When you hear Buffalo, NY as a big hip-hop city, before 2016, one would not have guessed. However, thanks to the likes of the Griselda crew, as well as the likes of Che Noir, Buffalo is now considered a new ground within the circles of hip-hop. Among them leading the charge of Buffalo's emergence on the scene is Jeremie Pinnick, also known as Benny The Butcher. The emcee formerly known as BENNY (an acronym for Best Ever N New York), the Montana Ave native had an underground, yet fairly local, buzz way before his venture into the Griselda camp. he was dropping mixtapes to get himself out there as most emerging emcees do. Grinding since 2004, Benny has been delivering project after project after project, sometimes multiple times in months. Once 2016 hit, he officially got linked up to Griselda Records. It also just so happens that Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine are his cousins so the family ties are certainly there. Fueled off the unfortunate and tragic murder of his older brother, Marchello (also known as Machine Gunn Black), Benny became a workaholic along with the streets consistently calling him. Once his Griselda debut, My First Brick, took off, it was no stopping him, and he was constantly featured on both cousins' efforts such as Gunn's Flygod and Conway's Reject 2. Benny's delivery is focused, sharp, and definitely uncomplicated. Providing autobiographical rhymes and stories based around the streets and the penitentiary, the realness and sincerity in his narratives made him get seen as the star of Griselda (Gunn was seen as the style and Conway was seen as the attitude). Benny has been linked to working with the likes of heavyweights such as DJ Premier, Alchemist, Bun B, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, The Lox, Lil' Wayne, and 2 Chainz, thus establishing his respect and essential demand for his bars, which range from vivid to gangsta to chilling. Let's not forget about his Black Soprano Family crew, or B$F, which has consisted of emcees including Rick Hyde, Heem, Elcamino, Fuego Ba$e, and Klass Murda. The crew has dropped multiple mixtapes and full-length projects, as well as his efforts with another Buffalo emcee, 38 Spesh, to critical acclaim. From tragedy to triumph, Benny The Butcher is indeed an emcee that you can count on to give you unapologetic, no frills bars that make you believe in everything he's saying and spitting. With all that being said, here's a look at the overall tremendous discography of this Buffalo native, from the not-so-great to the instant classic, we've seen Benny steadily get better and better with every effort, and here are his efforts from worst to first. Let's go!
16. One On a One
Production: Murda Beatz, DJ Shay, Rick Hyde
Guests: G Herbo, Klass Murda, Rick Hyde, others
We first will start with arguably his most mediocre effort, One on a One. This trap-heavy sounding effort sounds like Benny trying to find his voice and where he fit in within the highly overcrowded game of hip-hop, much less trying to put on for Buffalo. Benny brings a good amount of heat on cuts like the title track, La Familia", and the Luchiano-featured "Dope on My Plate". At this time in 2016, he was still bringing cinematic, yet autobiographical, lyricism on cuts such as "Wit It", "Money, Power, Respect", and the Rick Hyde-assisted, "Right Out the Bag", but coupled up with bland and generic-styled trap production for the most part, stifles this album from being among his best. We hear hunger and a focus from him, especially on the crew cut with Ladieslovekoolhezz (that's a name for you), Klass Murda, and Beezy Montana, "Beat Go Off" and on the G Herbo-assisted closer "Shooters", but as a whole, One On a One can be racked up to B.E.N.N.Y. still searching for Benny The Butcher. The production tends to weigh this, otherwise decent, album down, but obviously once he got around the Griselda boys, we saw what was to come.
15. Married To The Game: The Album
Production: DJ Shay, Daringer, 38 Spesh, Jay Foye
Guests: Conway The Machine, Armani Ceaser, 38 Spesh
In 2011, Benny was really just an up-and-comer from the hoods of Buffalo (Montana Ave to be exact), however his insight to the hood and his own personal recollections of how the hustling game had its good and its terrible qualities alike, made him a unique and special case more than the average local rapper. His 2011 effort, Married to The Game: The Album, was a case of him trying to find himself as an emcee trying to reach bigger levels beyond Montana Ave, and the results were good at best. The majority of the album was put together by local hometown favorites, DJ Shay and Jay Foye, which can be hit-or-miss, especially on cuts like "Bout Money", "Hall of Fame", and "All Day, Everyday". He collabs with future Griselda-mates Conway and Armani Caesar on "How Does It Feel" and "Damn Thang" respectively, in which he was about going the trendy route of trap and melody, which would not prove to be his strongest asset. This was no more prevalent than on the cut, "Thinking of You", which, as sentimental as it is, still misses the mark on what it could be with better production and sharper focus. While the entire album isn't bad, as the Daringer-crafted, "Real Niggaz", and "Shotgun" were examples of this with dumb dope production and his knack for vivid tales of street hustling and gun smoke, Married To The Game: The Album was Benny in discovery mode, trying to figure out what his sound should be, instead of being true to what he felt musically. Years later, we would see what staying true to himself would result in dynamite albums and a star potential that would eventually see itself through.
