Though rappers announcing their retirement can occasionally feel like The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the ever-looming possibility of our favorite emcees hanging up the mic is a reality we must all contend with. For Conway The Machine, who has been one of the game’s best lyricists of the past few years now, it would appear a timeline has already been set, albeit a loose one. 

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Taking to Twitter to break the news, Conway revealed that he had three more albums in him before calling it quits. “After FKTG, GDMM and EIF4, Conway out,” he writes, much to the dismay of the game at large. In case you’re wondering, Conway is referring to From A King To A God, his Shady Records , and Everybody Is F.O.O.D 4. It should be noted that The Machine also has an upcoming project with Westside Gunn called Hall & Nash 2, though he neglected to elaborate on how that fits into the gameplan.

The news rings especially disheartening in the wake of Westside Gunn’s own looming retirement in 2021, which means that the Griselda collective as we know it will be far less active in the years to come. At the very least, Conway won’t be leaving us empty-handed — look for more news on his upcoming solo projects as it surfaces. Do you feel like The Machine is sincere in his desire to retire? After all, this is hip-hop, where retirement talk is more often than not concluded with a resounding SIKE.