Conway the Machine – “S.F.K. (Slant Face Killah)” review

Buffalo, New York emcee Conway the Machine is back with his 4th LP. Blowing up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher, the trio have had hip hop in a headlock ever since their arrival by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets. Con’s full-length debut From King to a Godwas my Album of the Year for 2020 & the Shady Records-backed sophomore effort God Don’t Make Mistakes is the most personal he’s ever been. Won’t He Do It just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary last weekend & coming fresh off the Conductor Williams-produced Conductor Machine from last winter, Won’t He Do It 2 is now being scrapped in favor of S.F.K. (Slant Face Killah).

After the “Despertar” intro, the first song “Mutty” featuring Stove God Cook$ is a dusty boom bap opener produced by Conductor Williams explaining that those who fucked with them ain’t here to talk about it whereas “Give & Give” takes the soulful route instrumentally thanks to Cool & Dre needing something to hold on to. “Milano Nights, Pt. 1” works in some pianos, kicks & snares to break down overcoming all trials & tribulations just before “Kin Xpress” featuring Larry June psychedelically strips the drums talking about being unfuckwitable.

“Meth Back!” featuring Flee Lord, Method Man & SK da King brings the quartet together returns to the boom bap thanks to Daringer talking about this being a stickup leading into “Ninja Man” going into a luxurious direction courtesy of Swizz Beatz addressing those out here who stay talking. Joey Bada$$ joins Conway for the grimy 2nd single “Vertino” with Camoflauge Monk & Sadhugold behind the boards boasting how raw they are, but then “10 / Rya” featuring Key Glock is this 2-part trap joint that Don Cannon laced talking about being on 10.

“Dasani” throws these pianos & hi-hats into the picture talking about having this bitch running while “Raw!” featuring Tech N9ne finds Cardo pulling inspiration from the Memphis scene boasting their lyrical ferocity. “Surf & Turf” featuring Ab-Soul, Jay Worthy, T.F & 2-11 brings everyone together for some jazzy gangsta shit referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin while “Karimi” comes with a hazy boom bap flare talking about wanting the bread. “The Red Moon in 大阪” ends the album with climactic closer produced by The Alchemist including a bar referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter/pitcher 大谷翔平.

Won’t He Do It had its high points despite not being one of my favorite projects in Con’s discography, but what was supposed to a sequel tot get previous LP we got from La Maquina over a year ago makes improvements in the departments where it was lacking. The production is a mix of boom bap & trap generally, we have an interestingly versatile guest-list & the Drumwork founder passionately explains why they call him the S.F.K. (Slant Face Killah).

Score: 4/5

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Westside Gunn – “And Then You Pray for Me” review

Westside Gunn is a 41 year old emcee, songwriter, entrepreneur & curator from Buffalo, New York proving his legend status & that he’s to be a force to be reckoned with all in only the span of 8 years whether it be running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele. Last we heard from West was the 10th & final installment of his infamous Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series last fall only 3 days before Halloween, but is making his 7th & final official LP a sequel to his 4th one Pray for Paris over 3 & a half years ago already.

After the “FLYGOD DiD” intro, the first song “Mamas PrimeTime by Hall ‘N Nash featuring J.I.D is a dusty boom bap opener produced by Beat Butcha & Mr. Green boasting about how devine they are whereas “Kostas” by Griselda goes into trap territory thanks to Tay Keith including a bar about the Indiana Jones franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Lucasfilm. “1989” featuring Stove God Cook$ finds the 2 turning up 36 ounces in public housing even though Westside’s chopped & screwed verse is distracting, but then “Suicide in Selfridges” works in a hazy loop with kicks & snares courtesy of Conductor Williams so DJ Drama can help welcome y’all to the new golden era.

Stovey returns for the orchestral “Kitchen Lights” explaining that the wrists be shining differently leading into “FLYGOD 2x” flexing the fact that he can get anything these days over a lo-fi boom bap beat. “DunnHill” featuring Rick Ross finds the 2 over more trap production making it clear that the protocol is to hit everybody just before “House of Glory” named after the Amazing Red & Brian XL’s independent circuit wrestling promotion of the same name that Westside Gunn & Master P have invested themselves into has a beautifully classy RZA instrumental flipping Gladys Knight so West & Stove God asking what they’d have to weigh it for since it’s all good.

Estee Nack joins Westside & Stovey for “JD Wrist” over a futuristic trap beat from FLYGOD Jr. with additional vocals from DJ Trap-A-Holics cautioning not to trip like this while “Disgusting” featuring Giggs keeps the spacey vibes going with some hi-hats in the mix with a bar about The Simpsons trademarked by The Walt Disney Company & on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property. “Chloe” luxuriously returns to the boom bap provided by Denny LaFlare getting his romance bag while “LL Bool Gunn” finds West singing over some keys & hi-hats paying homage to LL Cool J himself.

“Babylon Bis” featuring Stove God Cook$ has a sumptuous boom bap quality to it that JR Swiftz hooked up talking about them knowing their drug of choice prior to “Ultra GriZelda” featuring Denzel Curry justifiably boasting that they be running shit up over a cloudy trap beat. “Jalen Rose” featuring Boldy James looks at Daringer pulling off an eerie trap vibe showing off their globetrotter statuses while “Steve & Jony” featuring EST G compares themselves as the Steve Jobs & Jony Ive of the streets over a woozier instrumental.

Jeezy slides through on the energizing “Mr. Everything” to drop some braggadocio in their own respective styles while “Freddy Js” featuring Detroit trap star Peezy finds the 2 over some piano chords talking about their eastside roots. “The Revenge of the Flips Leg” featuring Rome Streetz brings back the kicks & snares showing respect to Eastside Flip, but the title track featuring KayCyy closes out West’s last LP on a peaceful & beautifully sung note.

Pray for Paris is easily one of my favorites from the FLYGOD, so to hear And Then You Pray for Me as a counterpart makes a noticeable change in sound. The production’s more based around trap music even though he doesn’t abandon his boom bap/drumless roots at all as he pulls inspiration from all across the world by bringing a humongous list of guests with him throughout the journey.

Score: 4/5

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Conway the Machine – “Won’t He Do It” review

Conway the Machine is a 41 year old MC & entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York who blew up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher. Ever since the trio have rose to prominence, they’ve had hip hop on lock by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets on top of boom bap production kin to that of RZA & Havoc in their music. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & the Shady Records-backed sophomore effort God Don’t Make Mistakes is the most personal he’s ever been. But coming off Organized Grime 2 & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced What Has Been Blessed Cannot Be Cursed, the Machine is now making up for the delays surrounding his long-awaited 3rd album by dropping it ahead of a sequel later this month supposedly.

“Quarters” lets it off with a boom bap instrumental courtesy of Khrysis talking about how everyone knows the way they rock & catch you comin’ out your bitch spot whereas “Brucifix” gets on some good ol’ Hall ‘N Nash shit with Daringer dabbling with drumless bare loops talking about how neither he or West don’t rock with any of these industry motherfuckers. “Monogram” has a more luxurious approach to it expressing his desire to sell cocaine forever just before Ransom comes into the picture for “Stab Out” to smoke everybody over some pianos, kicks & snares courtesy of JR Swiftz:

Moving on to “Flesh of My Flesh”, we have La Maquina confessing it’s still hard to fathom what over done with Daringer pulling from rock music a bit with the beat leading into “Kanye” literally gives everyone something to talk about considering Hall ‘N Nash’s stellar feature on “Keep My Spirit Alive” (the original KayCyy version all day. He should’ve never fucked with it) off DONDA a couple summers ago & both of them in the studio with Dr. Dre last August around the 1-year anniversary saying he had some convos with the my 6th favorite producer of all-time that he’ll simply keep to myself over a piano instrumental from the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.

Jae Skeese comes into the picture for “The Chosen” sampling “Above & Below” by Charlie Steinnman displaying the strong chemistry that we got a couple months ago on their recent collab EP Pain Provided Profit prior to GooseByTheWay & Dave East sliding through for “Water to Wine”, which is an exquisite ballad that E. Jones laced for the girls that just wanna have fun. “After the “Kill Judas” interlude, “Brick Fare” acknowledges that he’s been a shooter comparing his lyricism to former 2-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic alongside 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair over a spooky boom bap beat while “Brooklyn Chop House” with Benny the Butcher & Fabolous ditches the drums for a bare string instrumental talking about their progress being impossible to stifle.

The song “Tween Cross Tween” works in some kicks, snares & a flute from Graymatter saying you can play all you want as he stays grinding while the title track with 7xvethegenius comes through with a buried sample from Cozmo & G Koop talking about trying to get more cheddar even though people are envious of them. “Super Bowl” featuring Sauce Walka was the lead single to this album & ends the album with a decent trap banger produced by Juicy J dropping braggadocio.

God Don’t Make Mistakes happens to serve as the bridge to the next phase of his already decorated career that begins with Won’t He Do It & it’s a super solid look into what the future holds for him even though he never disappoints to begin with. The hooks are kinda iffy, but the production is a fine melting pot of the sounds he’s dabbled with up to this point & Con’s bars absolutely make up for it.

Score: 4/5

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Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes X” review

This is the 11th mixtape from Buffalo emcee, songwriter & entrepreneur Westside Gunn. Whether it running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele, he truly has proven his legend status & that he’s to be a force to be reckoned with all in only the span of 7 years. just put out his last tape PEACE FLYGOD over the summer & with in tradition to the Halloween season, West is dropping the true conclusion of the decade long Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series after originally dropping the 8th & 9th installments last fall.

Doe Boy tags along for the trap opener “FLYGOD Jr.” produced by West’s son hence the title after the intro to spit some gangsta-laced braggadocio whereas “Super Kick Party” works in a sample-based boom bap instrumental courtesy of Conductor Williams taking it’s name after the finisher of AEW EVPs, former 2-time AEW World Tag Team Champions, the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions, 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, 2-time ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champions, HoG Tag Team Champions, AAA Parejas Campeons, 2-time IWGPタッグ王座, 7-time IWGPジュニアタッグ王座, 3-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座 & 4-time PWG World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks.

A$AP Rocky & Stove God Cook$ both come into the picture for the uncanny yet dusty “Shootouts in Soho” getting on their hustler shit including a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T, but then Black Star tags along for the heavily soulful “Peppas” to blend their conscious styles with Westside’s boasting including a reference to former 2-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones & him using an excerpt of his appearance on the Discovery Global-owned TNT series AEW Rampage last month for the outro is the ultimate flex.

Meanwhile on “Nigo Louis”, we have West over a drumless yet groovy beat with a guitar talking about hitting shit in broad daylight leading into the Rome Streetz-assisted “BDP” spitting that fly gangsta shit hitting harder than UFC Hall of Famer, the inaugural UFC Women’s Batnamweight Champion, former WWE Women’s Champion & the current WWE Women’s World Champion in her 2nd reign Ronda Rousey accompanied by a crooning boom bap instrumental. The Margo Guryan flip from Swizz Beatz throughout “Science Class” with Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Stovey is remarkable as the 5 talk about being the plug just before “God is Love” weaves a drumless sample into the fold prior to a beat switch during the last minute & a half as Estee Nack & Stove God talking about how they done made this work.

The song “Switches on Everything” with Run the Jewels has a jazzier sound to it thanks to Mike Shabb admitting the only way to get them to leave the crib while the penultimate track “Mac Don’t Stop” turns the jazz levels up to 11 with the help of Pete Rock including a bar referring to lucha libre popularized by the Lutteroth family-owned Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) & it’s rival promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) owned by the Peña–Roldán family. “Red Death” however ends the tape with an epically grimy 10-minute Griselda cut produced by none other than The Alchemist showcasing the unique styles of everyone who laid & killed their verses.

Now as solid was Hitler VIII & IX both were in their own rights, X to me is a great note to end the iconic Halloween mixtape series on in light of Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s antisemitic comments at the beginning of the month & I wanna thank West for all the memories that it’s given me along the way. It’s more focused than PEACE FLYGOD as expected, the features all compliment him in their own respective fashion & the production throughout is just absolutely stellar.

Score: 4.5/5

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Westside Gunn – “Peace FLYGOD” review

Westside Gunn is a 39 year old emcee, songwriter & entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York who’s already proven his legend status at this point whether it running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele. Last we heard from him was almost a year ago by now with the double disc conclusion to the Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series with Side B being superior to Side A but with his 40th birthday coming up at the end of the month, he’s celebrating a little early by dropping his 10th mixtape.

After the titular intro, “Jesus Crack” with Estee Nack & Stove God Cook$ sets off the album with drumless yet soulful & jazzy instrumental talking about making cake by the thousands whereas the Estee-assisted “Ritz Barlton” takes a lo-fi boom bap route comparing the halfway house to that of the titular hotel. “Big Ass Bracelet” with Stovey works in a bare soul sample to get on their fly shit, but then “Bobby Rhude” is basically an Estee solo cut talking about glory over more beautiful vocal chops taking it’s name after WWE producer, former NXT Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Champion, 6-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & 2-time NWA World Tag Team Champion Bobby Roode.

