Conway The Machine has continuously set his personal bar higher with every release, but damned if the Griselda emcee hasn’t been knocking it out of the park every single time. With his retirement looming ever closer by the day, Conway has remained steadfast in his dedication to go out with a bang — no pun intended. He’s already fired off a pair of projects in the Alchemist-produced Lulu and the Big Ghost LTD-laced No One Mourns The Wicked, and hype for his next two has already begun.

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With his Shady Records solo debut album God Don’t Make Mistakes serving as his final gift — should his retirement indeed prove accurate — Conway has been had at work on his penultimate drop. The project, titled From A King To A God, has been part of The Machine’s master plan for a minute now, though it’s unclear how it will differ from his anticipated major-label release. No matter what, Conway is already anticipating a “masterpiece,” and while rappers have continuously touted their projects as such, has he ever led us astray thus far? 

“FKTG on the way,” he warns. “It’s shaping up to be a masterpiece!” And we’re not surprised in that regard if the stacked tracklist is to believed. Look for From A King To A God to feature appearances from Drake, 2 Chainz, Havoc, Freddie Gibbs, Dej Loaf, and more. Are you looking forward to hearing this new album from Conway?

At the beginning of April, Griselda lyricist Conway caught his fans by surprise when he unveiled his plans to retire. “After FKTG, GDMM, and EIF4, I’m out,” he declared, alluding to his upcoming albums From A King To A God, God Don’t Make Mistakes, and Everybody Is F.O.O.D. 4. Now, Conway has once again teased his departure from the game, this time shortening the countdown to two more albums — though it’s entirely possible that EIF constitutes as a mixtape, technically.

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While it’s unclear as to what might have motivated his decision to bow out gracefully, it’s curious to see the tweets he highlighted in his recent IG post. In it, The Machine seems frustrated with those who only skim through his catalog, quoting Jay-Z’s eternal “do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?” His main problem seemed to stem from those who accused him of being single-minded, with Conway providing a list of potential songs designed to make his haters eat crow. “2 more albums left and [peace],” he writes, seemingly alluding that we’ll appreciate more after he’s gone.

Given how much Conway The Machine clearly respects Jay-Z, perhaps it’s possible that he’s taking a page out of the Jigga Man’s playbook. Lest we forget, Jay was originally meant to retire after The Black Album dropped in 2003. He returned shortly after with Kingdom Come. Should that indeed be the case, perhaps we can take solace in knowing that The Machine’s absence will be temporary — after all, rappers have tried to get out only to be pulled back in time and time again. 

Either way, we still have two more albums to look forward to before his final bow, including his long-awaited Shady Records debut God Don’t Make Mistakes. 

Westside Gunn is having an interesting year to say the least. On one hand, the Griselda rapper recently dropped off the critically acclaimed Pray For Paris, an album many have already deemed his best yet. On the other, Gunn found himself sidelined by the coronavirus for weeks before ultimately emerging as a fully recovered survivor. During a call with Ebro Darden, Gunn detailed his experience battling COVID-19, a fight he claims “almost took him out.”

“I’m feeling good now, these short breaths, this shit was like a tornado through my chest,” he muses. “I smoke a lot so I’m trying to build my lungs back up. I was going to go out for a walk, but even when I went outside to do that, I was like nah let me wait another week. Next week, I’ll probably try to walk for 30 minutes.” When Ebro inquires how serious things got, Westside turns the camera on a small machine he uses five times a day to help with his breathing.

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“At first I was in LA, we went out for dinner, I had signed a new artist Armani Ceaser,” he reflects. “It was my daughter’s birthday. The next day, I woke up and it’s cold in the house. But I woke up sweating. Something not right, and everybody talking about corona. And I won’t front, I was one of those dudes joking about it. Man, this the government! [laughs] We just making jokes all day about this shit.” He soon realized that the sickness was serious, and he planned on making his way back to his Atlanta home. “First I stayed in bed for two days, let them enjoy LA, they were on vacation. But that plane damn near took me out. When I made it back, I went to urgent care — I know some ladies up in there.”

