Conway the Machine

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Conway the Machine
Birth nameDemond Price[1]
Also known as
  • Conway
  • Nash
Born (1982-02-16) February 16, 1982 (age 42)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
GenresEast Coast hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2012–present
Labels

Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine, or simply Conway,[2] is an American rapper. Alongside his paternal half-brother, Westside Gunn, and cousin, Benny the Butcher, Conway was a member of Griselda Records. On February 21, 2022, Conway announced his departure from Griselda Records.[3]

History

2012–2019: Early mixtapes and G.O.A.T.

Throughout his 20s, Conway was in and out of jail.[4] During this time, he reflected on what he wanted out of life and began weaning from a gangster lifestyle to focus on his career in music.[2]

In 2012, Conway was shot in the head, neck, and shoulder.[5] Originally, doctors believed that he would be paralyzed from the neck down, however, today the only permanent injury is his face being partially paralyzed, giving him his signature slur.[6]

In 2014, Westside Gunn founded Griselda Records, through which Conway and Westside Gunn would self-release their own projects and the works of artists such as Benny the Butcher and Mach-Hommy.[7] In 2015, Conway released his first two official mixtape projects through Griselda Records, The Devil's Reject and Reject 2.[8][9] Conway and Westside Gunn also released two collaborative EPs through London-based record label Daupe!,[10] the first of which was 2015's Hall & Nash, followed by 2016's Griselda Ghost. In April 2016, during Mobb Deep and Smif-N-Wessun's "Hell On Earth" tour, Conway was introduced to Prodigy of Mobb Deep, who would become one of his earliest notable collaborators and supporters.[2]

On March 3, 2017, Griselda Records signed a deal with Eminem's Shady Records.[11][12] On October 10, 2017, Conway contributed an a cappella rap verse to the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards Shady cypher.[13] The same year, Complex included Westside Gunn and Conway in their list of "15 Best Unofficial Rap Duos in the Game",[14] as well as two of the "17 Artists to Watch in 2017".[15]

Following Griselda's deal with Shady Records, Conway's first official release was G.O.A.T. on December 21, 2017, which included production from Griselda's in-house producer Daringer and The Alchemist, and featured Royce Da 5'9", Raekwon, Prodigy, Styles P and Lloyd Banks.[16] Earlier in 2017, he released a collaborative mixtape with DJ Green Lantern titled More Steroids.[17]

2019–present: Studio albums

On May 16, 2019, Conway, Benny The Butcher and Westside Gunn released their first single with DJ Premier titled "Headlines".[18]

Conway released "Bang", at the time expected to be the first single from his album God Don't Make Mistakes, alongside Eminem on July 19, 2019.[19][20] God Don't Make Mistakes had been intended to be Conway's debut studio album, and Westside Gunn had stated it was "90 percent complete" in 2018;[21] however, Conway's first studio album would instead be the project From King to a God, which he released on September 11, 2020.[22] During this period, Conway continued releasing mixtapes and collaborative albums as well.

God Don't Make Mistakes was ultimately released on February 25, 2022, as Conway's second studio album.[23] It was followed by his third studio album, Won't He Do It, released on May 5, 2023, being Conway's first studio album not released with Griselda.[24]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[25] 		US
Heat.
[26] 		UK
R&B
[27]
From King to a God 126 1 —
God Don't Make Mistakes
  • Released: February 25, 2022
  • Label: Griselda, Drumwork, Shady, Empire
  • Format: LP, digital download, streaming
 175 1 30
Won't He Do It
  • Released: May 5, 2023
  • Label: Drumwork, Empire
  • Format: digital download, streaming
 — 7 —

Collaboration albums

  • Organized Grime (released in collaboration with Trillmatic Goods) (2019)
  • Lulu (with The Alchemist) (2020)
  • No One Mourns the Wicked (with Big Ghost) (2020)
  • If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed (with Big Ghost) (2021)
  • Organized Grime 2 (released in collaboration with Trillmatic Goods) (2022)
  • What Has Been Blessed Cannot Be Cursed (with Big Ghost) (2022)
  • Pain Provided Profit (with Jae Skeese) (2023)
  • Speshal Machinery (with 38 Spesh) (2023)[28]
  • Conductor Machine (with Conductor Williams) (2023)

Compilation albums

  • Drumwork: The Album (with Drumwork Music Group) (2023)

Mixtapes

  • Welcome 2 the Badside (2007)
  • The Transition (2007)
  • T2: The Machine (2008)
  • The Worst of Conway (2010)
  • Welcome Back (2 da Badside) (2010)
  • Amerikan Greed (2012)
  • PhysiKal Therapy (2014)
  • The Devil's Reject (2015)
  • Reject 2 (2015)
  • G.O.A.T. (2017)
  • Blakk Tape (2018)
  • Everybody Is F.O.O.D (2018)
  • EIF 2: Eat What U Kill (2018)
  • Everybody Is F.O.O.D 3 (2019)
  • Look What I Became (2019)
  • La Maquina (2021)
  • The Missing Bricks (2021)
  • Greetings Earthlings (2022)