Meanwhile on “Derrick Boleman”, we have Gunnlib & Stove God Cook$ on top of a classy loop referencing lucha libre popularized by the Lutteroth family-owned Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) & it’s rival promotion in the Peña–Roldán family-owned Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) leading into “Horses on Sunset” incorporates a smoky boom bap beat talking about how someone should’ve shot someone 7 times instead of 6.

The song “Open Praise” details love turning to envy ’cause Westside’s success over some pianos while “Danhausen” named after the titular AEW star who I met at Astronomicon this spring is a jazzy boom bap banger produced by Conductor Williams with West rightfully bragging. “Flip v. Phil” by Eastside Flip ends the album with a sample provided by Daringer reminding that he’ll put his competition to sleep.

I know he’s been teasing Michelle Records for a while now & for him to give us this as a prelude to warm everyone up for the main course, I’ll definitely take it. Stovey & Estee continue to take their lyrically chemistry with Westside to new heights with the production giving off some abstract undertones this time around.

Score: 3.5/5

Conway the Machine – “Organized Grime 2” review

Conway the Machine is a 40 year old MC & entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York who blew up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher. Ever since the trio have rose to prominence, they’ve had hip hop on lock by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets on top of boom bap production kin to that of RZA & Havoc in their music. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & just dropped his Shady Records-backed sophomore effort God Don’t Make Mistakes back in February, which is the most personal he’s ever been. But to celebrate his freedom from Eminem-owned Interscope Records imprint, La Maquina is reuniting with Trillmatic Goods to host his 10th EP.

After the rock-tinged intro, the first song “Chop 22” kicks off the EP with a lavish Mephux instrumental with Con declaring he’s still on go time whereas the soulful “Phone Call” produced by Detroit’s very own Apollo Brown talking about earning everything he has from hustling. Rome Streetz tags along for “Murder He Wrote” to advise you don’t push them backed by a ghoulish boom bap beat from Hobgoblin leading into Benny the Butcher & Flee Lord coming into the picture for the cloudy “Marathon” talking about running it on the blocks.

After the “Intermission” interlude, the 2nd half of the EP starts off with the cinematic “State” reminding that he’s the illest rapper alive just before the organ-laced “From the Bottom” reflecting on coming up from nothing. The penultimate song “Soul Cry” with T.F. finds the 2 over some horns talking about never capping & prior to the turntablism outro, “Keep Up” with Vic Spencer ends the EP on a jazzy note pointing out that they can’t keep up with them.

Organized Grime is one of the best EPs that Conway has ever put out in my opinion & I happen to think this sequel is even better than it’s predecessor. In comparison to the much more personal approach that God Don’t Make Mistakes took, Con sounds a lot more rawer lyrically & some of the best producers in the underground currently went as hard as he did behind the boards.

Score: 4.5/5

Conway the Machine – “God Don’t Make Mistakes” review

This is the long-awaited Shady Records album from Buffalo emcee/entrepreneur Conway the Machine. Blowing up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher, the trio have had hip hop on lock by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets on top of boom bap production kin to that of RZA & Havoc in their music. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & last year, we were treated to his 8th EP If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed produced entirely by Big Ghost Ltd. & his 11th mixtape La Maquina. But in light of Conway announcing earlier this week that he’ll be amicably departing Shady & Griselda to focus on his very own label Drumwork Music Group, what better way to fulfill his contracts than to drop God Don’t Make Mistakes?

“Lock Load” starts off the album with Beanie Sigel & Conway talking about always carrying a strap on them on top of a spooky Daringer instrumental whereas “Tear Gas” with Lil Wayne & Rick Ross works in a high-pitched vocal sample calling out those who weren’t there for them when they needed them most. “Piano Love” of course brings in a dreary piano instrumental from The Alchemist talking about being the richest in Buffalo, but then “Drumwork” is pretty much “Crack in the 90s” & “Sister Abigail” on steroids.

Meanwhile on “Wild Chapters”, we have T.I. joining Conway on top of a dispirited boom bap beat from Hit-Boy talking about the story of their lives just before the Bink!-produced “Guilty” goes into soulful turf encouraging to focus on his lyricism than his appearance. “John Woo Flick” follows it up with a disgusting Griselda posse cut in the same vein as “Spurs 3” leading into the spacious boom bap banger “Stressed” pondering if anyone cares about his mental well being.

“So Much More” encourages listeners not to “let ’em tell you 1 side of the story” on top of angelic vocal loop provided by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League while the Jill Scott-duet “Chanel Pearls” gets on some smooth Bonnie & Clyde shit. The penultimate song “Babas” incorporates some organs talking about going from king to a god (no pun intended) & the title track finishes the album off by airing out all these questions he has with The Alchemist providing a lush musical backdrop.

