Conway the Machine is an MC from Buffalo, New York who with his brother Westside Gunn & their label Griselda Records have been taking over the underground over the course of this decade. He just dropped his 9th mixtape Everybody is F.O.O.D. over the summer & now with the end of the year approaching, he’s decided to drop a sequel out of the blue.
The tape begins with “Fentanyl”, where Conway gets boastful over a chaotic Graymatter beat. The next song “224 May Block” talks about having murder on his mind over a dark beat from The Alchemist while the track “Painkillers” is filled with battle bars over a dreary boom bap beat. The song “Hide the Body” with Benny the Butcher pretty much speaks for itself over an eerie beat & after the “Corners” interlude, we go into the track “Cocaine Paid”. Here, Conway talks about the drug game over a surprising trap beat.
The track “G Money on the Roof” talks about people switching on him over a spacious boom bap beat while the song “Overdose” gets introspective over a minimalist instrumental. The penultimate track “Proud of Me” talks about people who expect something from him now that he’s famous over an upbeat instrumental & the closer “Piece of My Heart” is an ode to Benny’s brother Machine Gun Black over another soulful beat.
Overall, this is a fantastic sequel to one of the Machine’s best projects yet. It’s almost as raw lyrically & sonically but like the predecessor, I just wish it was a little longer. Can’t wait to see what Griselda is gonna do in 2019.
Benny the Butcher is an MC from Buffalo, New York known as the leader of the Black Soprano Family. He then signed to his cousin Westside Gunn’s label Griselda Records last year, with the Butcher on Steroids mixtape dropping on his birthday. But almost a year later, he’s ready to make his full-length debut on the label serving as the follow up to his 2005 mixtape Tana Talk 2.
The album starts off with “Babs”, where Benny & Keisha Plum talk about their hometown over an boom bap beat from Griselda’s in-house producer Daringer with some horns & a flute. The next song “Goodnight” gets murderous over an somber beat while the track “Scarface vs. Sosa 2” serves as a grimy sequel to the joint from the Tommy DeVito’s Breakfast EP that Benny dropped last year. The song “Rubber Bands & Weight” talks about the coke game over an Alchemist instrumental with some sinister guitar licking while the track “Fast Eddie” talks about how he’s the last person you wanna see over an alluring beat. The song “Broken Bottles” once again details the drug dealing life over a dark boom bap beat while the track “Echo Long” with Meyhem Lauren talks about loyalty in the streets over a sinister beat.
The song “‘97 Hov” is pretty much Benny charismatically comparing himself to the legendary JAY-Z back in his mafioso days over a boom bap beat with some gloomy piano chords while the track “Joe Pesci 38” sees Benny spitting battle bars over an eerie beat. The song “Who Are You?” with Royce da 5’9” sees the 2 getting introspective & Benny comparing himself to a mix of Marvin Hagler & WWE Hall of Famer as well as the 2nd longest reigning WWE Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion Bob Backlund over a bass guitar & background vocals while the track “51” with Westside see the 2 talk about life in the hood over a haunting beat. The song “Rick” talks wanting what’s his over a somber boom bap beat while the penultimate track “Langfield” is a dedication to his brother Machine Gun Black over an ominous beat. The album then finishes “All 70” with Conway the Machine, where the 2 talk about their grind over a killer guitar riff with some keyboards in the background.
As expected, this is Benny’s best work yet. His lyricism is grittier than ever with the production that both Daringer & The Alchemist bringing to the table suiting it near perfectly. If you wanna hear one of the rawest MCs from one of the illest camps out right now getting the shine that he finally deserves, then give this a listen.
Westside Gunn is a 36 year old rapper from Buffalo, New York who started with his brother Conway the Machine in the early 2000’s. However it wouldn’t be until this decade that the 2 would see success, eventually forming their own label Griselda Records & signed with Eminem’s Interscope Records imprint Shady Records. They’ve continued to put out a number of modern classics since, including Conway’s G.O.A.T. (Grimiest Of All-Time) & even Westside’s latest album Supreme Blientele. But now to celebrate Halloween, Westside has delivering the 6th installment of his infamous Hitler Wears Hermes series.
