This album was released on May 5th this year. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw me say that I wasn’t going to review this album. I wasn’t planning on covering it originally, but I kinda wanna explain why it was such a disappointment for me, so that’s why I’m reviewing it now. Conway the Machine is honestly one of my favorite rappers of all time. When it comes to Gangsta Rap, I don’t really think anyone makes better shit than him. He has a plethora of projects that I would consider amazing, and I genuinely think that this is my first time not really liking an album from him overall. Wait, that’s not true… I didn’t really care for the second Organized Grime project. That’s the only other time I’ve not liked a project from him though. I even liked that Greetings Earthlings mixtape that he put out last year. The last project with Big Ghost Ltd. was pretty good, but nowhere near as amazing as If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed in my opinion. The last project that I really loved from Conway was God Don’t Make Mistakes, and it feels like everything since then has been kinda watered down musically. He’s still rapping really well, but the quality of production and songwriting has decreased in my opinion. Anyway, he dropped a collaborative album with Jae Skeese a few months prior to this one, and I think I heard decent things about it, but I haven’t listened to it yet. I’m definitely gonna check it out at some point, but I wasn’t in a rush to listen because it didn’t seem as ambitious as this one. It seemed more like a mixtape than anything. I’ll check it out soon though. So, I was actually really excited for this project when it dropped. In fact, I was so excited that it ended up being the first thing I listened to on May 5th. That’s right. I listened to this before Maps. I remember I was listening to it on my friend’s Bluetooth speaker, and when it was over I was like, “I’m disappointed.” Let me explain why…
The opening track is called Quarters, and it’s easily the best song on the album.
This is one of my favorite songs of the year. If the rest of the album was as good as this then it would be album of the year material. The production has a lot of energy, and Conway matches it perfectly. His flow is bananas on this track. He slaughtered this song. This is how you start a project off. I was so excited for the rest of the album when I heard this shit.
Put some respect on my name
Or the coroner be scrapin' up what's left of your brain
I’m coughin’, smokin' on this pressure, I'm just testin' my strain
It's definitely pain in the back of my neck from the chain
Even my friends who don’t really listen to that much Hip Hop were like, “this is fire” when I played it out loud for them. I think this song dropped as a single, so that’s why I was so excited for this project. The track is dope as fuck, but sadly nothing else on this album matches its quality. The second track is called Brucifix, and it features Westside Gunn. This song definitely has the weirdest, most experimental instrumental on the album. It’s pretty fucking cool, but it’s the type of beat that only a really skilled lyricist would sound good over. The opening verse from Conway isn’t amazing or anything, but I think it’s pretty good.
So paranoid, some nights I sleep with this Glock in my hand
Havin' visions of niggas that I done shot with this can
It's niggas that I love I know tryna plot on my land
Whack 'em, bury 'em in my yard, dig his plot on my land
He sounds great over this beat. My favorite aspect of this song is just the instrumental itself from Daringer. Y’all already know how I feel about Westside Gunn, so I wasn’t really into his performance on this track. I still can’t stand his voice, and am unimpressed by his rapping technique. His verse is fine though. I don’t hate it. I’m just kind of indifferent towards it. I would definitely prefer if this was a solo track, but overall I still think it’s really dope. The fact that they even attempted to rhyme over this beat is commendable in my opinion. The following track is called Monogram. It’s pretty good. I like this one. The lavish-sounding production from Daringer sounds really good, and the opening verse from Conway is pretty solid. I have to admit that I don’t find the content that interesting, but his flow and rhymes were dope. My favorite part of this song is honestly just the hook. I wouldn’t expect a sung hook from Conway like this to be as enjoyable as it is, but I really like it. It sounds dope. I think the second verse is better than the first one personally. There were more lines that stood out to me in the second one. The first one is solid too though. Anyway, this is far from a highlight on the album to me, but I definitely like it to some extent. I think it’s pretty good. It’s followed by Stab Out, which features a verse from Ransom and production from JR Swiftz. I feel like I would like this song a lot more if there weren’t already a shit ton of Conway songs that sound exactly like it. The beat’s not bad. It just sounds like what I would find if I went to YouTube and searched for a Griselda type beat. Don’t believe me? Just look at this tweet…