Conway’s been hyping this up for a good minute now & for it to be his final Griselda project as well as the only one on Shady, we got ourselves an early album of the year contender & some of the best work of his career. The production is superb, the features are all well picked out & it’s amazing how personal he’s getting on here. I wish him all the best on his own.

Score: 4.5/5

Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes IX” review

This is the 9th mixtape from Buffalo emcee, songwriter & entrepreneur Westside Gunn. At this point, what can be said about the guy now that hasn’t been said already? From running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele, you’d be lying to yourself if you said he & the rest of the Griselda crew haven’t had the culture on lock for the last 5-6 years. Dude’s been laying low throughout a good portion of 2021 so far,, but dropped the 8th installment of the Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series & is already dropping a 9th one.

It technically starts off with the “Brodie Lee” instrumental opener named after the former AEW TNT Champion as well as former WWE Intercontinental Champion and 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion & the “End How You Start” intro, but things really don’t get rolling until Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher tag along for “Hell on Earth, Pt. 2” for some eerie boom bap coke slanger shit. Jay Electronica assists West for the jazzy “Free Kutter” calling for his homie to be released from the pen, but then “Richies” is a Gunnlib reunion reusing same sample as “Ontheway!” by Earl Sweatshirt asking if you’ve ever seen a corpse.

“Julia Lang” despite it’s brevity gets back on that yay shit with a grimy Camoflauge Monk instrumental leading into Chase Fetti, Flee Lord & Heem aligning for the disgusting 2-parter “Celine Dion” including a dope reference to the late WWE Hall of Famer Nick Bockwinkel. Following this, Mach-Hommy pops up on “Best Dressed Demons” with a dusty Daringer beat declaring themselves as rolling stones just before Armani Caesar & 2 Chainz help morbidly declare that they’ll take their words to their graves for “Forest Lawn”.

Meanwhile on “Why I Do ‘Em Like That?”, we have Westside Gunn & Billie Essco jumping on top of a luxurious boom bap instrumental getting criminal minded whereas “RIP Bergdorf” finds him & Mach going back & forth nonchalantly on top of a mesmerizing vocal loop from Nicholas Craven. He later shouts out his boys Sly & J Batters on the perilous “TV Boy” while the orchestral “Survivor Series ‘95” with Jay Worthy, Larry June & T.F. declares Griselda as the new Roc-A-Fella taking it’s name after the event where 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart became a 3-time WWE Champion

Rome Streetz comes in for the JR Swiftz-produced “Eddie Kingston” named after the titular AEW star who formerly held the CZW World Heavyweight Championship, CZW World Tag Team Championship and アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座 saying life’s lavish & they’re beyond greatness & “Ostertag by Stove God Cook$ makes reference to the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & 2-time WCW World Television Champion “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

“Munch” with Tiona Deniece has a bit of an R&B flare telling listeners to love how you want, but of course the AZ-assisted “99 Avirex” works in a melodic instrumental getting on their mafioso shit. “The Fly Who Couldn’t Fly Straight” with Tyler, The Creator takes a soulful route flexing on motherfuckers while the final song “Big Al” with Rome Streetz is a depressing tribute to MF DOOM. However, the actual closer “BYE BYE” starts off with a jazz sample & then a brief spoken word passage from none other than Keisha Plum.

As much as I enjoyed VIII last month, I gravitate towards IX more & consider it to be amongst the best in the series. There are just as many features that all come correct as the first disc did, West solidifies his icon status & I like how he went with a more varied list of producers rather than sticking with The Heartbreakers again.

Score: 4/5

Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes VIII: Sincerely, Adolf” review

This is the 8th mixtape from Buffalo emcee, songwriter & entrepreneur Westside Gunn. At this point, what can be said about the guy now that hasn’t been said already? From running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele, you’d be lying to yourself if you said he & the rest of the Griselda crew haven’t had the culture on lock for the last 5-6 years. Dude’s been laying low throughout a good portion of 2021 so far, but is deciding to finish the Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series in the form of the 2-disc Sincerely, Adolf. The first disc given to us now & the other most likely on Halloween

