News Piece
Rapper Westside Gunn severs all ties to WWE amidst cease and desist order.
Buffalo born rap and fashion mogul Westside Gunn, has taken to social media to voice his displeasure with the wrestling entertainment company WWE. This comes after years of enjoying a positive relationship where Gunn has paid homage to WWE stars such as John Cena, as well as promoting the brand throughout his discography; now Gunn has denounced the wrestling conglomerate online after myriad copyright issues have arisen.
The most recent debacle coming in his hometown of Buffalo NY on March 3rd 2025, where Gunn and his friend Smoke DZA were removed from their ringside seats during RAW smackdown. A privilege that Gunn, speaking in a subsequent tweet, revealed he paid a total of $5,000 for only to be asked to leave a mere three minutes after the commencement of action, leaving Gunn feeling ‘disappointed’ and ‘hurt’.
There has been no official statement from the WWE to surmise the reason for ejecting Gunn and DZA from RAW smackdown, despite this Gunn has been very vocal on social media about the situation even suggesting that certain people from within the WWE ‘hate seeing a young black successful entrepreneur that could afford those seats’. A very serious allegation which it seems important to mention has no evidence aside from the tweet from which it was taken.
The story, however, goes all the way back into January of 2022 when the WWE sent Gunn’s record company Griselda Records a cease-and-desist notice. Referring to songs and music videos across Gunn’s catalogue which utilised things such as images of WWE wrestlers on the front cover; most notably the use of “The million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase on the cover of each release from Gunn’s 2025 Heel’s have eyes trilogy. On top of this Gunn also employs samples of commentary from past WWE broadcasts in his songs as can be seen on his tune ‘MkQueensDead’ which contains a clip of Ric Flair boasting about how he is ‘Rolex Wearin’.
This has led to the artwork being changed and the videos being removed from YouTube for copyright reasons eventually meaning the rapper has severed all affiliation with WWE and started his own wrestling company 4th rope.
Opinion piece
Westside Gunn and WWE, endorsement or copyright?
When Rapper Westside Gunn was ejected from his apparent $5,000 ringside seats at RAW smackdown in Buffalo, he was left ‘hurt’ and ‘sad’. Following from the incident, the WWE (formerly WWF) has ordered a cease and desist to Gunn’s record company Griselda records, noting uses of WWE copyrighted material in songs and music videos. The now viral moment has divided public opinion, outrage amongst fans of the rapper and vice versa from fans of the wrestling conglomerate; begging the question: where is the line between friendly promotion and unlawful copyright?
Gunn has long since been a huge advocate of the WWE, being a long-time fan since his childhood and attending myriad events in recent history often in the previously mentioned ringside seats. On top of this, throughout his musical catalogue Gunn can be seen exhibiting, what he would describe as paying homage to the entertainment company and the stars which are a part of it. There are countless examples, from naming songs after wrestlers such as ‘Ray Mysterio’ or sampling excerpts from WWE (or previously WWF) broadcasts such as the audio of mean GENE interviewing Andy Warhol that can be heard at the end of the song ‘Birkin’. Gunn is a self-proclaimed ‘super fan’ and is even seen in a tweet saying: ‘all the good times it brought to my life to the point when I started making music, I incorporated it in everything’. It seems from this then, that Gunn’s intentions were innocent, and he simply wanted to, as with all his music; paint an accurate depiction of his upbringing and lifestyle the likes of which WWE was clearly a huge part. In the same tweet Gunn can be seen claiming that ‘NOBODY w/ 2 feet has spent the amount of $ I have supporting and pushing a brand I’ve loved since I can remember’, this had led to fans of the rapper taking to social media to voice their displeasure with the wrestling company. Stating that WWE are ‘out of line’ and acting ‘petty’, along with the rapper they believe Gunn was pushing the brand and showing unwavering support by including its stars within his music in many ways.
However, since Gunn is a prominent member of the rap music industry, an industry which has historically been littered with copyright issues and is often a topic of controversy. One must question how Gunn failed to anticipate the copyright infringements he was clearly making, on top of this due to the established popularity of the WWE, some have questioned whether Gunn was ‘pushing’ the brand or utilising to catapult his own popularity within rap music.
Interview- The Telegraph
Interview with Finn Preer, Leeds DJ who hopes to inspire the next generation.
‘Just play one thing after the other’ an over-simplified stoic piece advice gifted to Finn Preer by an anonymous but eternally wise old man one fabled night, it kick-started his career in disc jockeying and has served as the ethos for this home-grown DJ and permeates his musical values to this day as well as being the cornerstone of his newest venture.
As I wait the obligatory ten minute ‘DJ time’ delay as proclaimed by Preer, it dawns on me just how community centred this area of Leeds is; not one patron entered or left without a personal greeting or farewell from the workers here at the Vinyl whistle and it is easy to see how this place has become a hub for people like Preer. ‘Community and bringing people together are at the epicentre of music for me’ says a promptly caffeinated Preer, speaking of his new venture to personally host a bi-weekly night at the Vinyl Whistle during the summer months. I can see his genuine care for the shop, and it seems a home away from home, immediately notified of the new stock that has arrived in he flicks through with the sleight of hand often reserved for magicians and pickpockets. It doesn’t bother me though, this segue into the interview provides me with just as much information as anything else, and looking back, the values which Preer holds so close are on full display here in this small interlude and offer an insight into why Preer feels so strongly about spreading them to the community.
When questioned on his earliest experience playing tunes in the record shop by day, party space by night; Preer recalls nerves and a sudden realisation his up-tempo dance records may not ‘fit the vibe’ when entering to a ‘subdued crowd… listening to don’t think twice its alright’ nevertheless this would be the first of many subsequent nights out sharing his passion for records with the Headingley community. When the needle hit Preer’s first record it must have been a shock to the sound system but he says ‘ that’s the beauty of this place… no one bats an eyelid’ and this is one reason of many that has continually drawn Preer back to the shop, the focus is on the sharing of passion as oppose to the music itself -‘I’ve discovered so many new artists in here and have shared so many of my favourite artists in return’ it’s this exchange which draws Preer and so many others to the myriad nights hosted here and a value which Preer hopes to perpetuate himself with his own night of music.
Continuing chronologically from his earliest days to now hosting his new event, Preer makes it abundantly clear that his event here in the Vinyl Whistle will rely heavily on word of mouth and a move away from the impersonal electronic invites that can be seen across the vast majority of similar events. Preer boasts a ‘nucleus of local DJs’ that will light up the dance floor here every fortnight, from a range of different musical backgrounds; after all, how could he exclude any background from this community centred night of music. Not only a range of genre will be on show but a range of experience, Preer aims to give anyone who shows a genuine interest a chance on the hot seat and is hoping that the positive message that he and his nucleus of DJs are aiming to promote will resonate with likeminded people. Eventually, turning into what Preer describes as a ‘melting pot’ he hopes that as his event grows in popularity, new and aspiring musicians will suffer a similar fate to himself and be encouraged to ‘play one thing after the other’ further cementing the values which have been conveyed constantly throughout this interview.
It seems trivial to even mention that this night will be free for everyone, so as to align itself with the principles that have shone through this conversation. Despite a focus on word of mouth, obviously Preer has no choice but to succumb to social media advertising, lest no one in this day and age would even hear about it! But something about this area strikes me as one where were word travels fast, and after a short conversation with the host, I have no doubts that this event will become one of the most highly regarded over the coming months.
It seemed only right to end this interview with a predictable question but one I couldn’t avoid: what’s the best piece of advice you can give to someone who’s just starting out?
Preer wasted no time in quoting the old man who inspired him so long ago ‘play one thing after the other’ but adding his own interpretation of these words he says ‘it just means don’t worry about anything, don’t get caught up in small things, just go out there and have fun if you’ve got a love and a passion then that’ll come through’.
