Veteran rap producer the Alchemist has been making truly incredible rap music for a very long time, and every time he hunkers down with a single rapper for a collaborative project, it demands your attention. Earlier this year, Alchemist and introspective Detroit hardnose Boldy James came out with The Price Of Tea In China, one of the best rap albums of 2020 thus far. And today, Alchemist and Buffalo rap destroyer Conway The Machine have come out with LULU, a collaborative EP that counts as another cause for celebration.

Conway is the older brother of Westside Gunn and a key part of Griselda Records, the Buffalo rap crew currently resurrecting the sound of brick-to-the-face 90s East Coast street-rap. Conway and Alchemist have worked together for years, but they’ve never come out with a full collaborative project before today. (At 23 minutes, LULU is technically an EP, but it’s long enough to fit the amorphous project designation.)

We’ve already posted the Schoolboy Q collaboration “Shoot Sideways.” The only other guest on the record is the great New York veteran Cormega, truly impressive on “They Got Sunny.” Mostly, LULU is a chance to hear Conway get relatively low-key and menacing, finding a different tone than the triumphal toughness that he usually brings. On LULU, Conway remains in comfort zone, subject-wise. Drugs are sold. Rivals are killed. But he finds new flows and approaches, especially on the exceptional track “Calvin.” Stream the EP below.

LULU is out now on ALC/EMPIRE.