After the “Murders in Marfield” intro & the “Blessed Times” interlude by AA Rashid, the first actual song “Mariota” with Stove God Cook$ kicks things off with a soulful beat & them saying you ain’t gotta worry whereas “Vogue Cover” is somewhat similar instrumentally except the 2 are talking about birds going fast. Mach-Hommy tags along for the jazzy “Margiela Split Toes” to spit that fly shit referencing the longest reigning 4-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, former 2-time ECW World Television Champion, the shortest-reigning NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, the inaugural MLW World Heavyweight Champion, WWE United States Champion, 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, XPW World Heavyweight Champion & WCW Hardcore Champion Shane Douglas alongside WWE Hall of Famers & former WWE Tag Team Champions The Brain Busters just before the dusty boom bap cut “Draymond” with Rome Streetz & Stove God includes a bar referring to the current 2-time WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as well as WWE Hall of Famer, the 2nd longest reigning WWE Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion Bob Backlund whose first reign began after Vince McMahon Sr. had him defeat WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & CWA World Heavyweight Champion “Superstar” Billy Graham.

Meanwhile on “Peri Peri”, we have West & Rome sticking around to jump on top of some keys & dusty drums to talk their shit leading into the Jadakiss-assisted “Right Now” working in another jazzy beat to get on their pyrex shit. “Westheimer” by Boldy James alongside Sauce Walka & Stove God Cook$ find the trio hopping on top of an old time loop saying they had no choice but to commit murder, but then West & Lil Wayne come together for the grimy “Bash Money” to brag about their riches with Weezy making a great lucha libre line popularized by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) owned by the Lutteroth family & it’s rival promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) owned by Peña–Roldán family.

The song “Claire’s Back” starts off with a boom bap joint & the FLYGOD referencing former 5-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, ECW World Tag Team Champion, アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座 & XPW King of the Deathmatch Champion The Sandman until going into rock territory for Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher to spit that mafioso shit. The penultimate track “Spoonz” finds Hall ‘N Nash going back & forth with a meditative Conductor Williams instrumental, but then “716 Mile” reenlists Boldy for a wavy closer getting in their gangsta rap bag.

Although I like what I’m hearing from Hitler 8 so far, I think I’m gonna enjoy it more in context with Disc 2 when it drops a couple months from now. He didn’t have to put a feature on every single cut on here even though they all killed it, but I can definitely commend West for coming correct as much as the guests do & not rushing it like he did FLYGOD is an Awesome God II.

Score: 3.5/5

Conway the Machine – “La Maquina” review

Conway the Machine is a 39 year old MC & entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York who blew up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher. Ever since the trio have rose to prominence, they’ve had hip hop on lock by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets on top of boom bap production kin to that of RZA & Havoc in their music. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & his sophomore effort with Big Ghost Ltd. that just came out a couple months ago If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed is a worthy sequel to No One Mourns the Wicked. But just when even thought we were getting the Shady Records-backed God Don’t Make Mistakes next, we’re getting another prelude album out of the woodwork.

“Bruiser Brody” named after the WWE Hall of Famer is a grimy opener from the boom bap production from JR Swiftz to the lyrics calling out those who pray on his downfall whereas the Bangladesh-produced “6:30 Tip Off” is a jazz-trap fusion speaking on his profit. The song “Blood Roses” is about how “I came to prove I came improved” with a spiritual beat from Cardiak, but then “Clarity” opens up on how he spares “no feelings when my pen is movin’” on top of a soulful trap instrumental from Don Cannon.

The track “KD” has a weepy trap instrumental from Murda Beatz with lyrics talks about those speaking on Conway’s legacy while “200 Pies” with 2 Chainz of course gets on that pusher shit & the bare loop that The Alchemist comes through with is hypnotic as fuck. “Sister Abigail” is a dusty boom bap tune named where The Machine recruits his new protégés Jae Skeese & 7xvethegenius for a homage to to former 3-time WWE world champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Bray Wyatt’s signature move of the same name, but then Jae returns on the peppily-produced “Grace” to talk about how they don’t live in disguise to get their blessings.

The song “Scatterbrain” brings in J.I.D & Ludacris to get murderous on top of a frigid instrumental, but then Elcamino & Shots Almigh hop on Had to Hustle” to speak on what they had to do to get where they are now. The closer “S.E. Gang” serves as a response to those who said Conway was leaving Griselda earlier this year as he, Westside Gunn & Benny the Butcher spit that mafioso shit over a flute sample from Daringer.

Not what I was expecting from Conway, but still a dope album regardless. In comparison to him returning to a more grimier sound on If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed, I like how he continues to build off the the versatility that From King to a God brought. Whenever the time for God Don’t Make Mistakes comes, I’ll be more than ready to hear where he takes it.

Score: 4/5