La Maquina - Conway The Machine: Review
Conway The Machine
is a Buffalo, New York rapper and one third of the acclaimed Griselda records trio alongside Westside Gunn and Benny The Butcher. The trio have been incredibly prolific in recent years garnering the attention of both mainstream hip hop and numerous critics with 2020 in particular being big for the label. They've continued releasing prolifically with both Conway and Benny dropping collaborative tapes with producers already before La Maquina was dropped.
Review By Lav:
Last year after flirting with the label for years I finally took a deep dive into Griselda and all three of its prime artists and came out pretty satisfied. While they've each had their moments across the past few years as far as 2020 was concerned, I was much more pleased by big albums form Westside and Benny than Conway's From A King To A GOD. I was hoping that Conway would show his talents off more consistently on a new project that would definitively put him in the same high tier as his contemporaries. I'm happy to report that La Maquina is that record which far exceeds both the labels other projects this year and stands alongside the best I've heard from Griselda.
If it's highlights you want this record absolutely has them. 6:30 Tip Off is sort of like a Griselda special with a grand lavish instrumental and more basketball lyrics per verse than you'll hear anywhere else. The song also doesn't take itself insanely seriously which is nice and makes it quite a fun moment on the record. KD has a slick Murda Beatz trap flavored instrumental and the catchiest hook on the entire album. The hard-hitting bars keep coming throughout and make for one of the most memorable songs on the entire record and a huge highlight. On the back half of the record Scatter Brain kicks off with Conway delivering some of his fastest vocals on the entire album reminding us of his technical proficiency. Speaking of technical proficiency JID shows up and drops an incredibly slick verse that has me clamoring for new material from him. The most surprising part of the track is that Ludacris comes out of nowhere and spits an incredibly hard verse on the back half of the track. I wouldn't have thought that these three would come together with so much chemistry but they totally pull it off.
This record actually has a secret weapon that goes a long way to making it as good as it is, recent Conway signee Jae Skeese. I have never heard of this guy before but he shows up on the record three times and absolutely knocks it out of the park every time making for three more highlights. First up is Blood Roses a song that dives into themes of industry and legacy. Conway doesn't necessarily say anything that you wouldn't expect but the real highlight is Jae's incredibly exciting hook. The next time we hear from him is on Sister Abigail which features an awesome off kilter beat that is eerie but very hard-hitting. Skeese delivers the absolutely killer opening verse and sets a cutthroat tone for the entire track. Another rapper I'm not familiar with called 7xvethegenius takes the middle verse on the song and she is more than capable of holding her own. The track doesn't have one of my favorite Conway verses but I still think it's one of the best here. The very next track Grace sees Jae taking on his biggest workload yet and he's totally up for the task. He handles the hook and opening verse on the upbeat song with a fun, genuine performance. Conway cleans up the back end of the song nicely and it's another one I find myself really enjoying.
While those are the best tracks, almost every song on the record has at least something about it worth listening to. Bruiser Body is a slick opening track with a great beat that makes use of chimes in a cool way. The only thing I don't like about the song is Conway's sung part on the back end, he delivers is with incredibly fragile singing that is in stark contrast to the rest of the hard-hitting bars. Clarity is the shortest track on the record and its basically like one long verse. The beat is rather punchy and while it isn't the most memorable moment it still fits into the tracklist well. S.E. Gang is the always necessarily Griselda posse cut that appears on nearly all their releases and the three still have an undeniable chemistry. The instrumental is a wild wailing guitar that populates most of the background space. While I do think Conway has the weakest verse on the song which isn't helped by a few eyerolling bars he spits. Regardless the fact that all three of them step up to this unconventional instrumental and still sound hard is impressive even if it isn't one of my favorite group cuts they've ever made.
200 Pies starts off the records run of features in the back half with Conway grabbing 2 Chainz for a relaxed verse over an Alchemist instrumental. I will say the kind of shrill vocal samples that Alchemist laces into the song are a bit much given how relaxed the vocal performances are. It doesn't ruin the song by any means but it is constantly distracting from the solid set of bars that both MC's deliver. Had To Hustle is the closest thing the record has to a dud even though it starts off with a sample from The Usual Suspects which is admittedly hard as fuck. ElCamino provides a hook that I enjoy but everyone on the song delivers their verses with really loose flows. This would be fine if the songs instrumental would commit to being relaxing, but it doesn't. These conflicted priorities do cause problems but I wouldn't even say the song is a complete dud with individual moments that sound fine.
La Mquina is a damn good album, probably the best full length project I've ever heard from Conway. I think it totally holds up with records like Pray For Paris and Burden Of Proof and it has me even more excited for whatever the trio has coming next. They continue to modernize the sounds of classic hip hop in refreshing and cutthroat ways, and now that each of them have a defining record in their catalog the possibilities are endless for the Griselda boys, and Jae Skeese hopefully by their side. 8/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
This cover is a little busy but I like the overall theming. The composition is centered but there's bits and pieces going around which keep your eye moving. The colors work together and give me a vintage feel. There could be some things removed like the dust and graining overlaying the top. The text is a nice font and one of the focal points of the piece that isn't just placed on top of a design and I appreciate that. 7/10
For more hip hop check out my review of JPEGMAFIA's EP2 here