14. 17 Bullets EP
Production: al.davino, Bobby Made Da Beat, others
Guests: Skyzoo
As Benny was still finding himself among the Griselda camp at this time, he was still getting his own grind on with his B$F camp, and in 2016, he dropped the EP, 17 Bullets, which showcased a hungry and vivid lyricist that pulled the entire curtain back on how Buffalo got down and the streets of his native city over overall dope, albeit predictable, production. The opening cut is the title track and can be used to truly summarize the effort as a whole. Gun fire, hustling, women, and status is how Benny is living on this track and basically every other one on this project. The follow-up cut, "Cold November", is a track that has him unrepentantly expressing how his life has been all about hustling and gives advice to those trying to make the streets their way of living. He spits for the working hustler. The nine-to-five blue collar cat that's just trying ends meet but tired of what all that entails. Whether he's displaying his kingpin, boss status on cuts like "Pow Pow" and the Skyzoo-assisted, "The Hunter", or detailing the price of the hood life and why it shouldn't be glorified on the cuts "Murder For Glory" and "1996", Benny comes off as a wise elder statesman of the ghetto on 17 Bullets. He lets it be known that, although the streets made him the man he is today, there was a price to pay, and it wasn't all glamour and glitz. While the best was definitely yet to come for Benny in terms of quality material, the shear rawness of this effort was stripped back and fully transparent for the listener to take a walk in his Jordans, and the walk sometimes were stained with blood.
13. Summertime Butch
Production: Harry Fraud, STREETRUNNER, Elijah Hooks, others
Guests: Rick Hyde, Fuego Base, Elcamino, Ed Lover, others
Months after delivering the dumb dope effort, Everybody Can't Go, Benny released a summer EP for the block entitled, Summertime Butch. Clearly looking to remind the streets who The Butcher is, he brings his arsonal of coke bars, kingpin-type imagery, and enough street narratives to put a smile on Kool G. Rap's face. The album starts off with a dusty, boom-bap hard one with "1 Verse Butch", and the follow-up cut, "The Most" follows the same type of path. This is an effort in which he balances the ice-cold, ominous boom-bap with snapping snares and trap production. In the cuts of the aforementioned and others such as "The Warehouse 3" and "Summer '24", the screw-face aesthetic is apparent with samples, thick percussion and brooding instrumentation, Benny sounds the most comfortable and the most fitting, however, with trap-styled production on cuts like the Harry Fraud-crafted, "Kitchen Table", "Knightfall", and the STREETRUNNER-produced, "The Blue Building", Benny sounds like he's having fun (considering his drug and gun tales) and is ten toes in with the bars. This effort will please fans of both production styles and Benny effortlessly handles his business over both areas of sounds. While not exactly the fireball Everybody Can't Go was, Summertime Butch delivered an effort that reminded us that he's still Montana Ave through and through, and don't you ever forget it.
12. A Friend Of Ours EP
Production: DJ Shay, Rick Hyde, others
Guests: Skyzoo, Duffel Bag Hottie, Dark Lo, 38 Spesh, Elcamino
In 2018, months before he dropped the seminal street classic, Tana Talk 3, Benny dropped a mixtape for the same streets entitled, A Friend Of Ours, which was an homage to the acclaimed HBO series, The Sopranos and the Italian mafia aesthetic that was popular in the mid-nineties and was made known by the likes of Nas and Raekwon. This ten-track platter is as rugged as anything Benny would put during this time period, as the aforementioned TT3, Butcher On Steroids, his collab with 38 Spesh, Stabbed & Shot, and of course The Plugs I Met and his smoking collab with Smoke DZA and legendary producer, Pete Rock, Statue Of Limitations would drop that next year. Griselda/B$F-affiliate, Elcamino, is on half the effort supplying his style of singing hooks on the likes of "India" and "Long Way", while he and Spesh set of the effort with arguably the best cut with the ominous, street-drenched, "Mob Ties", which could've easily fit in with their Stabbed & Shot series. With an overall mafioso type-theme and appeal, other cuts like the Dark Lo-featured, "'03 Draft" and the Duffel Bag Hottie/Elcamino-assisted, "Made In America" are not far behind on the imagery of guns, drugs, power, and respect. One might ask themselves, "What's the difference between this and every other Benny album?" The answer isn't a simple, as there's not much difference at all, if anything a minimal one. With A Friend Of Ours, the theme of a Black Italian mafia is strong here and almost brings up visions of older albums such as The Firm Vol. 1, only more cohesive and put together. Benny's always been known for his autobiographical, if not authentic, lyrics to where it's almost like he could write an entire manual of the streets and the drug game and it would be a NY Times Bestseller. This album is certainly no different. With overall dope production and vivid bars, Benny gave us a small taste of what was to come about five months later with TT3, and what an appetizer this was.
11. My First Brick
Production: Daringer, Rick Hyde, Chase, others
Guests: Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, Rick Hyde, 38 Spesh, others
One of the first projects Benny delivered under the Griselda umbrella was his mixtape in 2016, My First Brick. Seen as more of an autobiography from the mind of a born hustler than the initial coke dealer's handbook before Tana Tank 3 was even conceived, Benny brings forth an unrepentant approach to his own personal testimonies of the necessary evils of hustling and the streets. This was evidenced from the opening track, "My Struggle", which features songstress, Bentlee, in which he basically summarizes his addiction to the streets and how he prays for better days to where the streets won't keep calling his name. On "Bible on the Coffee Table", Benny goes into storytelling mode as he points out a day in which he suffers the consequences of a deal that went left in a scene that resembled when Master P and his honchos went to a pad to find some stash in the hood classic, I'm 'Bout It. He likewise spits especially raw bars about hustling, guns, the ills of the streets, and the court system on the likes of the Daringer-cooked, ".762", the snapping "Just Like Rome", and the vivid, "Me & Doug", in which he illustrates the highs and lows of the game such as Benzes, prison, and guns. While similar cuts such as the Conway-assisted cuts of "Dirty Needles", "3 Missiles" (also featuring Spesh) and "Tom Ford Socks" (which also featured Westside on the hook) all show his non-fucks-giving tales of the streets and his the scars to show them, it's the closer, "Prayer Hands", that actually has Benny showing how grateful he is to God that he's not buried and we actually hear bits of regret and lessons over a vocal wailing loop with a knocking drum beat. Many have stated My First Bricks was our first true introduction to Benny, as he was fearless, unapologetic, and focus on his delivery and bars about the hood and the drug game. It doesn't get much rawer than My First Brick, regardless of affiliation or labels, but Benny showed in this effort that he wasn't playing with a single soul in this crime rap shit.
10. Excelsior EP
Production: Daringer, Harry Fraud, others
Guests: Boldy James, Styles P, Sule, Fuego Base, others
It had been relatively quiet 2025 for The Butcher. The last time we heard any work from Butch was in 2024, when he and longtime collaborator, 38 Spesh, dropped the dumb dope effort, Stabbed & Shot 2, just after delivering the EPs of Summertime Butch and the three-track effort, Buffalo Butch. He finally makes some noise in 2025 with his first effort of the year, Excelsior. Benny doesn't reinvent the wheel here, but when you're as potent and ridiculous as he is, you don't necessarily have to. The effort opens up after the intro with the ominous boom-bap sounds of "I'm The Program", and Harry Fraud jumps on the production boards for the slickly sampled, "Sign Language". As Benny has been known to do, he dips his feet into the occasional trap rap, but on "$ & Power", it's actually Daringer that provides the trap 808s, only with a dark, eerie vibe to it as only Daringer can bring. He and fellow Griselda affiliate, Boldy James, put it down on the neck-bumping "Duffle Bag Hottie's Revenge", as Benny shouts out his longtime homie and B$F affiliate, while Styles P shows up on the snapping, "Toxic", and B$F-mates, Fuego Ba$e and Sule contribute to the dope "B$F". With Excelsior, this sounds like an album Benny wanted to do just to remind the game he hasn't gone anywhere and that there was more to come from him, as Summertime Butch 2 dropped not long afterwards. Truly one of hip-hop's most essential spitters, Benny on an average day still runs circles around many of your favorite so-called gangsta rappers. This effort was just another example.
9. Pyrex Picasso
Production: Chop-La-Rock, Rare Scrilla
Guests: Conway The Machine, Elcamino, Rick Hyde
At the time of 2021, Benny and Conway were the hardest project by project workers in the Griselda camp, producing projects practically every other month or at least once a quarter. In the case of his seven-track album, Pyrex Picasso, Benny put this project together in just a single day (although Westside has been known to do this with a few projects and they turned out fantastic). This effort followed the overall tough effort, The Plugs I Met 2, just five months earlier. Did this serve as a dope follow-up? Overall, definitely. Hoping to exude a nostalgic type feel within this project, the album starts off with the rock guitar-laced, "PWRDRL", he and longtime Griselda/B$F-affiliate, Elcamino, serve as illustrators of crime and drugs with a kingpin flair to it. While "Flood The Block" has a bump to it and has him once again spitting about the drug game and his stance as a full-fledged hustler. The haunting chords of "The Iron Curtains" and the Elcamino/Rick Hyde-collaborated, "'73" are murky enough to match the hustler jefe vibes throughout the cuts, and of course, Conway got to get his coke bars in on the other cuts of the title track and the soulful, "Fly With Me". With Tana Talk 4 on the horizon at the time, this was a very decent appetizer for the album, as Pyrex Picasso was a seven-track reminder of what Butcher can do when he's zeroed in.
8. Summertime Butch 2
Production: Daringer, Bink!, Nickel Plated, Mike WILL Made It, Cory Mo, others
Guests: Westside Gunn, Bun B, Bruiser Wolf, Elcamino, OT The Real, Duckman, G Herbo
The summer is typically when Benny gets in the booth and delivers his most heat (pun included). The first installment of Summertime Butch was good but could've been better, as we know he's capable of bringing flames. This second installment, Summertime Butch 2, is a step up from the first one by displaying more consistent hunger and better overall production to suit the style Benny is more accustomed to. The Gunn-assisted, "Jasmine's", is a Daringer heater that already has Benny dipping in his Tana Talk/Plugs I Met bag lyrically and thematically. This is followed by the equally dumb dope "Hood On Fire" featuring the always lyrically great, yet stylistically entertaining, Bruiser Wolf, in which both emcees make their hoods of Buffalo and Detroit proud. Other murky and dark-sounding cuts include the OT The Real-assisted, "Gold Plated Leica" and the snapping, "Lo Lo's" take you back to his TT3 or TT4 days with his vivid lyricism and impactful imagery. Benny, of course, isn't above a good trap or bounce beat or two. He gets busy over a couple of these, especially the dope Mike WILL Made It-produced declarative statement, "I Told You So" and the Bun B-collaborated, "In The Wall" has Benny and Uncle Bun showing they still got stripes in the drug game. While the first Summertime Butch was mediocre to average at best as a whole, Summertime Butch 2 is a step in the better direction. It may not be nearly in the consistency of TT3, TT4, or Burden Of Proof, but we get glimpses of these projects within this album, and he's certainly responsible as to why this summer was especially hotter than normal across the States.
