm saying? It was more relatable. The Godfather trilogy is probably one of the best film series of all time. And you know how that is when you turn on TV on a Saturday and it has the commercials, that shit might be six hours long [laughs]. Sometimes, it takes you two or three times to watch just one of them. They’re great, but you have to really take the time to understand them. With Goodfellas it was clear cut, right in your face.

Were there any movies you saw last year that stood out to you?

Courtesy of Griselda Films

Westside Gunn: I wasn't really tapped in to a lot of movies last year because there weren't a lot that came out. And there weren't a lot that were memorable besides something like The Invisible Man. You know lately, the TV series have been holding shit down. Power and Snowfall, Insecure, Narcos: Mexico and all that. I've been watching Cobra Kai. I've been watching weird shit—like, I've been watching the new Saved By the Bell.

There's a lot available on the streaming platforms—and not all of it is good, but you can definitely find something to watch. There's no shortage of options.

Westside Gunn: BET is making them, too. Like, The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story.

I liked The New Edition Story—also, Wood Harris was in that. And Mekhi Phifer was in The Bobby Brown Story playing Bobby Brown's brother.

Westside Gunn: They're such great actors. They've got a lot of range and they're the type of actors who, if I had to make a movie, I would call them like, "Hey, I need you." And those dudes are fans of ours, too. So you never know, you might see us working with them in the future.