It's also important to note that in spring of 2017, Conway and his brother Westside Gunn were signed to Eminem's label Shady
Records. This marked the first Buffalo rappers to be signed to a major in history. Conway, Benny and Gunn also embarked on a tour across the USA with support from the LOX. Cons relatively short and explosive commercial career (as well as his lyrical prowess and style) has garnered him recognition and approval from the likes of Wu-Tang clan members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon as well as the late prodigy of Mobb Deep (the latter of the two are featured on this record).
The album opens with our title track. Themes of drug trafficking, youth crime and murder are introduced over a very cinematic and dark Daringer arrangement. I like the cadence and flow that Conway does here over the sporadic drums. The beat builds momentum quick with Conways distinctive delivery. It's a great way to set the tone but, I'm usually skipping ahead for the tracks that get me more hype.
"Trump" brings our only producer guest with Alchemist. We get a quick skit before our eerie instrumental leads fade in. The drum pattern is simple with hard kicks and slapping drums. Conway depicts stories of him stalking his enemies in the dead of night with gruesome detail. There's lots of quotables that highlight Conways talent for gun bars. Tongue rolling gun adlibs make entertaining appearances too. There's a great fade out so we can enjoy the drum pattern a bit longer too.
One of my favourite songs is "Th3rd F" featuring Raekwon. I love the sample choice of spinning back some soul singing. Gentle drums and keys do their thing in the background as well. Conway brings great pacing to his rhymes while describing Buffalo in key lines like "I'm from a city n****s get smoked for a half a key" and the Raekwon verse brings the same calm delivery while the lyrics depict some lethal braggadocio. I'm always twisting my dial back to repeat this one.
Onto our next track with "Die On Christmas" opens with a verse from fellow Griselda label mate Benny. Benny brings one of my favourite verses on the whole album here. Flashing back between recalling his incarceration and sentence to pondering on his return to hustling with great bars like "Everyday I take chances that could put me in a prison" or "all my n****s point blank shooters and cheque chasers". I like that there's no break between the MCs contributions here as Conway immediately breaks into his own verse as soon as Benny gives his finishing lines. Conway makes his own case for being hailed as a "great" due to his own accolades and the short time frame hes achieved them in before describing another grim murder scenario. It's a fantastic song that brings intense and thorough verses from both.
"Rodney Little" continues the instrumental theme of eerie leads and dusty drum loops. Conways flow is a little less aggressive but he still won't mince words. He brings more posturing and challenges you to find a harder rapper out. Prodigy yields a comfortable and sage-like flow to his own boasting. I like his bar about "On post release supervision, I'll still get it shakin'." Rodney Little is a song that is hard but can still relax me. Great for cruising with the windows down.
After the interlude on the end of the previous song the pace of the record picks back up with "Xxxtras". Opening up the second half of the album, this song brings another head nodding drum pattern from Daringer with some fun brass leads. Conways brings more metaphors and references to his vocal prowess and street reputation. I'm not crazy about the fade out lasting nearly two minutes, however. It's a passable song but to me it's not one of the hits.
"Bishop Shot Steel" is probably the slowest song on the record. Despite the language and grit there is some great introspection in comparison to the rest of G.O.A.T.. It's reflective without breaking the consistency of Conways persona. His first entry on the song leaves him dejected and shocked over the betrayal of a friend while he adjusts and recites the lessons hes learned on the second verse. Daringer again shines with production that manages to be both gloomy and delicate at once.
"Mandatory" is one of my favourites as well, second only to track three. Daringer brings more minimalist boom bap with my favourite snare on the record. You can hear him Con really pushing himself on this song in particular as he lays claim to the first and second verses with aggressive punchlines detailing street life, describing his cohorts and once again reminding us of his itchy trigger finger. Royce Da 5'9" bring the pain here as well with one of the more notable guest verses. Similar to track four we have two rappers just snapping for as long as they can and it's glorious.
As we near the end of the tape, Styles P teams with The Machine over an ominous score by Daringer. I like the deep bass kicks and cymbals. Sporadic cowbells and vocal samples fade in and out as well. Styles P brings similar grime to Conway in his contribution. Hearing legends spitting hard to match Conways hunger is always a great recipe for a banger. Great hook on here too. Nobody don't move or the gun blow!
We finish the record off with a posse cut style song in "Bullet Klub" Conway delivers one his strongest verses on the album before Lloyd Banks enters with the hook and then his own set of bars. Benny finishes off the song and by extension, the album with his final guest verse. There's too many punchlines and grimy bars to list or even quote as all three MCs bring their A game. The production we get from Daringer is top notch again as our kicks and snares slowly shuffle against an insidious string section.
At the end of it all, Conway brings meaning to our title and truly demonstrates why he needs to be considered the grimiest. Daringer and Alchemist deliver incredible minimalist boom bap production which serve as a terrific backdrop for Conways murder fantasies and tales of street life. Despite its shorter length, G.O.A.T. makes up for it in consistency and pacing.
Pros: Conway details street life from a griping and harsh angle while relentlessly challenging himself and his guests to bring their best. We have long verses with plenty of metaphors to unpack and the production is incredible. The beats are eerie, hard and all similar to each other but, there's still more calming scores that lend themselves to some reflective passages.
Cons: I've noticed even on a more polished project like this, Conway doesn't always write hooks or bring a thorough concept record. Aside from Bishop Shot Steel, there's little storytelling that departs from violent punchlines or braggadocio. I both love and hate this albums length as it keeps the tone and momentum of the album tight but, a little more room for variety would've made me love this record even more.
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