Conway added
From King to a God to his ever-expanding discography months after
LULU and No One Mourns the Wicked, EPs respectively co-credited to
Alchemist and Big Ghost Ltd. Those affairs prove to be appetizers for this, a consistently striking and highly collaborative full-length that, despite its hospitable quality, is the
Griselda member's most exemplary solo release yet -- his most considered display of grim street bulletins and snarling admonitions. Boom bap curriculum designers and scholars mix it up throughout, though
DJ Premier turns in one of his heady and elegant productions for the finale, and the contributions of
Havoc and
Method Man are urgent, no mere accessories to golden-age nostalgia trips. The strongest proof here that
Griselda's distressed vintage aesthetic translates to their time can be heard in "Front Lines." Halfway into the second verse,
Conway switches from characteristic boasts and taunts to witnessing and reacting to the George Floyd protests, relating the threat of police brutality to his everyday life. ~ Andy Kellman