Sy ShacklefordConway the Machine has elevated himself, making the transition from record label signee to record label owner (Drumwork Records) in less than five years. His departure from both Shady and Griselda Records has allowed him to venture out more as an artist. He’s gone from a King to a God; to God Don’t Make Mistakes, to You Can’t Kill God With Bullets. Though Conway maintains his customary lyrical themes (i.e. those of a braggadocious drug baron with clever bars), some of his choice of producers for this album were quite a surprise. Additionally, at eighteen tracks, only a third of that amount consists guest rappers and singers. Lastly, the album’s title is thinly veiled reference to the bullets which left Conway a Slant Face Killah, but ultimately didn’t kill him.
“Gun Powder” is the album opener, but given the title, it wasn’t what I expected, which was namely, Conway coming out the gates shooting, no pun intended. Instead, it’s an R&B-influenced spoken word from H. Rap Brown about the relationship that Black people have with money, complete with saxophones and organs courtesy of Elijah Hooks. The Justice League-produced “Lightning Above the Adriatic Sea” is certainly upbeat as Conway boasts “I was just in and out of central bookings / Now it’s Coachella bookings” and how he’s defied odds to get to where he is. “BMG” has a backdrop of soulful boom bap with Conway rapping at least thirty-two bars before giving a Nietzschean outro. Of all the producers, it’s Conductor Williams who gets the most play, having laced four tracks. The first of which is “Diamonds”, with horns and distorted lo-fi piano keys in the background. Roc Marciano is featured, but he should’ve had a full verse instead of just trading bars with Conway. On “Hell Let Loose”, former G-Unit labelmates Tony Yayo and DJ Whoo Kid appear, but their roles are relegated to ad-libs/hook and the intro respectively over Conductor’s eerie production. “Crazy Avery” is surprisingly produced by Timbaland. who incorporates handclap snares and his trademark bounce. The only drawback is that it’s less than a minute long:
The sole Griselda appearance here is from Daringer on “The Painter”, as he laces a syrupy looped piano sample for Machine, who does the hook and delivers his verses with a similar emotional cadence to that of the Ghostface Killah. He takes a more vulnerable turn on the Elijah Price-helmed “The Undying” as he offers all his love to those who’ve fallen. “Otis Driftwood” has heavy booming drums and a ceremonial tribal sound from JR Swift and Rhythm Paints, as for Conway’s bars: “I crept into these niggas’ top fives quietly / Don’t put me in no box, it only fucks with my anxiety.” Bells and a slowed guitar loop comprise “Mahogany Walls” while “Parisian Nights” has a dramatic soap-operatic sound with a deep bass hook from Denver emcee KNDRX. Araab Muzik teams up with Beat Butcha on “Nu Devils”, an unabashed trap production which Conway destroys. It’s rare that an emcee with copious mic skills demolishes such a beat, and both he and Chicago emcee G Herbo do exactly that with the latter having an extra verse to close things out. What’s funny is that the very end includes a discussion about how Griselda’s arrival led to resurgence of that ‘90s east coast hip-hop sound:
Conductor Williams begins the final third of the album with “Se7enteen5ive”, a soulful drumless number with organs and horns in the background and Conway letting folks know the price of his bricks. E. Jones produced “Attached” with boom-bap drums, a string sample, and piano keys interspersed throughout. Featuring Bronx emcee Lady London, she and Conway trade verses over a relationship gone sour. Detroit beatsmith Apollo Brown laced the beat for “Never Sleep”, a head-nodding piano driven production with Conway spitting melancholic rhymes filled with regrets as it ends with a Carlito’s Way (1993) sample. He further expounds on this theme on “Hold Back Tears” and Beat Butcha provides the appropriate mournful production. The Alchemist-produced “Organized Mess” has Conway making use of film and sports metaphors for his boasts and on “Don’t Even Feel Real (Dreams)”, Sndtrk & Versuz do up a cheery sonic resonance as Conway and singer Heather Victoria speak on the positives of where they are now. With that final track, there’s a pop element would give this album a commercial boost if certain parties were so inclined. With “You Can’t Kill God With Bullets”, Conway the Machine has taken another step on his own path to power outside of Griselda.