Be Like Westside Gunn

My friend Matt Zeigler wrote a great post that reminded me of a post I made on Twitter about a year ago:

almost daily I think about this post from Matt Zeigler, "Pop vs. The Underground"

up until the last few months, I think I would have said I'd want to be pop, like Jay-Z.

but, I was already making a mental shift when I read this and I think it was instrumental in focusing on the…

— justincastelli (@jus10castelli) April 23, 2024

Check out his post on Cultish Creative from this past Sunday called The Tortoise’s Path. Just like his post a year ago encouraged me to keep my vision of being Underground like Talib Kweli, Sunday’s post encouraged me to take the path of Westside Gunn. Interestingly enough, Matt and I have had conversations about Westside Gunn before and I shared how I don’t love him—mainly because of his voice and his tendency to rap off beat. BUT, after Sunday’s post I’ve made it a part of my morning commute routine to listen to a Westside Gunn song as a reminder to take the Tortoise’s Path and to do it my way—and like Gunn, to not need a “Billboard Hit” to achieve the professional impact I want to make.

Give Matt’s post a read and give him a follow as well!

Keep Pursuing,

JC