After the “Black Hitler” intro, the first song “GiGi” sees Westside Gunn linking up with Benny the Butcher to vividly talk about drug the dealing game over an orchestral Alchemist instrumental. The track “Versace Will Never Be the Same” continues the themes of “GiGi” over an eerie boom bap beat from Daringer & while the song “Niagara Cafe” gets boastful over a soulful instrumental, it’s way too short. The track “Ready Made” talks about how he’s already been successful over a punchy Marco Polo instrumental. As for Keisha Plum’s poetry at the end, it’s just as insightful as always. The track “SLY (Slide Wit It)” talks about capping someone over a settle yet alluring beat while the “Big Luther Freestyle” with Benny sees the 2 returning to the drug dealer life over a clever Luther Vandross sample.
The track “Niggas in Puerto Rico” has some clever beat switches from The Alchemist throughout & while I do enjoy Westside Gunn’s verse as well as Benny’s, Flee Lord to me personally comes off as a Dollar Tree version of Westside Gunn. After the “Chyno Nyno Speaks” interlude, the song “Amherst Station 2” serves as a fantastically soulful sequel to one of my favorite cuts off of Supreme Blientele. The track “My First Drako” with Nick Grant sees the 2 spitting battle bars over a luscious boom bap beat while the song “Evidence Joint” is essentially Westside advising his competition not to fuck with him over a dreamy yet punchy instrumental from Evidence. The closer “John Bena” named after 16-time WWE world champion John Cena gets murderous over a dark instrumental from none other than DJ Muggs, but the Lil Eto verse at the start is kinda boring to me.
It’s obviously not superior to Supreme Blientele or even the last 2 installments of the Hitler Wears Hermes series, this was still a solid tape. Westside Gunn’s street tales are as intriguing as ever, but some of these songs could’ve been more fully fleshed out. Also, some of the production could’ve been better & the same goes to a couple of the features as well. But still if you’re a big fan of Griselda, you’re gonna enjoy a good chunk of what’s being presented on here.
Elcamino is an MC from Buffalo, New York who‘s been blowing up within the past year. He signed to Griselda Records & dropped an EP last November but now, he’s back on the scene with his full-length debut. After the intro, we get into the first song “Ghetto”. Here, Elcaminotalks about him being the best over a soulful Nicholas Craven instrumental. The title track speaks on drug dealing over some strings while the song “Friend or Foe” talks about wealth over an instrumental kin to Ghostface Killah’s 1996 solo debut Ironman. The track “Peter in a Porsche” contains more shit-talking over another soulful beat similar to RZA’s production work in the late 90’s & while the song “Communion” does talk about being real, the Elcarnicero feature is just alright.
The track “Coke” pretty much speaks for itself over a haunting beat while the song “Rosemary” gets romantic over a laidback instrumental. The track “Gas Stove” returns to the drug dealing concept over an ominous guitar & the penultimate song “Rayful Bag” with Benny the Butcher gets murderous over a boom bap beat with sinister keyboards. And before things end with the outro, the final song “Shook” with Benny & Meyhem Lauren goes continues the concept of the previous track but in a much grittier fashion.
Overall, this is Elcamino’s best work yet. Even though it’s only 32 minutes long, the production is rawer & El Camino sounds colder than ever before. If you wanna see a rising star on one of the hottest labels out right now, then give this a listen.
Just a couple months after his FLYGOD is Good…All the Time EP, Buffalo MC Westside Gunn is delivering his highly anticipated sophomore album. After a spoken word intro from WWE Hall of Famer & 7-time tag team champion Arn Anderson, we go into the first song “GOD$ Don’t Bleed”. Here, the FLYGOD hooks up with Benny the Butcher & Jadakiss get confrontational towards their competition over a haunting soul sample from Daringer. The next track “Dean Malenko” named after the former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, ECW World Television Champion, ECW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion is about drug dealing over a boom bap beat with some beautiful piano chords while the song “Brutus” is a bloody Griselda Records posse cut over an epic Pete Rock instrumental named after former WWE Tag Team Champion Brutus Beefcake. The track “Amherst Station” vividly tells the story of the hustler life over a soulful beat while the song “RVD” named after the former 2-time WWE champion, ECW World Television Champion, 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, the 4-time & final WWE Hardcore Champion, TNA World Champion & TNA X Division Champion Rob Van Dam gets braggadocious over a boom bap beat with some somber keys. I also like the spoken word passage from Keisha Plum during the second half.
Then we get into my favorite song on the album “Elizabeth” named after the late WWE/WCW manager Ms. Elizabeth where he talks about his street knowledge over a jazzy Alchemist beat. Then it transitions into “Mean Gene” perfectly, where he spits his signature “flyshit” paying homage to WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund over a soulful beat. However, the next 2 tracks “Stefflon Don & “Sabu” are easily the weakest on the entire album. Even if the latter is named after former 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, FTW Champion, ECW World Television Champion, 3-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion,NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン & the longest reigning XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu. They’re not bad, but they definitely sounded unfinished to me. If he added another verse on both tracks, that would’ve been perfect. The song “Brossface Brippler” with Benny & Busta Rhymes sees the 3 getting murderous over an eerie soul sample from Alchemist that fits the vibe perfectly while the track “Spanish Jesus” with Crimeapple sees the 2 returning to the drug dealer themes over a rap rock beat from Harry Fraud.
“The Steiners” with eLZhi is filled with battle bars named after the 10-time WWE Tag Team Champions, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champions & 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン over a joyous boom bap beat from Pete Rock & then “Ric Martiel” with Roc Marciano go back to the drug dealer days over a soulful Roc beat. The track “WESTSIDE” gets braggadocious once again over a sinister Statik Selektah beat & before a spoken word outro from A.A. Rashid, it ends with the epic “WrestleMania 20”. Here, Westside tells us that he’s not playing games over a 9th Wonder instrumental with a prominent acoustic guitar & a smooth Anderson .Paak hook.
As expected, this is Westside’s best work yet. There are a couple tracks that could’ve been fully fleshed out but other than that, the hardcore boom bap production & Westside’s signature street bars is a lot more refined than it was on his 2016 debut FLYGOD
Conway the Machine is an MC from Buffalo, New York who has been making a name with himself alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their label Griselda Records. They even signed to Eminem’s Interscope imprint Shady Records back in March of this year & after a long wait, he’s releasing his 8th mixtape (which is an abbreviation for Grimiest Of All-Time) & he has enlisted Griselda’s in-house producer Daringer to produce all but 1 track.
The album starts off with the title track, where he’s bragging about his rapping prowess over a killer guitar. The next song “Trump” gets murderous & the production from The Alchemist fits the vibe perfectly. The track “TH3RD F” gets mafioso over a prominent soul sample & the Raekwon verse fits like a glove. The song “Die on X-Mas” with Benny the Butcher sees the 2 getting confrontational over a super eerie instrumental & the track “Rodney Little” with Prodigy sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a haunting boom bap beat.
“XXXTRAS” vividly reflects on his days as a hustler over some horns & militant drums while the track “Bishop Shot Steel” takes a shot at the snakes over a gloomy beat. The track “Mandatory” with Royce da 5’9” sees the 2 taking a jab at their haters over a somber yet menacing beat while the penultimate track “Arabian Sam’s” with Styles P gets murderous over a grimy boom bap beat. “Bullet Klub” featuring Benny the Butcher & Lloyd Banks takes it’s name after the popular新日本プロレス unit バレットクラブ to tell the studio gangsters what life’s really like in the streets over an ominous instrumental.