Album review- The Guardian
Album Review- Hook, Line and Sinker
Boldy James’ newest EP: Hook, line and sinker is his 3rd release of the year in just as many months, a pace the likes of which many modern artists couldn’t dream of. It is nothing new for James with a whopping 9 releases in 2025 as well as a litany of features, a serial collaborator James has earned the respect of many of his peers evidenced by his employment by the Griselda heavyweight Benny the Butcher and The Alchemist. In his newest release, coming a mere 17 days after his previous project with fellow Griselda affiliate Rome Streetz, James continues his collaboration streak with producer Your Boy Posca. This time a 7 song album totalling 22 minutes, James stands alone lyrically in the album, aside from a Conway The Machine feature on Advanced Children.
Firstly, the production on the album stands out from the first track Taken to the grave Posca pulls out a show stopping soul sample with a vocal chop that emulates so many of James’ previous songs, grabbing the listeners attention from the first seconds. The smooth soul soaked sample sets the perfect scene for James’ slow and considered lyrical style, his deep baritone and vivid story telling are on full show in the album and from the first minutes: ‘Don’t want nothing in life but my get-back from Francois, humble beginnings held my gun and my head high, he fumbled the money and got a Colombian neck-tie’. Posca continues this soul centred style, with my highlight coming on the last track The dealers cut, a haunting violinsample which gives a cinematic almost grandiose feeling complimenting James’ vocal style perfectly.
However, the 7 track album lacks much diversity with the biggest change in style coming simply from the only other voice on the album, the aforementioned Conway feature. Whilst the production and lyrical style complement each other successfully, the album almost sounds like a single 22 minute song which perhaps contributes to my suggestion that the first and last track were the standouts. A similar issue is created due to the work ethic of the Detroit born rapper, the short project runs the risk of falling by the wayside in the abundance of releases and fails to generate much hype in the same way rap albums often do these days with elaborate album rollouts like that of Clipse newest release.
Nevertheless, this is not James’ business model and despite a lack of standout singles or hype around the release, the album is a great opportunity for Posca to show off his production and James lyrics are as sharp as ever.
Appendix
Interview Transcription-
H: So firstly, the event that you’re looking to promote caters to local new upcoming DJ’s who maybe haven’t had proper experience doing sets before, so I was just wondering how did you get your very first start at DJing and what did that look like for you?
F: Well definitely like a picture of nerves and I didn’t know what I was doing at all I was down in Headingley where we are right now at the Vinyl whistle, I had long since been collecting records but never really thought about DJing and until one night I came in, we’d had a few beers and just an old bloke who was in encouraged me he said there’s no judgement in this place you know you don’t have to be able to do what everyone calls DJing, you just play one thing after the other, he said come down bring your box of records and just have a bit of fun and you know it might have been a little liquid courage but that prompted me to sign up and come down for my first set like I said super nervous but yeah no I don’t think it went very well but I had fun and yeah that was the start of it really right here where we are today.
H: Oh wow so we’ve got the mysterious old guy to thank for all this, just off the back of that question I know we’ve spoke about the theme of your event before the interview but I was just wondering like what sort of music was it that you ended up playing on that first set?
F: Yeah so really funny story actually obviously with my first DJ set I was really focused on what I thought DJing was I felt quite boxed in like I had to bring high energy songs and I dug out all my dance records and that sort of thing, thinking yeah we are going to have a big night DJing and get everyone dancing and we walked in and it was just a really subdued crowd and I think someone’s playing it was definitely Bob Dylan I think they were playing don’t think twice it’s alright we kind of looked around thinking oh I think we’re going to change up the vibe a bit here but yeah threw my records on and everyone enjoyed it anyway so that’s kind of the beauty of this place it’s you can go from genre to genre no one bats an eyelid and everyone just enjoys it so that’s why I really wanted to come back here
H: OK so now we know the origin story of Finn as a DJ just wanted to ask the question if there was a watershed moment in your life was there a moment when you realised it turned from this hobby starting in here in the vinyl whistle into a little bit more of a professional thing you know maybe you start making money or coming into contact with other DJ’s and stuff as in starting to grow that community, at any moment did you kind of have that conscious thought of you know this is changing and it’s a little bit more serious rather than just something that you did for fun?
F: I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as a professional and to be honest I still see it as a hobby you know it’s fun and I think that’s what most people get out of DJing and you don’t want to lose that the fun side of it and turn it into a job it brings people together and is a good laugh so I still see it as a hobby and something I enjoy to do it’s not a slog when I do it or do things like these interviews you know just pushing my passion and pushing my Music. But there was a moment where I got added into a few local group chats for DJ sets and got approached to do a set outside of the open decks night which I guess would probably be a watershed moment when a DJ that plays around Leeds quite often asked me to play at his soul music night on a Friday still here in vinyl whistle so it still felt quite hobby like but yeah I’d probably say that felt like a step away from you know just signing up to the open decks to DJ and doing it for someone else on a Friday night.
H: I see so how did that first set go on the famed Friday night slot?
F: Yeah I really really enjoyed it, had all my mates there and we managed to get the place packed everyone was dancing so it was kind of like what my expectations were like for my very first set at the open decks but ended up being at this one you know we played a lot of uptempo songs and actually managed time to do 2 sets during the night one soul and one proper dancefloor fillers so yeah really really enjoyed it and yeah I guess I felt like a proper DJ that night.
H: That’s really interesting and I feel like we’re developing a story of you as a DJ. So, on that note I just wanted to ask now you’ve developed as an artist what your hopes for this night that you putting on the vinyl whistle that we’re here to promote today?
F: Yeah so my main hopes and aims for this night is really just to create a melting pot you know whether that be a mix of experiences from DJ’s who’ve been doing it for years all the way to people who maybe even doing it for the first time also an eclectic mix of different musical genres I don’t want any specific genre in my event I want everything from reggae to house to jazz you know if it’s going to be a sit down or dance whatever it’s gonna be I just want to share the love and the main thing is just to bring these people together to me community and bringing people together at the epicentre music so I really wanted to get that across in my new night
H: Well that sounds really wholesome so how’s it going to work then is it going to be new DJ’s every night or is it going to be like a sign up in the sort of open deck style we’re speaking about earlier what’s it going to be
F: Yeah thanks for asking that so we’re going to have a main nucleus of DJ’s that are going to be on every time the events going these are people that I know they’ve played here before and that’s going to be how it starts and then I guess the way that it would differ from an open deck style is we’re moving away from that sign up online approach and it’s going to be more of a word of mouth thing as I’ve spoken about the community aspect previously when, fingers crossed, people engage with and at the event who really take an interest then I’ll just ask them encourage them if they want to jump up on the decks either that night or the next time the nights on or whenever they feel ready but as I say will have a nucleus of DJ’s in case that doesn’t occur but that is my one of my biggest hopes for the night is that we’ll be able to just invite people down to play who were there in person in a similar way to how I got my start I just want to give the opportunity to more people.
H: So, in terms of the logistics of the night then it sounds like it’s probably going to be a free event Based on what you’ve told me and is very more information about the event that you’d like to get out there to my readers
F: Yep definitely going to be a free night as I say it’s all about that community so we don’t want to exclude anyone, Everyone is welcome and there will be advertisements on social media leaflets in person lots of word of mouth stuff going on but yeah all the details are not finalised yet they will be out as soon as they are known but hopefully starting in the summer and I’m really excited.
H: Well that sounds brilliant man I’m really excited to come down and give it a look when it’s finally on in the summer so I’ve got one final question for you and that’s a simple one what is the best piece of advice you would give to a DJ who’s just starting out
F: Well that’s easy Id love to reiterate the same piece of advice I was given when I was starting out just play one thing after the other sounds silly but really it just means don’t worry about anything, don’t get caught up in small things just go out there have fun if you’ve got a love and a passion then that’ll come through when you play records so just really push yourself out of your comfort zone and just give it a go it’s all about that first step and then the only way is up.
H: That’s perfect thank you so much for your time mate I’ve really enjoyed it
