Greg Stropki is a junior advertising major at Kent State University. Before working on his own music, he started booking and planning shows for popular hip-hop artists like YSN Flow, Juice Wrld, and Ski Mask the Slump God. After getting to work with one of his biggest inspirations in music, Juice Wrld, he realized making music is an interest for him.
Known by his stage name, “Greggy Westside”, his recent release of a collaborative project with a friend known as “OG Mook” is currently available on streaming platforms, including Apple Music & Spotify. They’ve released two collaborative albums “OG Westside”. Stropki explained how he didn’t make the project with OG Mook in the same studio because of the pandemic.
“When we made this album, we combined our separate ideas and sent them back and forth,” Stropki said. “We ultimately came up with this album after doing that. The final touches of the album we actually got to work together on.”
After working on the project with OG Mook, he started focusing on making his solo music. The start of the pandemic slowed down his process of making music. Stropki couldn’t go to the studio whenever he wanted to make more songs.
“I wrote some songs when I was home during [the] lockdown,” Stropki said. “I couldn’t go into the studio and record them because studios were shut down. I don’t have a home studio otherwise I would be making music all the time.”
As more places opened and Covid cases weren’t at high rates, Stropki started making music in the studio. Currently, he is ready to release new songs for a project coming out soon. He describes his new single as a trap hip-hop sound with an addictive chorus. He made his single with his fellow collaborator OG Mook and other artists Alchemy & Forever Johnson.
When Stropki wanted to pursue music, he was first in a group with a couple of friends. The group became locally successful in Cleveland booking many shows in small arenas. Ultimately the group disbanded and started making their own music. Stropki came up with his stage name “Greggy Westside” from one of his classmates.
“A guy in my high school I was friends with used to give me different nicknames every day, always starting with Greggy which stuck with me as a nickname,” Stropki said. “…then Westside was actually inspired [by] “How I Met Your Mother” character Teddy Westside.”
Other than Juice Wrld inspiring Stropki to make music, he often is aroused by the sounds of Mac Miller, Travis Scott, Kanye West, & 6LACK. The sound of emo rap is his favorite and often influenced in his music.