Westside Gunn Interview: Hitler Wears Hermes 8, Kanye, Tyler the Creator
Written by SOURCE on September 2, 2021
The digital age has taken the rap world wild places. Right now, we’re smack in the middle of Westside Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf double album. The Griselda mastermind was planning to release the project all at once, but ended up dealing with some post-production issues that prevented him from being able to put it all on DSPs at once.
But, ever-appreciative of his rabid fanbase, he didn’t keep them waiting and decided to drop a 13-track Volume 1 of the project last week. It’s already stirring up some “album of the year” buzz from rap purists. Loaded with verses from Lil Wayne, Sauce Walka, Stove God Cooks, Boldly James, and of course Flygod himself, Volume 1 is a stellar exhibition of the rap curation that Westside says he’s about to delve into more heavily, as he only sees himself dropping two more projects and then focusing on being an executive producer (along with his non-music ventures).
He’s already getting started on that path, as his mindset for his own projects is for guest features to outshine him. Otherwise, he feels like the collaboration is pointless. “I want you to shine,” he explains. “I want you to kill me, because that’s only going to make the best music.”
You can read below to find out which two albums he’ll be executive producing down the line. We also talked about HWH8, getting props from Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator, two projects he’s going to curate with rap legends, and just what the inside of the Donda house looked like at the Kanye listening session. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
