Conway – “GOAT” (Album Review)

Conway is an MC from Buffalo, New York who has been making a name with himself alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their label Griselda Records. They even signed to Eminem’s Interscope imprint Shady Records back in March of this year & after a long wait, he’s releasing his full-length debut (which is an abbreviation for Grimiest Of All-Time) & he has enlisted Griselda’s in-house producer Daringer to produce all but 1 track. The album starts off with the title track, where he’s bragging about his rapping prowess over a killer guitar. The next song “Trump” gets murderous & the production from The Alchemist fits the vibe perfectly. The track “TH3RD F” gets mafioso over a prominent soul sample & the Raekwon verse fits like a glove. The song “Die on X-Mas” with Benny sees the 2 getting confrontational over a super eerie instrumental & the track “Rodney Little” with Prodigy sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a haunting boom bap beat.

The song “XXXTRAS” vividly reflects on his days as a hustler over some horns & militant drums while the track “Bishop Shot Steel” takes a shot at the snakes over a gloomy beat. The track “Mandatory” with Royce da 5’9” sees the 2 taking a jab at their haters over a somber yet menacing beat while the penultimate track “Arabian Sam’s” with Styles P gets murderous over a grimy boom bap beat. The album then closes with “Bullet Klub”, where Conway gets with Benny & Lloyd Banks to tell the studio gangsters what life’s really like in the streets over an ominous instrumental.

Personally, this is Conway’s magnum opus. His lyricism is grittier than ever as is the production & the features are all on point. Griselda is one of my favorite labels right now & this is yet another example of why that is

Score: 9/10