Personally, this is Conway’s magnum opus. His lyricism is grittier than ever as is the production & the features are all on point. Griselda is one of my favorite labels right now & this is yet another example of why that is
WESTSIDEDOOM is a newly formed duo consisting of recent Shady Records signee Westside Gunn along with the renown MF DOOM. They announced a collaborative project together just a couple months ago & it’s finally here in the form of a 2-track EP. The first song “Gorilla Monsoon” named after the WWE Hall of Famer has an grimy boom bap beat from Griselda Records in-house producer Daringer & while Westside Gunn’s verse is as mobster as always, DOOM definitely outshines him on here. Especially with lines like “Overstand the past to get a grasp of the present, I make it faster than you spends it. End it”. The other track “2STINGS” sees the 2 getting hardcore & the eerie instrumental from The Alchemist fits the tone like a glove. Like many others, I am disappointed that this is wasn’t a full-length album. However, I still enjoyed this EP. The production is grimy & both MCs compliment each other very well
Westside Gunn is a 34 year emcee, songwriter, entrepreneur, curator from Buffalo, New York known for his controversial Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series followed by a couple EPs & founding one of the quickest rising labels I’ve seen in recent memory Griselda Records. Some of the singles building towards his official full-length debut studio album have been universally lauded by the hip hop community in the last several months, making the sky the only limit imaginable.
“Dunks” by Hall ‘N Nash samples “Omen” by Keith Mansfield thanks to Daringer so they can discuss being about that action whereas “Gustavo” references former 2-time CWA Heavyweight Champion, 2-time CWA World Tag Team Champion, 2-time SMW Heavyweight Champion & WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler. “Shower Shoe Lords” featuring Benny the Butcher flips “Baddy” by John Fiddy refusing to give a fuck like they always haven’t while “Vivian at the Art Basel” featuring Your Old Droog finds Camoflauge Monk sampling “Roberta” by Les McCann to assure the hardships of life.
Former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, WCW World Television Champion, WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champions & 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Scott Hall gets his flowers on the Roc Marciano-laced “Hall” prior to “Free Chapo” by Hall ‘N Nash displaying the back-&-forth chemistry between the duo while “Over Gold” featuring Meyhem Lauren throws in a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 4-time WCW World Television Champion Greg Valentine.
“Bodies on Fairfax” featuring Danny Brown samples “Rainbow Music” by SoLaRiS so they can address everyone who’s been asking for that fly shit from them while “Chine Gun” gives flowers to West’s late cousin who was tragically almost a decade. “King City” featuring Mach-Hommy finds the 2 talking about nobody fucking with them over a boom bap instrumental from Tha God Fahim leading into “Omar’s Coming” by Hall ‘N Nash featuring Roc Marciano uniting the trio to homage the protagonist of The Wire.
The soulful “Mr. T” produced by Apollo Brown changed my life since it was what sparked my loyalty for Griselda only needing 1 brick while “50 In. Zenith” featuring Skyzoo maintains a chipmunk soul vibe courtesy of Statik Selektah talking about a war going on outside. “Albright Knox” featuring Billie Essco returns to the boom bap & the final song excluding the outro “Dudley Boyz” featuring Action Bronson likening themselves to the former 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, NWA World Tag Team Champions, the inaugural 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champions & 18-time WWE tag team champions over an Alchemist beat.
FLYGOD marks Griselda’s official takeover & has quickly become a modern day underground hip hop landmark setting a balance between the vanity, the grimy & occasionally thoughtful. The production primarily handled by GxFR’s in-house producer Daringer except for 7 cuts tends to be either jazzy or lo-fi & themes of griminess, self reflection, wealth, flossing, who West is as a person, his own experiences, what he lives through currently, what he’s had to live through in the past & how he can floss really well.
Legends Will Never Die 