New Music – Riches To Rome

Rather than taking the low-hanging fruit, Benny The Butcher has always had this immaculate sense of burning through lines of hard lyricism, uncompromising force, and an ultimatum of sinking or swimming.

On his third studio record, Tana Talk 4 is a lightning strike in continuation with development in both approach and production for the record. The series Tana Talk in each instillation gives leaps and bounds within Benny The Butcher’s career. The first made an introduction to the scene, and likewise with Tana Talk 2.

Benny The Butcher explains it best with an interview from Apple Music, “I was on some mixtape, neighborhood…Tana Talk 2, I was still in the hood. I took over the city, though. Tana Talk 3, I took over the underground. Tana Talk 4, I feel like I’m taking over the world, honestly.”

While world domination seems to always be on the Griselda rappers’ mindsets, Benny The Butcher peels back Tana Talk 4 with “Johnny P’s Caddy” in an effortless display that features J. Cole.

Surprisingly, the features on Tana Talk 4 becomes one of the highlights of the record as the revolving door consists of Stove God Cooks, Boldy James, Diddy, Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, and 38 Spesh. Especially the feature on “Back 2x” with Stove God Cooks who becomes the narration for the hook and verse where he illustrates, “We brought it back, back (We brought it back.) I dropped it in the pot, it came back, back. Soon as we unload this rental, we right back, back.”

Produced by Beat Butcha and Daringer, there is immediately a stance of being dipped in gold, reflecting with diamonds and rare stones as Benny The Butcher cracks through this frame to shatter the guise. It follows in a similar suit with “Tyson Vs. Ali” that has Conway The Machine jumping into the ring as these two heavyweights trade punches.

The beauty of cascading chimes while the low-tuned vocals of Benny and Conway make for a tag team that immediately instills confidence in the audience. Benny The Butcher especially here as he describes, “The bigger the paper, the longer the conversation. Played in the streets where the locks never come with no combination. If I let you get some money, don’t fuck up the operation. You know hood rules apply when it come to this kind of gangster.”

That same confidence taps into “Billy Joe” where the production from Alchemist is enough strength to tear through the record and platform that Benny stands upon. He cuts the vocals through and illustrates, “I’m one classic from great up amongst these rappers today. But I ain’t talked the kind of shit that I’m talkin’ til I had my weight up.”

Benny The Butcher uses “Billy Joe” as one of the last looks into the iris of crime and punishments, but more so the crime and rewards for it. Through the ugliness of street knowledge, Tana Talk 4 is heavenly and one more reason why the trio is more important than ever in hip-hop.

Listen To Tana Talk 4 Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes