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Matching gritty bars with a methodical, menacing delivery and unmistakable ad-libs, Buffalo's Conway the Machine is acclaimed for his restless output of albums, mixtapes, and collaborations. Focusing on music after suffering a near-fatal shooting in 2012, the MC co-founded Griselda Records alongside brother and fellow rapper Westside Gunn, and became a key component of the resurgence of grimy New York rap. He issued his debut album, From King to a God, in 2020, then released the widely praised God Don't Make Mistakes through Eminem's Shady Records in early 2022. He left both Griselda and Shady in order to focus on his own label, Drumwork, and continued his prolific release schedule with the 2023 full-length Won't He Do It and collaborations like Conductor Machine (with Conductor Williams).

Conway (born Demond Price) began recording at the age of 15, working initially with local producers under the names Loose Cannon and Killa Angel before committing to Conway. His hip-hop ambitions were cut short in 2012 when he became the victim of a near-fatal shooting, with doctors suggesting neck-down paralysis as the most likely outcome. Surviving instead with Bell's palsy (a form of facial paralysis), Conway developed a permanent slur; rather than hide this, he embraced it, adopting a more ominous delivery and eerier production to complement his slower flow. He released his 2015 debut album, The Devil's Reject, on Griselda. Seeing the success of Gunn's frequent Hitler Wears Hermes series, Conway upped his work ethic, releasing his sophomore album, Reject 2, and the collaborative project Hall & Nash (with Westside Gunn) in the latter half of 2015. Over grimy instrumentals produced by close collaborator Daringer, Conway used wordplay to relate his struggles with violence and street life, while also replicating the mafioso stylings of New York forefathers Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. 

Working closely with local contemporaries from Roc Marciano to Skyzoo, the MC released a rapid-fire string of four albums across 2016 and 2017, building Griselda's profile up enough to land a deal with Eminem's Shady Records. The following year, in addition to issuing his fourth solo album, Blakk Tape, Conway began his Everybody Is F.O.O.D. album series, releasing the first two projects in August and December. The third volume appeared in April 2019 and was followed by Conway's first single with Eminem, "Bang," which appeared in 2020 on his debut studio album, From King to a God. He paired with Method Man for the track "Lemon" later that year, and in 2021 he released the mixtape La Maquina. 

Conway began 2022 with "John Woo Flick," featuring Benny the Butcher and Westside Gunn, and "Stressed" with Wallo267, the first two singles from his second album, God Don't Make Mistakes. One of his most well-received projects, the album was announced as his final release with both Griselda and Shady, as he planned to concentrate on his own Drumwork imprint. What Has Been Blessed Cannot Be Cursed, with Big Ghost Ltd., was released later in the year. In 2023, he issued the Jae Skeese collaboration Pain Provided Profit and the full-length Won't He Do It. He then released label showcase Drumwork the Album and collaborations with 38 Spesh (Speshal Machinery) and Conductor Williams (Conductor Machine). ~ David Crone, Rovi

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De La Soul is back—but did they ever really leave? After delivering their seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989 with the production genius of Prince Paul, the New York City-bred trio of Posdnuos (Pos), Dave and Maseo went on to further impact Hip Hop culture with five more groundbreaking albums: De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001). But once the digital age exploded in the late ‘90s, De La Soul’s celebrated catalog was unavailable to stream. As the decades passed, the tight-knit group forged ahead anyway—touring the world, connecting with their adoring fanbase and making music on their own terms. Following 2004’s The Grind Date, De La Soul took a hiatus from making albums, but joined The Gorillaz on the track “Feel Good Inc” which won them a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration.  In 2015, the group raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter from fans to independently release their album and the Anonymous Nobody, which was their first #1 on the Rap Albums chart, and was also nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy.   

However, the demand for unreleased De La Soul music was palpable and the cry for access to the first six albums grew louder. Unfortunately, De La Soul was stuck riding a roller coaster of stalled negotiations, dashed hopes and dead-end conversations with their old label, and the group nearly gave up. 

"We have lived without the music up for long, these six albums haven’t been up—ever,” Pos says. “We got used to knowing they weren’t up.” In June of 2021, Tommy Boy Music was acquired by Reservoir, giving De La Soul’s catalog a new home.  In March of 2023, the six missing albums were finally available to stream.  But sadly, right before the catalog release, Dave, the beloved member of De La Soul, passed away. Though bittersweet, De La Soul preserves his legacy and the ongoing impact of their music. 

As iconic songs such as “The Magic Number”, found new life in the film Spiderman: No Way Home in 2021, De La Soul continues to resonate with a diverse population of people. 

As Pos notes, “We’ve noticed over the past several years of tour like, ‘Wow, there’s a father here with his child who also is here with their child. ‘We’re generational. To me, there’s nothing more gratifying than that. That means something. That’s telling about a group. What we were doing wasn’t just stuck to that time.”

“We really naturally been that group for everyone,” Pos says. “It was never about we’re just here for this community, that community, this set of people or these certain fans of Hip Hop culture. We see music as music. We’ve been very resilient, even being a group that didn’t have our music up [on streaming platforms]. We still had these beautiful opportunities through young people finding out about us through a commercial or Spider-Man. Now that it can all be there for people to gravitate to, I’m really happy about that.” 

De La Soul's impact on the musical landscape is immeasurable, with 3 Feet High and Rising widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of its era. Pioneering inventive sampling, playful lyrics, and eclectic beats, the album broke new ground and set a standard for creativity in the genre. Recognizing its cultural significance, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

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