Collaboration mixtapes

  • Who Wants What (with Street Entertainment) (2005)
  • Bang Bang (with Street Entertainment) (2005)
  • The Pre-Season (with Buff City Music Group) (2012)
  • Hall & Nash (with Westside Gunn as Hall 'N Nash) (2015)
  • Griselda Ghost (with Westside Gunn as Hall 'N Nash, produced by Big Ghost LTD) (2015)
  • Hell Still On Earth (with Prodigy) (2016)
  • Reject on Steroids (with DJ Green Lantern) (2017)
  • More Steroids (with DJ Green Lantern) (2017)
  • Death By Misadventure (with Sonnyjim) (2018)
  • Untitled Drums EP (with Imported Goods) (2018)
  • Hidden Drums (with Drumwork Music Group) (2023)
  • Conductor Machine (with Conductor Williams) (2023)
  • PALERMO (with Wun Two) (2023)
  • Hall & Nash 2: The Original Version (with Westside Gunn & The Alchemist) (2023)

With Griselda

Music videos

Year Album Title Director Featured artist
2016 Reject 2 Rex Ryan Mobile Kitchen Sound Westside Gunn, Roc Marciano
2019 EIF2 : Eat What U Kill G Money on the Roof HDTV & Flee Lord Flee Lord
Overdose Denzel Williams
Look What I Became Tito's Back Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn
No Women No Kids
2020 From King to A God Lemon Langston Sessoms Method Man
Forever Droppin Tears El Camino
Jesus Khrysis Slim Gus. The Video Shotta & The Real Tony Dinero
2021 La Maquina Scatter Brain n/c Ludacris, JID
2022 God Don't Make Mistakes John Woo Flick Langston Sessoms Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn
Stressed n/c Wallo267
Chanel Pearls David X. Pena & Chad Tennies Jill Scott
2023 Won't He Do It Quarters | Brucifix n/c Westside Gunn
2024 / Give & Give Cool & Dre

References

  1. ^ "Watch now: Rapper Conway the Machine gives back to Buffalo". The Buffalo News. May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Artist of the Month Conway on Repping Buffalo, Second Chances, and Being the Grimiest of All Time". Consequence of Sound. November 16, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  3. ^ Moorwood, Victoria (February 21, 2022). "Conway the Machine announces split from Griselda and Shady Records". Revolt. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Eustice, Kyle (March 4, 2022). "How Conway The Machine Turned Tragedy Into Triumph". High Times. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "4 wounded in 3 separate shootings". The Buffalo News. March 18, 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Conway: G.O.A.T." Pitchfork. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "A Guide to Griselda". Complex. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  8. ^ "Conway the Machine - The Devil's Reject". Album of The Year. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  9. ^ "Reject 2, by Conway". Daupe. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  10. ^ "Daupe!". Discogs. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  11. ^ "Shady X Griselda Ink Deal For Westside Gunn and Conway". Shady Records. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  12. ^ "Griselda Set Out to be Your Favorite Rapper's Favorite Rappers. It's Paying off". NPR.
  13. ^ Mojica, Nick (October 11, 2017). "Conway, Boogie and More Spit in Shady 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  14. ^ "The 15 Best Unofficial Rap Duos in the Game Right Now". Complex. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  15. ^ "17 Artists to Watch in 2017". Complex. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "Conway the Machine: G.O.A.T." Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Melis, Matt (October 30, 2017). "Album Review: Conway - More Steroids". Consequence. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  18. ^ Chesman, Donna-Claire (May 17, 2019). "DJ Premier & Griselda Interview: Making "Headlines"". DJBooth. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  19. ^ "Conway The Machine – "Bang" (Feat. Eminem)". Stereogum. July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  20. ^ "Listen to Eminem's Guest Verse on Conway the Machine's "Bang"". Spin. July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  21. ^ Wallace, Riley (June 26, 2018). "Westside Gunn Takes One Last Independent Swing on 'Supreme Blientele' Before Heading to the Big Leagues". Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Critic Reviews for From King to a God - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  23. ^ "God Don't Make Mistakes by Conway the Machine". Metacritic. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  24. ^ "Conway the Machine Drops New Album Won't He Do It: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  25. ^ "Conway The Machine Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  26. ^ "Conway the Machine Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  27. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. March 4, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  28. ^ Zamora, José (September 13, 2023). "Speshal Machinery: A Duo to Watch Out For". All Rap News. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
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