Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine, or simply Conway, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and co-founder of the hip hop label Griselda Records, alongside his paternal half-brother

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American Rapping, rapper and fashion designer. He co-founded the Independent record label, hip-hop record label Griselda Records in 2012 with his paternal half- ...

. Acclaimed for his 1990s inspired, dark and gritty lyricism, he rose to prominence following his mixtape ''Reject 2'' (2015) and debut studio album '' From King to a God'' (2020). His second album, '' God Don't Make Mistakes'' (2022), was released by Shady Records and met with universal acclaim. Conway announced his departure from Shady and Griselda Records in February 2022, and has since founded his own label, Drumwork. He has since continued his collaborations with Gunn, as well as their cousin Benny the Butcher.

History

2012–2019: Early mixtapes and ''G.O.A.T.''

Throughout his 20s, Conway was in and out of jail. 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. In 2012, Conway was shot in the head, neck, and shoulder. 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. 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. In 2015, Conway released his first two official mixtape projects through Griselda Records, ''The Devil's Reject'' and ''Reject 2''. Conway and Westside Gunn also released two collaborative EPs through London-based record label Daupe!, the first of which was 2015's ''Hall & Nash'', followed by 2016's ''Griselda Ghost''. In April 2016, during

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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. On March 3, 2017, Griselda Records signed a deal with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's Shady Records. On October 10, 2017, Conway contributed an a cappella rap verse to the 2017

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

Shady cypher. The same year,

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

included Westside Gunn and Conway in their list of "15 Best Unofficial Rap Duos in the Game", as well as two of the "17 Artists to Watch in 2017". 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" Ryan Daniel Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hi ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

, Prodigy, Styles P and

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

. Earlier in 2017, he released a collaborative mixtape with

DJ Green Lantern James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for ...

titled ''More Steroids''.

2019–present: Studio albums

On May 16, 2019, Conway, Benny The Butcher and Westside Gunn released their first single with DJ Premier titled "Headlines". Conway released " Bang", at the time expected to be the first single from his album ''God Don't Make Mistakes'', alongside

on July 19, 2019. ''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; however, Conway's first studio album would instead be the project '' From King to a God'', which he released on September 11, 2020. 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. 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, and '' Slant Face Killah'', released on May 10, 2024.

Discography

Studio albums * '' From King to a God'' (2020) * '' God Don't Make Mistakes'' (2022) * '' Won't He Do It'' (2023) * '' Slant Face Killah'' (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway (Rapper) 1982 births Living people Five percenters Rappers from New York (state) East Coast hip-hop musicians Gangsta rappers Musicians from Buffalo, New York Shady Records artists African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American male songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) American shooting survivors 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians