Griselda’s Rome Streetz & Daringer Take Over The Jazz Cafe [Show Review]

A decade ago, Buffalo, New York brothers Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine formed the notorious Griselda Records. Fuelling the resurgence of Boom-Bap, a sound popularised by east coast legends such as ATCQ, Wu-Tang Clan and Nas to name a few. In the last 10, Griselda has welcomed the illustrious Mach-Hommy, Benny the Butcher, Boldy James and most recently Rome Streetz.

A crucial cog in the Griselda machine that we cannot overlook is Daringer, the founding producer of the collective. Daringer teamed up with Rome Streetz for the 2024 project Hatton Garden Holdup. The title refers to London’s diamond district, which opens the playing field for a number of British Gangster references. Over the course of 14 tracks, the duo relentlessly churn out Boom Bap excellence while waving their griselda flags high. However, it was Rome’s 2022 album and Griselda debut, Kiss the Ring, that piqued mine and many others’ interest and ultimately led me to The Jazz Cafe this evening.

Rome and Daringer curated a pretty dense opening portion of the show with a mix of local and NYC artists. Creating a cypher-esque energy to warm up the crowd. The pair brought a timeless, raw ‘Coke Rap’ energy to the stage. I can only imagine a similar feeling was felt 30 years ago for the likes of the Wu-Tang Clan, A group that Rome references in the line, “Your favorite rapper was supposed to protect his neck, and I broke it.” You get the sense that history is being rewritten in real-time.

I get the impression that Gunn, Conway and Benny run a tight ship at Griselda as the bar is set sky high. Every bar, verse and even adlib is packed with substance, if you’ll pardon the pun.

As this was the “Hatton Garden Holdup Tour,” the majority of their set came from this project. Tracks like “Starbvxks” and “sage” are some of his strongest work and sound incredible in a live setting. Rome dug into his rich discography to play us gems like “Big Steppa” and “Heart On Froze” from Kiss the Ring. Boom-Bap holds a special place in my heart thanks to nights like this.