7. The Plugs I Met 2 EP
Production: Harry Fraud
Guests: Fat Joe, French Montana, 2 Chainz, Chinx, Jim Jones, Rick Hyde
After the critical praise of the first Plugs I Met, Benny decided to link up with acclaimed producer, Harry Fraud, to deliver the sequel of TPIM, in The Plugs I Met 2. Although this is another EP, every track means something and doesn't waste a single minute. One great example is "When Tony Met Sosa", in which Fraud's signature vintage, yet sample heavy, sound complete with horns and strings sound perfect with Benny's narratives of coke deals and non-stop hustling in tremendous detail. Similarly, on the cut "No Instructions", Benny is going hard over perhaps the only full-fledged boom-bap style production. With his mafioso-styled imagery on albums like Butcher On Steroids, the album cover featuring Montana and Sosa shaking hands fits the feel and vision of this project very effectively. Fraud's 808-meets-NYC production is especially celebrated on cuts like the French Montana/Jim Jones-assisted, "Longevity", and the haunting, piano-driven, Rick Hyde-assisted, "Survivor's Remorse", in which he addresses street rules while expressing his gratitude of not having consequences to his actions be worse than they were. Wonderfully sampling Bobby Caldwell, Fraud brings Benny a hot horn piece with a menacing edge with it on "Overall", which features a hook by the late Chinx, while Butcher links with Joey Crack, himself, Fat Joe, on the snapping, woodwind instrumentals of "Talk Back" for a quite dope collaboration that should mentioned more. Fraud has Benny and guest 2 Chainz going off on the southern bounce of "Plug Talk" that contains some of the smoothest samplings over 808s you'll hear, but "Live By It" has Benny and pen game going sick with it over thick percussion and slick sampling. Benny doesn't reinvent the wheel with The Plugs I Met 2, but he doesn't need to. In fact, throughout the EP, he not only illustrates the successes of the hustling game, but also the dark side and repercussions of the game just as much. While not the gritty and grime-soaked nature of the first installment of the series, Harry Fraud did provide Benny with more production that has that classic, Miami Vice-styled musical imagery and it enhances Benny's fantastic bars of the streets that would make Kool G, Prodigy, Biggie, and Hov stand in applause. Here's to hoping for more from these two together.
6. Butcher On Steroids
Production: Daringer, Camouflage Monk, Green Lantern, EZ Elpee, others
Guests: Conway The Machine, Elcamino
As Westside was starting to bubble within the underground through his album, Flygod, and Conway becoming a big buzz thanks to Reject 2, it was time for Benny to become the next to blow. While he had dropped previous albums before his Griselda venture, he needed to officially make his name count as much as his cousins. His first real attempt was in the form of the Green Lantern-collaborated mixtape, Butcher On Steroids. After his rather impressive guest spots on projects from his Griselda brethren, as well as Griselda affiliate, Elcamino, it was Benny's time to let them hammers go on us, and based off the lead single, the Daringer-crafted, "Change", this was going to be a mean one, and a mean one it definitely was. The opening cut, "Rivi" is another Daringer gritty snapper with him comparing himself to the real-life Griselda Blanco hitman. From designer clothes to bad chicks to stacks of bricks, Benny emphasizes his rule of the Buffalo streets. He dabbles with power, prestige, and calling out fake thugs on the "Many Men" sampled, "The Whole Thing", while getting autobiographical on the criminally dope sounding, Camouflage Monk-produced, "Benny vs. Carlito" and brings forth ominous, yet informative, bars about bricks and yay but being fearful of his daughter being the wife of a street dude like himself. On the cut, "Satriale's", the trio of Benny, Elcamino, and Conway spit criminal bars over mean strings and a haunting instrumental courtesy once again of Daringer and it's here where Conway shows where a big part of his hunger he has today came from with his verse, Green Lantern provides the album's darkest beat with the crazy "Camillia's". Benny also goes for his over previously used production such as CNN's "Blood Money" and Mary J. Blige's, "I Love You (remix)". The closer, "Don't Make Me", is filled with lines of hood narratives so vivid you would swear you were in his skin and shoes with its authenticity. If there was a proper introduction to Benny, Butcher On Steroids was definitely it. Following the "steroids" theme that Conway was going for with Reject On Steroids and More Steroids, Benny emerged as one of the crew's most elite and cinematic emcees. While future albums like Tana Talk 3, Tana Talk 4, and The Plugs I Met would truly define the talent of Benny, Butcher On Steroids had him stepping out of the slim shadows of Westside and Conway to deliver one of the label's most vicious projects.
