Benny the Butcher - Burden of Proof ALBUM REVIEW
I know, I know. There’s more Griselda albums. This most likely is the last one of the label’s dominant 2020 run, and they might be saving the best for last. Benny the Butcher’s last album, Tana Talk 3, is beloved by fans, and his EP The Plugs I Met is equally loved. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this project, even if the famous Griselda over-saturation of 2020 has been showing Quantity > Quality. With the entirety of Benny’s new album Burden of Proof being produced by Hit-Boy, this only adds to the anticipation. Why am I still talking? Let’s just get right into the highly-anticipated Burden of Proof.
Burden of Proof is a hip-hop album with jazz influences. If you know Griselda projects, you’re probably gonna go into this expecting lo-fi, loopy, and drum-less beats. The only thing out of those three is loopy. Nearly every single beat here is absolutely addicting to listen to. The beats here are a lot more joyful and triumphant, best shown on the opening track, which is also the title track. While becoming a Griselda fan only this year, I couldn’t help but get chills when Benny said “The butcher comin’” for the first time on this album. I could honestly say that every beat on here is at least enjoyable, none of them being downright bad. The true highlight here, though, is Benny’s writing in performance. He has some of the best storytelling in rap right now, and his dark vibe paired with his near-flawless introspection is a killer combo. Along with that, the features are pretty great too. Rick Ross, Freddie Gibbs, Lil Wayne, and Big Sean all deliver some of their best features in a while. They definitely brought their a-game to this album, especially Lil Wayne, which is honestly his best feature since he dropped Tha Carter V. If there’s a song I wouldn’t go back to, I guess it would be “New Streets.” It’s not inherently BAD, but it’s just so underwhelming compared to the other tracks.
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with Burden of Proof. It’s essentially Benny doing what he does best, but the backdrop of Hit-Boy’s production elevates this album to a new level. I do think Tana Talk 3 is a little bit better, but I’ll be keeping this in my rotation for a bit.
7/10
Stream Burden of Proof here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
Burden of Proof is a hip-hop album with jazz influences. If you know Griselda projects, you’re probably gonna go into this expecting lo-fi, loopy, and drum-less beats. The only thing out of those three is loopy. Nearly every single beat here is absolutely addicting to listen to. The beats here are a lot more joyful and triumphant, best shown on the opening track, which is also the title track. While becoming a Griselda fan only this year, I couldn’t help but get chills when Benny said “The butcher comin’” for the first time on this album. I could honestly say that every beat on here is at least enjoyable, none of them being downright bad. The true highlight here, though, is Benny’s writing in performance. He has some of the best storytelling in rap right now, and his dark vibe paired with his near-flawless introspection is a killer combo. Along with that, the features are pretty great too. Rick Ross, Freddie Gibbs, Lil Wayne, and Big Sean all deliver some of their best features in a while. They definitely brought their a-game to this album, especially Lil Wayne, which is honestly his best feature since he dropped Tha Carter V. If there’s a song I wouldn’t go back to, I guess it would be “New Streets.” It’s not inherently BAD, but it’s just so underwhelming compared to the other tracks.
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with Burden of Proof. It’s essentially Benny doing what he does best, but the backdrop of Hit-Boy’s production elevates this album to a new level. I do think Tana Talk 3 is a little bit better, but I’ll be keeping this in my rotation for a bit.
7/10
Stream Burden of Proof here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
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