
Instagram/@jadakiss
Joe Joe And Jada Kiss, in their fresh video, gave a perspective of their account about the beginning of days in Griselda Records’ rise from Buffalo, focusing on their just very exclusive, very anti-industry viewpoint that kind of made it a cult movement all over the world. “Griselda kept it exclusive and made the world come to them in Buffalo and it worked,” reads the post. The video is just a candid conversation about their hustle from the bottom, limited releases, and how, in a way, some weird kind of miraculous international success just happened to them. This rare glimpse into their way of doing things gives a thinly veiled extra layer of insight into how truly independent artists could sidestep the traditional and music-industry structures.
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They talk with pride and disbelief about Buffalo: “Did you think you can make it from Buffalo?” One replied, “Yeah, and nobody think they can make it.” They spoke about their limited choices they thought they had: “It’s crack and that’s it. Streets, that’s it, the film, yeah.” But they say: “That’s if you want to fucking do it.” They didn’t care for anybody’s deals. “We ain’t wanna even sign old deals and none of that. We ain’t wanna fuck with nobody.”
The extreme exclusivity at the heart of their plan derived from sneaker culture. Backed by the culture, they released incredibly rare physical copies of their ejects, most likely hoodies and vinyl: once they had left the door, they would never be found again and instantly became collector pieces. “It’s only 187 of these.” And with demand created, markups started brewing. “The huddies and shit flying off the table… We can’t sell the vinyl. It’s on eBay or something for like $12,000.” Sector iterated on, i.e., they created the worthy attention for themselves instead of chasing it from industry gatekeepers.
There were so many highs in their organic growth, but there was also the strangest moment for them to be recognized. “We looking at this shit, like we got murals painted in Japan and shit, Paris. It’s like this shit again, too crazy.” Once they realized the recognition outside conventional ad or big label was now theirs, it stopped being an “We need management now” situation, after all acknowledgment coming from their hard work of “hustling and making our shit boot seat.”
The post took on the air of an anthem for their followers, leading to a plethora of reactions around the Griselda movement and Buffalo: One comment reads, “Amazing Job fellas s/o Stove God Cooks. The Album is gonna be So Wild,” leading the series of anticipation for the projects. Another one says, “Shout out to Buffalo,” with a few coming from locals.
The conversation changed toward the value of their merch, with a pragmatically-minded fan admitting, “I need to check the value on all my Griselda hoodies lol,” acknowledging how big this secondary market created by the limited releases really is. The other collector followed up with, “Facts, I’m looking to get Flygod, Hitler Wears Hermes 2 and 3 now! (Got everything else tho),” showing how much the hardcore fan base is after these rare pieces.
Not everyone was pleased: “Thinking that the only thing you can do is sell crack or rap is an awful mindset. Big Conway fan tho love his music,” one user said. With this, the user validates all artistic success yet digs a razor-sharp gauntlet into the narrow worldview this video presents.
Perhaps the most genuine comment of them all belonged to a fan sharing a memory connected to one part of the journey: “I’ll never forget when the WWSD dropped man, drove from Toronto to Detroit listening front to back. They were still doing hoodie sales, and I was just happy for them cuz buffalo is like a cousin of Toronto. They really did it.” This comment is a reflection of earnest regional pride and inveterate investments fans pour into this success story.
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Joe and Jada’s post gave us a raw look at the highly unorthodox way Griselda became hip-hop legends. Rejecting industry norms and embracing scarcity turned their Buffalo roots into what is today a global brand, showing the world that sometimes it’s the world’s being made to come to you that is the strongest weapon.