5. Burden Of Proof
Production: Hit-Boy
Guests: Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, Freddie Gibbs, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Hit-Boy, Queen Majla
With the much-earned critical acclaim of Tana Talk 3 and The Plugs I Met, Benny was poised to truly become the breakout star of the Griselda camp. At the same time, Cali's Hit-Boy was seeing success he had never quite seen before due to his work with Nas on the King's Disease and Magic series, as well as other acclaimed and notable production features. He had become one of hip-hop's official go-to producers for smashes. These two artists of their craft (remember not to totally sleep on Hit-Boy's pen game as well) came together for their first ever collab album, Burden Of Proof right in the midst of the pandemic. The majority of the album sounded like it could've doubled for one of the Hit-Boy/Nas efforts of King's Disease and Magic. While cuts like "Legend", "Famous", and the Lil' Wayne/Big Sean-collaborated, "Timeless" were custom made for lots of air spins due to the very accessible production, other cuts sounded like a shinier Griselda joint. There's no better example than the joint, "War Paint" with his other Griselda brothers, Westside and Conway. Over a haunting wail loop and an overall eerie aura with snapping percussion, the three headed Griselda monster once again show why, when they're together, they're damn near undefeated (Conway especially showed out). Benny also shines on the track, "One Way Flight" with collaborator-turned rival, Freddie Gibbs, over a vocal looped boom-bap beat that works exceedingly well. Other cuts such as the Rick Ross-assisted, "Where Would I Go", "Sly Green", "Trade It All", and the title track are all very strong examples of the tremendous chemistry Hit-Boy and Benny possess. The most surprising cut on the album is the beyond dope, "Thank God I Made It", which features the sweet vocals of Queen Naija. Over some infectious percussion and a children choir loop, Benny gets as personal as we've ever heard him. From exploring topics such as giving props to his single mother, his late brother Machine Gunn Black, and overcoming the struggles of surviving the streets, Benny gets as real and as heartfelt as anything Benny or anyone from the Griselda family has ever dropped (think Conway's emotional and stunning verse on the now-classic cut with Gunn, "The Cow"). In an interview with Hit-Boy, he even stated that Benny got emotional while recording the song. It got THAT real. With Burden Of Proof, this is frankly a star making album. With the Grammy Award-winning beatsmith crafting appropriate production for The Butcher, we get some of the most authentic rhymes of Benny's career that don't just revolve around the streets, drugs, and guns. He also talks about how much he's come up and how much he still is hungry to make it even further in his career and his life. While many of his hardcore, diehard fans that were used to raw, gutter, and dusty production, and drugs and kingpin topics came off confused and bewildered with this highly polished and incredibly mixed album (shouts to Young Guru). However, in the grand scheme of things, as he branched out beyond the scope of Montana Ave, we got exactly what we figured from him: a star in the making, and this was most certainly proof of this.
4. Everybody Can't Go
Production: Hit-Boy, The Alchemist
Guests: Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, Stove God Cook$, Jadakiss, Lil Wayne, Rick Hyde, Armani Caeser, Jadakiss, Babyface Ray, Snoop Dogg
After numerous projects within the Griselda camp and his own Black Soprano Family imprint, Butcher finally got a Def Jam deal through Snoop Dogg and welcomed the Griselda/B$F member into the legendary house that Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons built. For the street heads, the concern was obvious. The concern was that he would have his sound and material watered down for the radio and more commercial acceptance similar to Burden of Proof. However, the trepidation, heads were looking forward, one way or another, to his B$F/Griselda/Def Jam debut, Everybody Can't Go. Once the word got out that the album would be exclusively done by Hit-Boy and Uncle Al, some of the burdened lightened (mostly because of Alchemist's involvement). Based on the first released single with Lil' Wayne, "Big Dog", this Alchemist-crafted bouncy track had some skeptics getting concerned, as it sounded a little too commercial for hardcore street heads, especially the less than stellar hook: "Guess that's what it means to be a big dog." While the actual track was a sizzler, and Wayne put his foot in his verse, the cut overall was still below Benny standards. However, when it came to the second single, the Stove God Cook$-assisted, "One Foot In", this Hit-Boy-produced cut was more what we would expect from Benny if there was a radio version of a Benny cut, much like "Legend" from BOP. Hit-Boy's west coast boom-bap fits in excellently making it almost sound like this was done by an east coast centered producer, and quite frankly Stove ripped this up. Does the rest of Everybody Can't Go measure up? As a whole, certainly. From the offset, the opening cut, "Jermaine's Graduation", we can tell Benny is going for next level shit here for his Def Jam debut. Over a dumb sweet Alchemist concoction, Benny details his ascent from street king to being a big deal within the hip-hop game. From there, he goes for the radio of sorts with the Hit-Boy thumper, "Bron", and the equally radio-accessible, yet still overall dope, title track, as well as the west coast snapped collab with Snoop, "Back Again". Over bumping Hit-Boy production, much like with BOP, Benny sounds good and sounds damn near comfortable over west coast boom-bap of sorts from one of the game's most acclaimed producers. However, it's when he and Alan get together that brings us back to "Pyrex Butcher", especially on the menacing three-part story, "TMNTL", which stands for "Trust More Valuable Than Love". Much like underrated or forgotten about gems such as Kool G. Rap's "A Thug's Love Story" or Murs' "Walk Like A Man", the cut is divided into three different stories, yet all are equally compelling, and each beat by Al is dark and fitting of each story, which all exemplify subjects of loyalty and sacrifice. Al provides a little more bounce with the venomous, yet essential, Griselda posse cut with Conway, Gunn, and B$F long-timer, Rick Hyde, "Griselda Express", as well as the dumb dope collab with Armani, "Buffalo Kitchen Club", in which we get trap-style Butcher and Armani getting busy over another haunting bounce track. Able to effectively bring the streets of Montana Ave with the radio accessibility for Hot 97 to bump repetitiously, Everybody Can't Go became Benny's official introduction to the mainstream and to a bigger audience. While in many cases we've seen, that can be problematic, but with Benny, that's doesn't appear to be a problem. He still brings raw raps and gritty storytelling but also knows how to do it over more accessible production. With other cuts like "How to Rap" and the surprising collab with Jadakiss and Babyface Ray, "Pillow Talk & Slander", Everybody Can't Go shows Benny's ability to still be himself and authentic, while bringing more of the world onto the streets of Montana Ave, and does it very damn well.
