The Weekly Coos

Consistency persists for Conway the Machine; he can keep your attention even if the content has run its course on the menu. Though you still find the meal tantalizing, you’re still left hungry, especially when plate after plate, you’re not finishing every bite. These food analogies show sometimes you get what you expect from certain institutions, instead of wishful thinking you’ll get something new. For Conway’s new album Slant Face Killah, think of his verses as the protein, and the production being a different recipe, albeit not completely different; it’s satisfying and won’t leave you with an ounce of regret. Conway is trying to be different, incorporating different additives that make him break past walls and deliver new flows. The content is still the same, but you relish that Conway is trying to expand his horizons. The features equally pack a punch, bringing the same energy that Conway wants to convey with the track, even when the track isn’t anything special like “Mutty.” However, when it’s all said and done, Slant Face Killah is another solid entry for Conway, especially with it being a modest surprise.

Slant Face Killah is one of the more eclectic albums we’ve heard from Conway the Machine, especially as the production maneuvers through grittier elements to build upon something unique. Though one can feel that it doesn’t go the whole ten yards at times, it does give us a different platform than the beats we’ve heard him rap over before. That isn’t to say those dark and grittier tendencies have been completely displaced with tinges that can make you feel like you’re going back to 00s Hip-Hop, but it feels like it’s taking you through a maze filled with some hard flows and layers. It’s what makes “Give & Give” and “Milano Nights Pt. 1” shine marginally above something more rudimentary and hazy like “Kin Xpress” with Larry June. Larry June is one of many features on the album, but he isn’t a standout like Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$, Jay Worthy, Method Man, Tech N9ne, and Raekwon. Shining above the others, they deliver memorable verses, keeping you attached to these tracks, even when the posse cuts have teetering quality in verses/flows. Add some quality beats, it’s a concoction for a hip-hop album that hits on many fronts.

The production on Slant Face Killah is fantastic. If not for it, one can see this falling shorter due to the content and themes relayed from album to album—Conway the Machine does come with more of a modern perspective, so you look at the wordplay and flows (the latter better than the former), it gets amplified with giving you a memorable project to return to. There are some returning collaborators, like CuBeatz & Conductor Williams, some we haven’t heard in a while like Don Cannon, and a special Cool & Dre beat, but it’s focused on a consistency that separates it from the norm, even when it still teeters into the bleakness that made Conway’s raps and flows harder. We hear Conway flowing through some of the nuanced East Coast gloom, some trap, and more like he is assimilating himself and branching out, and when you hear it, it’s as refreshing as the first time you discovered Conway. “Raw!” with Tech N9ne takes influence from the production we’ve heard N9ne rap on, i.e., more mechanical and rapid, and the way Conway comes with the bravado and ferocity, reminiscent of “Notorious Thugs” where B.I.G. flipped everyone on their head as he flowed with apt speed.

Other beats that stood out include “The Red Moon In Osaka” which feels more in tune with the production we’ve heard from Raekwon in his early years. “Ten / Rya Interlude” brings some trap/crunk hybrid elements that see him matching wits with Key Glock over a Don Cannon, CuBeatz & T9C beat. “Kin Xpress,” featuring Larry June, has that hazy, laid-back production for high weed flows, despite them flexing while reliving hardships; unfortunately, this is one of two that don’t hit production-wise (along with “Mutty”), especially as the two don’t carry enough juice to warrant its five and a half minute runtime. But it’s more than just assimilating, as Conway is flowing with bravado over some crisp and gritty jazz rap beats like on “Surf & Turf” and “Give & Give.” It’s one of his most eclectic albums with the beats used, and that is the biggest plus of Slant Face Killah, alongside Conway’s flows. He’s not taking it slow and giving us real hitters, like “Dasani” and “Raw!” Throughout all this, we’re hearing Conway retread familiarity with content where he is flexing and reflecting; fortunately, the consistency is high that you can look over the safe soul-boom bap beat of “Karimi” or string-heavy and semi-haphazardness of “Vertino.”

I didn’t love Slant Face Killah, but I did like it a lot. It has the intuitiveness in the beats to keep it afloat through more typical and sometimes cantankerous verses that elevate past the fray because of the flows and features. I can kick back to it and feel the typical bleakness that derives from it and more. Give it a spin and let yourself get taken away by that typically great grit and grind raps on it.