Fourth studio album for Conway the Machine, the second in collaboration with producer and former comedian blogger Big Ghost Ltd. The title refers to the movie "Predator" (1987), quite appropriate for the dark mood that the two artists bring to the project.
After a funny intro by Lukey Cage, on a splendid downtempo rhythm with an almost imperceptible drum in the background and a light guitar riff, "J Batters" is the first song: boom bap jazzy midtempo let it breathe, sample dope of horns from Donna Summer's "Once Upon a time", perfect drum, Conway's hardcore smooth slow delivery that kills the cut. Shots — at the time of writing I had no idea who this guy was, only now, five years after the original writing, I find out that Shots aka Shots Almigh is Conway's brother —, is the first guest of the edition, on the third song, he performs with a decent syncopated style on a decent boom bap, with a whiny sample tightly looped from Little Ann's "Deep Shadows", while Conway continues to go straight and hardcore.
The fourth track is another high point of the project: Big Ghost's sublime dark soundscape, excellent boom bap, with dark samples and perfect drum, Ransom slices the song with slow, velvety, hardcore delivery. He started the year in an incredible way and is confirmed as the best rapper right now. Rome Streetz delivers a noteworthy smoothness hardcore performance, then the joint is closed by Conway, with a smooth flow. "Toast" boasts wonderful samples to compose an experimental, light, fresh and lively rhythm, Big Ghost realized it by chopping and assembling from multiple fragments of "謎めいた異次元空間" by Yuji Ohno, the MC from Buffalo continues to flow easily without effort.
The sixth track features a downtempo rhythm with noir samples from "Poetry Man" by Gábor Szabó, while "Highly Praised" has no drum, supported by a plaintive female soul sample for the rapper's mafia bars. Knowledge the Pirate is the latest guest on the record: another plaintive female soul sample, light boom bap with dusty and dirty midtempo drum machine, Conway hardcore raw delivery, closes the guest with a slow and syncopated style. This piece features a production that comes closest to the traditional Griselda sound. "Red Beams" is a jazzy midtempo boom bap with great rusty raw guitar riffs and good dark samples from Dieter Reith's "Beams", perfect carpet for Conway's style. Finally, "Forever Ago", one of the artist's most personal songs, on a rhythm that features a snare drum and a tight and annoying sample from The Lijadu Sisters' "Lord Have Mercy" combined with a good guitar riff.
Writing violent, thug and braggadocio lyrics, performed with dynamic flows and an aggressive, hardcore delivery, The Machine proves to be among the hottest lyricists of the moment. Big Ghost also confirms himself as a good producer, providing the rapper with dirty and dusty, minimal, jazzy and dark rhythms: the two artists create robust and gritty, grimy and disturbing tracks, few ones stand out, but the tape is devoid of weak moments. Made up of ten short pieces for a total listening of half an hour, this gangsta album is solid and consistent: favored by the excellent chemistry between the two artists, it establishes itself among the best hip-hop projects released in these first two months of 2021.
Highlights: "J Batters", "Kill All Rats", "Red Beams".
Rating: 7.5/10.
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