Big Ghost Ltd. & Conway the Machine — No One Mourns the Wicked

After the success of "Griselda Ghost", extended play signed by Hall N Nash aka Westside Gunn & Conway with the production of Big Ghost Ltd, and one of my favorite hip-hop records ever, the beatmaker comes back to collaborate again together with Conway the Machine for this tape, sometimes labeled as EP sometimes labeled as album (or mixtape). Elcamino and Flee Lord are the guests.

Cousin of "Griselda Ghost", this effort combines Conway's raw bars with the rough and hardcore rhythms of Big Ghost Ltd: despite the heavy names have remained outside the project and the only guests are El Camino & Flee Lord, it's one of the strongest record of the year, compact, solid, shiny. La Maquina plays at home in his comfort zone and isn't mistaken, the producer offers him a varied and excellent quality musical choice, from the dirty guitar on the midtempo of "Dead Flowers" (with a sample from The Music Machine's "The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly") to the simple jazzy of "Fake Love", which boasts a splendid soul sample looped in the background from The Temprees' "Love's Maze" (and suffers from a hook that tends to ruin the cut), going through several jazzy midtempo tracks that accompany the second part of the album.

Here the Machine calmly enjoys his achievements ("Shark Guts", with a sample from Judy Clay's "Give Love to Save Love"), then he goes fast when the beat darkens and he wipes out everything with a flowing and energetic delivery on the change of rhythm of "Bricks to Murals", with Big Ghost offering a great jazzy rhythm with samples of heavenly soulful choir. "Sicarios" closes the album, preceded by two excellent ethereal jazzy joints: the first is an interlude over a loop from YEAR ONE's "Transitory River", in the other Big Ghost realizes a dope boom bap with a slick piano loop, deep bass, skinny drums, splendid production. Then Flee Lord delivers rough and aggressive on the final midtempo boom bap of "Sicarios", the Machine easily rips the cut. Overall, it's a very well made record, you can't ask for anything better when you look at the East Coast and you're looking for some raw mafia rap.

Highlights: "Dead Flowers", "Icon", "Brick to Murals", "S.D.I.N.", "Sicarios".

Rating: 8.5/10.