The opening verse from Conway is pretty dope. It’s nowhere near the best rapping I’ve heard from him, but it’s still very good. I liked that “bro don’t miss” line a lot. The hook pretty much goes in one ear and out the other, but it’s fine I guess. The verse from Ransom is easily the best part of this song. He rhymed his ass off, as always. Overall, I actually think this song is very dope. Again, I’m kinda starting to get tired of this production style; however, the rapping here is too good for me to not really fuck with this track. Track 5 is a highlight called Flesh of My Flesh. I think this song had the potential to be the best on the album. The performance from Conway is pretty amazing, and the dark, menacing production is pretty dope. The lyrical content isn’t really what makes this song so enjoyable for me. I really just love Conway’s flow and rhymes here. He floated over this beat like it was nothing. The one disappointing aspect of this track is the manner in which it ends. Conway kinda just stops rapping, and then the beat rides out for about 80 seconds. I wish the outro was shortened, or that there was a second verse. Shit, even a decent hook would’ve sufficed. Obviously I still love the song, but I just wish the ending was more exciting because there’s really no reason to listen to the last 80 seconds of this track. This shit is fire overall though. I think it’s dope as hell. It’s followed by the first dud on the album, Kanye. I don’t really care for the production from the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. It sounds like something a Maybach Music Group artist would rap over. The hook on this track fucking sucks too. I don’t know who the hell that Goosebytheway dude is, but I hate him. He pretty much contributed all the worst moments on this album. The verse from Conway on this track is kinda bullshit too. I mean, no it’s not. It’s a fine verse. It’s just really short, and I don’t think it really has any standout lines. The rest of the song consists of the shitty hook, as well as a sung outro from an artist named Drea D’Nur. Her vocals are fine. I just don’t like the Gospel-inspired sound of this track at all. There’s really not a single aspect of this song that I enjoyed. I mean, once the beat dropped the percussion sounded pretty good, but other than that I got nothing out of this. This shit is wack to me. Track 7 is called The Chosen, and it features Jae Skeese. I think the rapping is pretty damn nice on this song. I just am not really that entertained by the production from the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a bad beat at all. It’s a fine instrumental. I just am kind of indifferent towards it. The actual rapping is what keeps this song worth returning to in my opinion. The way Conway & Jae Skeese were going back and forth on this track was pretty cool. Their flows and rhymes sounded really great. I also just love how aggressive their vocal deliveries are here. They both sound pretty hungry. This is nowhere near a highlight for me, but I definitely enjoyed it overall. I think it’s a good song. Unfortunately I don’t really care for a single track on the second half of this album. The following track, Water to Wine, is probably the worst song I’ve heard all year. Actually, maybe that’s a bit harsh. It’s definitely got the worst hook I’ve heard this year though. Bruh. This Goosebytheway dude is so fucking bad. I never wanna hear him ever again. This hook is absolutely fucking terrible. Gotdamn. I don’t know if I have the words to express how much I hate it. This is not the type of music I want from Conway. This song felt like a middle finger to me. I’m offended. I remember when this song came on during my first listen of the album. I couldn’t get through it. I skipped to the next track before it ended. I felt embarrassed to be playing this shit out loud. I can’t fuck with this shit at all. The production is bland as hell, and the hook is trash. The verse from Conway is fine from a technical perspective, but I just don’t care for the lyrical content at all. Again, this isn’t the type of shit I wanna hear from Conway.
You gave your heart to me, every step you supportin' me
I just wanted a piece of your love, you gave it all to me
There’s also a feature from a singer named Jozzy. I don’t care for them at all. The vocals are fine I guess, but the melody and lyrics are just not for me at all. The final verse from Dave East is pretty cringe to me too, not gonna lie.