3. The Plugs I Met EP
Production: Daringer, The Alchemist, DJ Shay
Guests: Black Thought, RJ PAYNE, 38 Spesh, Pusha T, India, Conway The Machine
Fresh off delivering the raw as FUCK, Tana Tana 3, Benny slides on with a follow-up EP the very next year in 2019 with The Plugs I Met. Named after a line he spit on Tana Talk 3 ("I could make a whole album off the plugs I met"), it picks up where TT3 left off, almost quite literally. Handled by Daringer and Alchemist, just like on TT3, he delivers cocaine bars and non-funny threats over fantastic boardwork by the two great white hypes. With six track deep (seven if you include the intro), there's no room for filler or throwaways. Every track has to impact. Although he's had that problem in the past (see earlier), he doesn't have that problem at all here. From the first track, the Black Thought-scorched "Crown For Kings", the Al Green-sampled cut had him courageously sparring with one of the game's all-time spitters, and he doesn't do a bad job. Meanwhile, on the haunting boom-bap of the Spesh and Jadakiss-assisted, "Sunday School", Benny's tough guy talk serves its entire weight with Spesh and a legend like Kiss, and he especially goes in on the creepy sounds of "Dirty Harry", in which former TRUST affiliate, RJ Payne, and Conway all venomize this already classic Griselda atmospheric sound. He gets into even more gritty mode with the piano-laced, Alchemist-crafted, "Took The Money To The Plug's House", in which he addresses how his street hustle coincided with his rap hustle in terms of his mindstate. With the organ-sampled and looped Pusha T-collaborated, "18 Wheeler", it's a battle of who's the better coke emcee in what could be quite the impressive tag team if they were to do a collab effort together. He closes with the bouncy Alchemist-cooked, "5 To 50", in which Benny brings a trap flow to this cut over a bleak bouncer in which he mentions his success, but doesn't sugarcoat what the game still does to him while buying his mom a house. Most of this effort could very easily slide on Tana Talk 3, especially "Dirty Harry" and "Sunday School", but if you were expecting a miniature version of TT3, he delivered on it. Arguably the best EP he's ever put forth, The Plugs I Met is drenched in blood, gunpowder, and plenty of bricks of snow. There's a genuine autobiographical feel from Benny when he dives into the streets and hustling, and you can't get away from it. Some may call it glamourizing, but on efforts like this, he also fills you in on the price to pay for the street glory. Simply put, the Butcher cooked again.