After getting an inhaler and a prescription for Zipac, Westside admits he did start feeling better. “But then I started smoking,” he says. “Benny came over, he wanted to chill. We smoking back to back. The next morning, I hit my wake and bake, bro I couldn’t even get off the couch. Something just hit me. I FaceTimed my family, they didn’t pick up. I could breathe but the whole room was spinning. I couldn’t even lift my head off the couch or nothing. I got enough legs to open up the door, basically damn near collapsed. Security had to get me, carry me to the wheelchair. I was like ‘I can’t breathe!'”

For more from Westside Gunn, be sure to check out his full conversation with Ebro Darden below. Have you been enjoying Pray For Paris? 

After Conway The Machine drops his next three albums, the New York rapper is stepping away from the mic. He made the announcement last week with a brief statement on Twitter. “After FKTG, GDMM and EIF4, Conway out,” he wrote. Just weeks ago, we received Conway and The Alchemist‘s LULU EP, a seven-track offering that hip hop heads can’t stop streaming. Up next, Conway told Instagram Live viewers that he has some new music coming with Hit-Boy, albeit he didn’t share when we can expect that to reach our ears.

On Monday (April 13), Conway and The Alchemist sat down with Genius for a social distancing interview. The pair of artists discussed their collaborative record and what it was like working with one another. Conway recently teased that he was releasing a solo album on Shady Records, and he was asked what fans could expect from the project.

“That sh*t gon’ be probably the pinnacle of the motherf*ckin’ rap game in 2020,” he said. “That’s gon’ top off everything off nicely. It’s gon’ shake the pavement. I got probably 10 or 12 joints on that. I have zero features on there right now. I mean, I got [Westside Gunn] and [Benny The Butcher] on there, but outside of that, I have zero features.” He later added that Rapsody is “on the joint, too.”

“It’s that pain, it’s that raw emotion, my story, my life,” Conway said. He also shared that we should expect another project to drop later on this month. Check out Conway The Machine and The Alchemist chatting with For The Record below.

The latest additions to our scorching “Fire Emoji” playlist on Spotify include a new collaboration from Wiz Khalifa and Tyga, two cuts off Joyner Lucas‘ freshly dropped, ADHD, and much, much more. As you all spend your days wandering aimlessly around the house trying to find something to occupy your mind, why not check out our “Fire Emoji” playlist, updated weekly with the absolute hottest tracks out right now? Despite the global pandemic forcing everyone to stay inside, plenty of your favourite artists are still delivering heat. While most of this new music was likely recorded before the coronavirus escalated, it’s likely that some tracks were concocted for the purpose of keeping fans entertained during this stressful and confusing time. Whether it’s a remix of The Weeknd’s “Heartless” with Lil Uzi Vert off the deluxe edition of After Hours, or the highly-anticipated “Turks” collab with Nav, Gunna, and Travis Scott, we’ve got you covered with our specially curated collection of the dopest music out there.

Leading the way with two joints off his long-awaited debut album, ADHD, is Joyner Lucas with “Will” and “The War” featuring Young Thug. Among the rest of our newest additions is Wiz Khalifa and Tyga’s joint effort, “Contact,” which dropped earlier this week followed by some accompanying visuals. Childish Gambino also made our list with a track off his cryptically teased project, 3.15.20, titled “Algorhythm.” Tory Lanez came through with his latest single, “Do The Most,” as did Mick Jenkins with “Snakes” featuring Kojey Radical. Trouble and Quavo teamed up for their banger, “Popped,” and who could forget Murda Beatz and YNW Melly joining forces with Lil Turk to deliver “Banana Split.” With drops from the likes of Run The Jewels, Schoolboy Q, and more, check out our updated “Fire Emoji” playlist and don’t forget to follow our other specially-curated playlists.

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