My apologies for my attitude, shit been hard for me
Grab your ass while you cookin' dinner, you got the softest cheeks
Every time we fuck, it get sweaty, I call it passion
Nobody lie, but mami, keep ridin' until you crash
I do like his flow and vocal delivery a lot, but aside from that this shit is fucking awful. I think the song’s wack as fuck overall. It’s definitely the worst song I’ve ever heard from Conway, mostly because everyone else involved did a terrible job. The following track is an interlude called Kill Judas. I got absolutely nothing from this. It feels really pointless. The instrumental isn’t anything special, and nobody really says anything here. They just repeat Conways name a few times, and then it ends. I’m not gonna pretend to have a huge issue with this track being here, but I’d be lying if I said I got any type of enjoyment out of it. It’s mid. The following track is called Brick Fare. This one’s not bad at all. It’s just kinda generic. It sounds like an A.I. generated Conway song. The beat is pretty underwhelming, and the hook is really slow. This song just feels like it lacks momentum. I don’t really get anything out of it sonically. Thankfully the rapping is actually really good. I liked the lines about getting an STI in the second verse. That was funny. The opening verse is pretty hard too. I fuck with this song lyrically, but aside from that it’s just kinda boring to me. It’s definitely nowhere near being a bad song though. I think it’s solid. The following track is called Brooklyn Chop House, and it features Benny the Butcher & Fabolous. I kinda liked the beat at first, but it gets old really quickly since it’s so repetitive. The first verse from Conway is pretty nice. The hook is fine. I really don’t care for Fabolous, so I have to admit that I kinda hated listening to his verse. I guess I’m just biased against him since he’s an overrated woman beating piece of shit. I’m wondering why he’s even on this track. I would’ve preferred if this was just another collab between Conway, Westside Gunn & Benny. That would’ve been a lot better. The final verse from Benny is pretty nice. I liked that line about grandmas having an OnlyFans. That was funny. However, overall, I don’t care for this song at all. I don’t care for the production at all, and I was really turned off by the Fab feature. The rapping was good from Benny & Conway though. Overall, I think the song’s mediocre. Track 12 is called Tween Cross Tween, and it’s produced by GRAYMATTER. I liked the beat quite a bit at first, but it’s really repetitive, so it gets old pretty quickly. The bigger problem I have with this song is the hook, which is performed by Goosebytheway. Goddamn, that dude is so bad. The two verses from Conway are nice though. They aren’t amazing or anything, but I enjoyed them overall. As a whole, I think this song is just okay. The repetitive production got pretty boring by the time the song was over, and I hate the hook, but the rapping is really good. Overall, it’s a decent track. The penultimate song is the title track, WON’T HE DO IT, which features 7xvethegenius. The main reason that I don’t care for this song is the production. I kinda hate this beat emotional ass, dramatic ass beat. It sounds like something that Meek Mill would scream over. Also, Conway’s flow on this track kinda reminds me Drake for whatever reason. The cadence sounds like something Drake would do. The verse is cool. I definitely don’t think it’s bad. I just really hate this beat. The second verse from 7xvethegenius is pretty cool too I guess. I don’t know. It’s just really hard for me to get into this song since I hate the production so much. I can’t fuck with this song sonically at all. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad track though. I just think it’s mediocre. The closing song is technically a bonus track if I’m not mistaken. It’s called Super Bowl, and it features Sauce Walka & Juicy J.
Sauce Walka is an artist whom I’ve tried to get into in the past, but I just can’t do it. I’m not really a fan of his flow, and I think the beats he raps over are generally mid at best. His verse on this track is definitely my least favorite part of the song. His flow was incredibly messy; he was barely on beat. It honestly sounds like he was drunk when he recorded it. I honestly don’t even like Conway’s verse on this track either. I cringed really hard during that part where he was like “all my bitches ratchet, they like drinkin’ out the bottle.” Juicy J’s verse was good though. I can’t even lie, he sounded good. That’s really the only aspect of this song that I found even remotely enjoyable though. I’m not a fan of the generic Trap production, and the hook is really underwhelming. I also happen to think the first two verses suck, so this song is pretty wack to me.
This album is okay I guess. It’s definitely not bad overall. It’s just really disappointing. I don’t know what happened. Conway’s rapping is still solid, but the production and songwriting quality just isn’t there. The second half of this album is pretty damn rough. If the first half didn’t have the couple of highlights that it does then I would be worried that Conway is falling off. This is just the second project I’ve heard from him that I don’t really care for though, and it’s nowhere near bad enough to make me give up on him as an artist. He’s still one of my favorite MCs ever, and I’m still gonna look forward to what he does next. I just hope it’s better than this. Also, I never ever ever wanna hear from that Goosebytheway dude again. He was my least favorite part of this album. I’d definitely say this album is worth listening to if you’re a hardcore Conway fan like me, but for everyone else you can honestly steer clear. This would be a terrible entry point for new listeners. It’s a decent album, but definitely some of the worst material I’ve ever heard from Conway.
Favorite Song: Quarters
Least Favorite Song: Water to Wine
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Watch the video below for more thoughts on this album.
Focus Hip Hop 