Armani Caesar Enlists DJ Premier for ‘Simply Done’

When Westside Gunn released Flygod Is An Awesome God 2 in July, the song “Lil Cease” served as an impressive showcase for Armani Caesar, the first woman to join Griselda Records. Caesar’s bluster was casual but cutting, while her tone and cadence wouldn’t have been out of place on a single from 1995.

Which is to say it makes perfect sense that she connected with the boom bap purist DJ Premier on her new song “Simply Done.” He concocted a typically thunking beat — heavy-handed keys, shrieking strings, and plenty of vinyl scratches. Caesar raps a dismissive verse (“If you a weak bitch you gonna hate me/An insecure bitch can’t take me”), Benny the Butcher adds one of his own (“Why would I acknowledge you?”), no one bothers to make a hook, and the whole thing comes to an end in a little more than two minutes.

“Simply Done” follows two other Caesar releases from earlier this year, “Follow the Diamonds” and “Yum Yum.” Westside Gunn signed Caesar — both rappers are from Buffalo, New York — in March.

Griselda Records is keeping up a busy release schedule. Westside Gunn has already released two album this year; he plans to release a third, Who Made the Sunshine, on August 28.