2. Tana Talk 4
Production: Daringer, The Alchemist
Guests: 38 Spesh, J. Cole, Stove God Cook$, Boldy James, Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn
As Benny's rise to stardom within the Griselda crew was building since the fantastic acclaim of Tana Talk 3, Benny had dropped very good efforts in the forms of aforementioned albums like The Plugs I Met, Burden Of Proof, and The Plugs I Met 2. However, the streets wanted that Benny they were familiar with from the Tana Talk series, and the hunger that was viciously exhibited on TT3. Not that he wasn't handling his business on the aforementioned albums of TPIM2 and BOP, but there was a ruggedness that Benny had been accused of lacking with these projects. He returned tour de force with the fourth installment of the Tana Talk series, Tana Talk 4. We got a taste of this 2017 Benny once again with the first single, "Johnny P's Caddy", featuring a surprising collab with rap phenomenon, J. Cole, in which Cole supplies his best verse in years at this point. Just like with TT3 and TPIM, the main production duties belong to Daringer and The Alchemist, and they delivered in firm fashion. Unlike TT3, Uncle Al supplied just over half of the album's production, and Benny showed his entire ass over all of them. Al delivered the production for "Johnny P's Caddy", but this was far from his best work here behind the boards. Al supplies Benny with a bouncy, yet sinister-sounding horn, beat on "Thowy's Revenge", in which Benny dabbles into trap style, while providing him with a more haunting beat courtesy of a three-note piano sample on "Super Plug", and gifts Benny with an almost equally as cold, yet more knocking, sound with "Bust A Brick Nick". However, do not in any way, shape, or form sleep on Daringer's production contributions, as he damn near keeps up with Uncle Al's menacing and dark soundscapes. A great example would be Butcher's collab with Spesh on "Uncle Bun", in which ominous, yet understated, organ helps with this horror movie-sounding cut that once again shows how potent of a tag team Spesh and Benny are. He also provides a melodic, yet spooky, sound for the collab with close cousin, Conway, on the mean-mugging, "Tyson vs. Ali", and brings forth a thick percussion on the bass-heavy collab with Stove God Cook$ (who once again just DELIVERS), "Back 2x". Thematically, it's more of the same, and just as heartless, straightforward, and no nonsense as his previous efforts, especially TT3 and TPIM. Definitely the cut that will cause the most replay value is "10 More Crack Commandments", which is a tribute to Biggie's CRAZY classic cut from Life After Death, the Preemo-powered "10 Crack Commandments". Daringer provided a stripped back boom-bap knocker with Diddy doing ad-libs all throughout the cut. Benny goes backwards from twenty to eleven instead of vice versa, and these codes are every bit as vivid and cautionary as Biggie's wisdom notes. Once he hits eleven, he tells folks to get out the game but warns rappers to live what they talk about on these records. With other cuts such as the bonkers "Billy Joe", the Boldy James-assisted, "Weekend In The Perry's", and the Gunn-featured, "Guerrero", Benny is focused and relentless with his subject matter and delivery over more of the same blackout production. Did he reinvoke the hunger and passion of TT3 and TPIM? Damn right he did with Tana Talk 4. If TT3 was his own Reasonable Doubt, then it could be said that TT4 could be his American Gangster of sorts. The stories of drug dealing, hustling, riches, and street king easily rival one of Hov's better albums within his discography, only grittier. It's become plain to see that if you want gritty, grimy, and raw benny, all he has to do is visit Montana Ave. in Buffalo, and he gets reminded of where he came from, and the spirit of that dude shows itself in full authentic form.
1. Tana Talk 3
Production: Daringer, The Alchemist
Guests: Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, Royce Da 5'9", Meyhem Lauren
Right around the time Conway was starting to make more noise and Gunn was definitely creating an underground rumble; more and more people were wondering about Benny's time to officially shine. While he had been featured on numerous Conway and Gunn projects, as well as the Butcher On Steroids mixtape, the streets were anxious for his official album that would take him from very dope third wheel seemingly to a legit burgeoning star. Enter Tana Talk 3. This is the third installment of his Tana Talk mixtape series that was introduced all the way back in 2004. Seen as his official debut full-length album under Griselda, the stakes were high as his guest spots were mostly show stealers and his Butcher On Steroids effort was acclaimed. Not only did he meet these expectations, but he also highly surpassed them. Just like his aforementioned efforts of Tana Talk 4 and The Plugs I Met, this album was comprised beat wise only by Daringer and The Alchemist, and they provided him a soundtrack that was as raw, visceral, gutter, and dark as anything you'd hear in today's climate of hip-hop from NY. With the lead singles of "'97 Hov" and "Broken Bottles", it was clear Benny wasn't playing one single game on this album. The usual topics of drugs, hustling, gunplay, and kingpin rap was in full abundance, but more vivid than it had been before, and truthfully it hasn't been quite this vivid since, and from him that's saying something. From the moment we get the "Babs" intro with Keisha Plum, we know we're in for something special from the camp. Then we get right into "Goodnight", a menacing cut Daringer shines through on this cut with benny providing basketball references to supplement his tales of his street king status. The very next track is the sonically outstanding, "Scarface vs. Sosa Pt. 2", which has Daringer providing a hard, neck-snapping percussion with melancholy woodwind instruments to make the aura that much more serious. Benny gives off multiple narratives of the streets and stuff he's seen and been a part of but concludes multiple times that "Everything relates back to drug dealing." As for Uncle Al's role in the album, it's easily as menacing, but profoundly bumping, as Daringer's, as evidenced by the aforementioned "Broken Bottles", "Rubber Bands & Weight", and the crazy "Fifty-One" with Gunn, as Benny reminisces about his days before and during this rap game comprising of robberies, stick ups, and shootouts. The candid and vivid nature of this album puts you right in the trenches with him with the majority of this album. The atmosphere is one of a true cartel film like Goodfellas or A Bronx Tale, but mixes in the depth of the likes of New Jack City or Scarface. Cuts like the bold "Rick" (a tongue-in-cheek homage to the late, great Rick James), "Langfield", and the Conway-assisted closer, "All 70" are as sharp as a box full of razors with their imagery and details, but it's the cut "Joe Pesci 38" that has Benny going the deepest, in which he tackles subjects such as the killing of Eric Garner to how Blacks are generally treated in the streets, and the struggles of trying to get out the game but how much the game keep calling you back. There have been many critics and fans alike that have compared this album to Jay-Z's magnum opus, Reasonable Doubt, and for good reason. The grittiness of the blocks and the dangers of the street corners are told with such raw and unapologetic straightforwardness to where none of what you hear seems or feels like it's just a script. It just so happens that Benny's multisyllabic rhyme structure and his very focused pen game happen to make the costs of the hustling business sound cold, yet real, at the same time similar to the likes of a Jay, Prodigy, or Biggie. It's clear with Tana Talk 3, a star was born. The breakout he needed happened in terms of him being officially a future headliner for the crew. Many have also argued that this is the best release to ever get released from the camp. As time has passed, it's an argument that's hard to dispute. The authenticity of this album not only puts this head and shoulders above his entire discography, but possibly in a class where only the likes of The Infamous, Ready To Die, and 36 Chambers dwell. The Butcher was no longer coming, he arrived.
