Buffalo Hip-Hop: Expect the Unexpected
Buffalo hip-hop has hit a stride. Since the commercial success of three-piece rap crew Griselda (Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, and Westside Gunn) in 2019, the city’s once overlooked, yet vibrant community of emcees, DJs, and organizers are creating more moments and spaces to nurture their sound – a goal Buffalo hip-hop’s eminence grise DJ Shay set to achieve years prior. The concerted efforts of Shay with BuffCity Records, rough-edged hip-hop coalition Babysteps, and urban media like Buffalo Live set a precedent for what the Queen City is experiencing today: a colorful integration of music, art, and culture propagated through the framework of hip-hop.
From captivating Back Pack Mafia beat battles at Milkies, to mellow rap shows at Black Dots record store, there is a hip-hop event for everyone; Just be curious enough. On any given weekend, you could discover a rap performance or impressive DJ set at Rec Room on Chippewa. Hi-Tech Studios on West Tupper is known for their monthly Friday Night Ciphers featuring some of the city’s best lyricists. Nietzsches captures all the eccentric charm of Allentown including the fresh-faced hip-hop talent that performs monthly. And when it gets warm, expect to enjoy a high-energy festival season, from the annual Beau Fleuve Celebration, to the star-studded Drumwork Fest in August, and the Robbie Takac-led Music Is Art Fest in Downtown Buffalo.
With larger budgets and undying resiliency, Buffalo hip-hop is earning the respect it always deserved, and thriving in it. Now you can hear Westside Gunn’s music playing at a coffee shop, or a local emcee performing at Buffalo Fashion Week, or punk bands featuring 7xve the Genius, or New Era tapping longtime rapper Billie Essco for a merch collaboration. In layman’s terms, expect the unexpected.
