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Despite its visual and lyrical references to the main characters in Scarface, Benny The Butcher's latest project isn't a crime tragedy. On the contrary, The Plugs I Met 2 is distinctly focused on the Buffalo rapper's miraculous escape from a grisly past life of drug dealing and violence—a tale of resilience, not one of succumbing to the criminal underworld's deadly excesses. Although Benny is still best-known as one-third of the formidable Griselda group alongside Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn—a unit who've rejuvenated the gnarly chills of '90s street-rap for the modern age—this new joint feels like yet another successful attempt to distinguish himself as a soloist.
Most of the project was recorded in the same period as his 2020 Hit-Boy-produced effort Burden of Proof, which was a promising if not slightly awkward collection of compelling stories and frivolous features from A-listers like Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. The Plugs I Met 2, produced entirely by New York beatmaker Harry Fraud, is considerably darker and more defiant than those tracks, and the guest verses from vets like 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, French Montana, and Jim Jones feel way less forced, even magical. On "Plug Talk," an uncharacteristically maniacal 2 Chainz spits, "I only care about me, I tell you happy birthday on the wrong day," while the 50-year-old Fat Joe sounds pleasantly youthful on the woodwind-adorned "Talkin' Back."
It feels intentional that there aren't any verses from his Griselda pals on here, but without relying on played-out moves like that, Benny is able to put more emphasis on his emotionally moving street tales. In "Live By It," he mentions dressing up as a UPS worker when he robbed people, and in "When Tony Met Sosa" he alludes to his fortuitous fate launching a successful rap career while all of his heroes are "in federal sweatsuits and New Balances." These might come across as brags (And they often are—Benny is not a humble man.) but the standout "Survivor's Remorse" balances the flexes out with sober reflection. In the hook, he shares that he loyally picks up every phone call from jail, knowing that it could have been him in there if he wasn't lucky enough to make it off the streets unscathed. It's that sort of unflinching honesty that makes Benny The Butcher so engrossing. © Eli Enis/Qobuz
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Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - LIONEL PICKENS, Composer - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Chinx, FeaturedArtist - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer - Teyonahhh, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Tauheed Epps, Composer - 2 Chainz, FeaturedArtist - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Tommy Flaaten, Composer - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Fat Joe, FeaturedArtist - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - Joseph Antonio Cartagena, Composer - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Tommy Flaaten, Composer - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer - Thomas Paladino, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Tommy Tee, Producer - Jim Jones, FeaturedArtist - French Montana, FeaturedArtist - Karim Kharbouch, Composer - Tommy Flaaten, Composer - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - Joseph Guillermo Jones II, Composer - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
LLC, MusicPublisher - Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - Antonio Hernandez, Composer - Fred Lowinger, Composer - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, MusicPublisher - Matt Carillo, Composer - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - Christian Pfluge, Composer - jeremie pennick, Composer - Rick Hyde, FeaturedArtist - Darius Grayson, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Harry Fraud, Producer, MainArtist - John Sparkz, MasteringEngineer, MixingEngineer - Next Records, LLC, MusicPublisher - RORY WILLIAM QUIGLEY, Composer - Benny The Butcher, MainArtist - jeremie pennick, Composer
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
Album review
Despite its visual and lyrical references to the main characters in Scarface, Benny The Butcher's latest project isn't a crime tragedy. On the contrary, The Plugs I Met 2 is distinctly focused on the Buffalo rapper's miraculous escape from a grisly past life of drug dealing and violence—a tale of resilience, not one of succumbing to the criminal underworld's deadly excesses. Although Benny is still best-known as one-third of the formidable Griselda group alongside Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn—a unit who've rejuvenated the gnarly chills of '90s street-rap for the modern age—this new joint feels like yet another successful attempt to distinguish himself as a soloist.
Most of the project was recorded in the same period as his 2020 Hit-Boy-produced effort Burden of Proof, which was a promising if not slightly awkward collection of compelling stories and frivolous features from A-listers like Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. The Plugs I Met 2, produced entirely by New York beatmaker Harry Fraud, is considerably darker and more defiant than those tracks, and the guest verses from vets like 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, French Montana, and Jim Jones feel way less forced, even magical. On "Plug Talk," an uncharacteristically maniacal 2 Chainz spits, "I only care about me, I tell you happy birthday on the wrong day," while the 50-year-old Fat Joe sounds pleasantly youthful on the woodwind-adorned "Talkin' Back."
It feels intentional that there aren't any verses from his Griselda pals on here, but without relying on played-out moves like that, Benny is able to put more emphasis on his emotionally moving street tales. In "Live By It," he mentions dressing up as a UPS worker when he robbed people, and in "When Tony Met Sosa" he alludes to his fortuitous fate launching a successful rap career while all of his heroes are "in federal sweatsuits and New Balances." These might come across as brags (And they often are—Benny is not a humble man.) but the standout "Survivor's Remorse" balances the flexes out with sober reflection. In the hook, he shares that he loyally picks up every phone call from jail, knowing that it could have been him in there if he wasn't lucky enough to make it off the streets unscathed. It's that sort of unflinching honesty that makes Benny The Butcher so engrossing. © Eli Enis/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:28:23
- Main artists: Benny The Butcher Harry Fraud
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Black Soprano Family, LLC - SRFSCHL, LLC
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
(C) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC (P) 2021 Black Soprano Family, LLC/ SRFSCHL, LLC
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