Conway the Machine is proven force in the rap game. Few would compare him to a King, nevertheless a God, but he certainly thinks so; claiming he wrote this album's intro “on a PJ with Ye.” Flying private with a pseudo Kardashian counts for something, I guess.
Following a poorly constructed and monotone album earlier in 2020, Conway took this time to experiment with his sound, perfect his annunciations, and find holes in the beat that he’d have previously missed. “From King to A God” is Conway the Machine’s debut for Shady Records (all of Griselda was recently signed), and it is clear the extra A&R and production help did him wonders. A reconnection between Conway and the Alchemist is a two-beat masterpiece that fully lets Conway flow at his peak. The second half samples the movie Juice, in which 2Pac asks “Why can’t I hold the gun?” He brags about his jewels, but this time around, Conway gets creative. “So much fish scales the dish looking like a plate of bass,” just isn’t the sort of clever one liner we are used to from the Machine.
The fact that Conway collaborated with numerous new producers that he hadn’t worked in the past is what defined the sound of this album. While rapper-producer projects are cohesive and interesting, they often lack diversity of sound. “From King to A God” recruited perhaps the hottest producer in the game, Hit-Boy, on the albums most compelling track “Fear of God.” Conway links with Murda Beatz for some southern bounce, forcing Conway to try out a shorter rhyme scheme that is upbeat and new. This is a refreshing change from a usually dark, grimy sounding rapper. He featured Armani Caesar on this track, which has proved to be my favorite. DJ Premier, yes THAT DJ Premier, produces the perfect Conway beat to end the album. A beautifully crafted song with Freddie Gibbs with talks of past drug usage, violence, and how they have “Seen Everything But Jesus,” shining brightly.
It appears that there simply cannot be a Griselda album released without a feature from a New York legend, so this album includes a vintage Lloyd Banks verse for good measure. If another example was needed, “Lemon” features the best Method Man we have heard in years (decades). I am almost shocked at the star power Griselda is able to recruit. It would also be inappropriate for Conway to leave off a hard hitting, subtly looping Daringer produced beat with features from Benny the Butcher and Westside Gunn to remind everyone of the coke dealing days in Buffalo. The producer Daringer is also a Buffalo native, and produced some of Griselda's first ever tracks.
Following a bullet to the neck, Conway the Machine almost stopped rapping. In the months and years after that, his signature sound was a half mouthed, grimy, sometimes inaudibly low-pitched vocals. On “From King to a God,” however, Conway finds loopholes around this. Whether he was aided by the bouncing up-tempo beats, or simply is recovering and learning tricks to annunciate more clearly, it is working. This album contained some lines that may have been too quick for the old Conway. On this project, he was elegantly spoken, clearly hit the punch lines, and had what seemed like more freedom in his approach to hearing the beat. Rather than simply spitting without thought, as he claims to normally do, these verses, lines, and even word choices were more thought out, and it showed in the rhythm of the songs.
“From King to A God” marks Conway’s first real full-length project on a major label. Obtaining help from star producers, better creative direction from the label, and a change in mindset, it is his best album yet. There are no skips, he impresses with some of the most clever bars of the year, and it even succinctly addresses current injustices against the black community. Griselda has another top 10 album of the year contender. This message of turning from King to God feels like Conway is moving away from his affection of material wealth and is shifting to a more informed member of society; albeit one who will still shoot your head off for looking at him. 8.4/10