Album Review: From King To A GOD - Conway the Machine

Hip-hop collective Griselda is made up of hard-hitting rappers Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and more. Under Eminem’s record label Shady Records, Griselda has consistently released relatively surface-level east coast hip-hop albums, none of which have blown me away. Of the core members of this group, Conway the Machine has been my favorite, but similarly, I hadn’t yet heard a cohesive and impactful album release from this artist up until this point. On From King To A GOD, however, Conway and his accompanying features offer an array of highly refined and mature tracks. At just under fifty minutes in length, this record packs a punch without overstepping on what it has to offer, and because of that, it is one of my favorite rap albums of 2020 so far.

Braggadocious drug lord bars only do so much for me. Without any introspection, song after song about this lifestyle can become dry rather quickly. On From King To A GOD, Conway the Machine certainly doesn’t abstain from sharing the details of his lifestyle, but he does so with an underlying grief and remorse from the impact this life has had on him. I see many similarities in this regard between this album and Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist’s Alfredo from earlier this year. This self-reflection is enticing to me and luckily, it is abundant on this project.

“From King” serves as an adequate opening track which generally sets the tone for the following album, but I find it could have used some work to strengthen its initial attention-grabbing appeal. The production is solid on this track, but substantively it lacks a depth which is thankfully made up for as things move along. “Fear Of God (feat. DeJ Loaf)” is a head-banging and magnetic track which benefits from Conway’s incredibly writing and flows. The following “Lemon (feat. Method Man)” is a bit spooky, with an unsettling and stripped back instrumental. Method Man’s feature is incredibly well-placed, as he and Conway play off of one another wonderfully. Lines like “Ain’t got to tell you I’m dope, just stick the needle in” are simply cool. “Dough & Damani” is a 5 minute track backed by a simple drum and piano instrumental which doesn’t overstay its welcome due to a smooth midway beat switch and highly entertaining lyrical content.

“Juvenile Hell (feat. Flee Lord, Havoc & Lloyd Banks)” features pretty surface level coke bars from its accompanying artists, but it sounds so good that I just don’t mind this traditional Griselda sound. “Words From Shay (Interlude)” continues a recent trend of voicemail testimonials from contemporaries praising one’s work. This interlude does serve as a necessary thematic break, however, since from here on out each track is more substantive than those before it. “Front Lines” features another simplistic instrumental which provides the perfect backdrop for Conway to drop one of the best verses on the entire project. Without mincing any words, Conway reflects on the police brutality against Black people which has continually plagued this country for centuries. “Anza (feat. Armani Caesar)” initially comes off as a typical misogynistic rap track, which I’m not too much of a fan of, until Armani Caesar’s feature redeems the song. The production is nice here, but the substance is disappointing to some degree until the feature comes along.

“Seen Everything But Jesus (feat. Freddie Gibbs)” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, bringing the comparisons I drew earlier to life through a killer collaboration. Instead of featuring overly confident lyricism, this track features both Conway and Gibbs lamenting the pitfalls of the lifestyles they’ve chosen for themselves. “Words From Shay (Interlude 2)” is another interlude, which is fine, but I’m not sure it was entirely necessary for the flow of the tracklist. “Spurs 3 (feat. Benny The Butcher & Westside Gunn”) features Griselda in all of their glory, spitting bar after bar over a funky and chaotic instrumental backing. “Forever Droppin Tears (feat. El Camino)” clocks in at just under eight minutes and provides an emotional fragility rare in the genre. Remorseful instead of idealistic, this song depicts the grim realities of loss due to a sometimes dangerous lifestyle.

The penultimate track “Jesus Khrysis” is short but packed full of dense lyricism. “Lyrics written in braille, you gotta feel it to understand” is one of my favorite bars on the project due to its creativity. “Nothin Less” is a solid closer to wrap up all of the themes of the album, particularly the rest in peace shoutouts to close things out.

Overall, I was somewhat (pleasantly) surprised by the quality of this album. Conway the Machine differentiates himself from his colleagues with this record, which is a massive step up in production, sound, and lyrical content from the projects he has released previously. I’m excited to see where he and Griselda go from here. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.

Favorite tracks: “Fear Of God (feat. DeJ Loaf)”, “Lemon (feat. Method Man)”, “Dough & Damani”, “Juvenile Hell (feat. Flee Lord, Havoc & Lloyd Banks)”, “Front Lines”, “Seen Everything But Jesus (feat. Freddie Gibbs), “Spurs 3 (feat. Benny The Butcher & Westside Gunn)”, “Forever Droppin Tears (feat. El Camino)”, “Jesus Khrysis”, “Nothin Less”

SCORE: 7/10