Other collaborative Benny projects highly worth peeping:
Benny The Butcher, Smoke DZA, & Pete Rock- Statues of Limitations EP
Griselda- WWCD
Benny The Butcher, Black $oprano Family & DJ Drama- The Respected $opranos
Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh- Stabbed & Shot
Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh- Stabbed & Shot 2
Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh- Cocaine Cowboys
Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh- Trust the Sopranos
Benny The Butcher & Cuns- Tommy Devito's Breakfast EP
Benny The Butcher & Black $oprano Family- Long Live DJ Shay
Benny The Butcher & DJ Drama- Buffalo Butch Vol. 1 EP
It's clear Jeremie Pennick has come a long way within this rap game. From being a Buffalo-up-and-comer with a bright future to one of the game's most essential emcees, The Butcher has amassed quite the following over the years, especially since his signing with Griselda. Once My First Brick hit, he officially became on people's radar, and from there, it's only been an ascent. Still considered among the most authentic and vivid emcees out here today, Benny is a giant and has emerged as Griselda's biggest star, as was predicted. With talk of other projects on the way such as Tana Talk 5, another Harry Fraud project, and other B$F projects, Benny isn't even close to slowing down. Not to mention another Griselda album in the form of WWCD2 will be just as anticipated. In the same realms as the likes of KGR, Prodigy, Biggie, Hov, Kiss, Lloyd Banks, and Beanie Sigel, Benny is as real as it gets with his crystal-clear depiction of the streets in such a non-glamourizing way that you believe every single word he says. It's only a matter of time before we see him actually be a legend that will still be talked about in decades to come. The Butcher is here! Until next time folks!
This is a playlist of several of Benny The Butcher's best cuts (no pun intended)
Scarface vs. Sosa Pt. 2 (production: Daringer)
TMVTL (production: The Alchemist)
Broken Bottles (production: The Alchemist)
Dirty Needles feat. Conway The Machine
Griselda Express feat. Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, Rick Hyde (production: The Alchemist)
Bust A Brick Nick (production: The Alchemist)
When Tony Met Sosa (production: Harry Fraud)
Satriale's feat. Conway The Machine, Elcamino (production: Daringer)
Uncle Bun feat. 38 Spesh (production: Daringer)
One Foot In feat. Stove God Cook$ (production: Hit-Boy)
Jasmine's feat. Westside Gunn (production: Daringer)
Pyrex Picasso feat. Conway The Machine, Rick Hyde
Sunday School feat. 38 Spesh, Jadakiss (production: Daringer)
B$F feat. Sule, Fuego Ba$e
5 To 50 feat. India (production: The Alchemist)
10 More Commandments feat. Diddy (production: Daringer)
Survivor's Remorse feat. Rick Hyde (production: Harry Fraud)
Johnny P's Caddy feat. J. Cole (production: The Alchemist)
762 (production: Daringer)
Camillia's (production: Green Lantern)
Tom Ford Socks feat. Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine
Dirty Harry feat. RJ Payne, Conway The Machine (production: Daringer)
Thowy's Revenge (production: The Alchemist)
War Paint feat. Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine (production: Hit-Boy)
The Warehouse 3 feat. Elcamino, Rick Hyde, Fuego Ba$e
Jermanie's Graduation (production: The Alchemist)
Crowns For Kings feat. Black Thought (production: DJ Shay)
Mob Ties feat. 38 Spesh
Fly With Me feat. Conway The Machine
Burden Of Proof (production: Hit-Boy)
Thank God I Made It feat. Queen Naija (production: Hit-Boy)
Took The Money to the Plug's House (production: The Alchemist)
The Blue Building feat. Amber Simone (production: STREETRUNNER)
Buffalo Kitchen Club feat. Armani Caesar (production: The Alchemist)
Legend (production: Hit-Boy)
I Told U So (production: Mike WILL Made It)
Duffel Bag Hottie's Revenge feat. Boldy James
'97 Hov (production: Daringer, The Alchemist)
Talkin' Back feat. Fat Joe (production: Harry Fraud)
Longevity feat. French Montana, Jim Jones (production: Harry Fraud)
3 Missiles feat. 38 Spesh, Conway The Machine (production: Daringer)
Toxic feat. Styles P
51 feat. Westside Gunn (production: The Alchemist)
Joe Pesci 38 (production: Daringer)
Rick (production: Daringer)
Deal Or No Deal (production: Daringer)
Lo Lo's (production: Bink!)
Money & Power feat. Skylar Blatt (production: Daringer)
Long Way (production: DJ Shay)
Benny vs. Carlito (production: Camouflage Monk)
