Burden Of Proof

Burden of Proof, the second studio album from Griselda collective member Benny the Butcher, comes almost 20 years into a fruitful and hard-fought career. The Buffalo, New York rapper began self-releasing mixtapes in the early 2000s, developing a style of coarse, storytelling rhymes centered around themes of drug dealing, hustling, and unforgiving street life. Burden of Proof finds Benny the Butcher fully formed after years of development and growth. Theres even a marked upgrade in production compared to his 2018 outing Tana Talk 3, which stuck close to the East Coast hip-hop influences that had guided the majority of Bennys work before that point. The beats on Burden of Proof still utilize the distant soul samples and in-your-face drums of that style, but high-impact production from Hit-Boy gives tracks like the Freddie Gibbs-assisted One Way Flight a new sense of triumph and emphasis while retaining familiar, almost nostalgic East Coast elements. Bennys performances are forceful as ever, but feel more relaxed and effortless after years of grinding out mixtapes, features, and countless songs about moving drugs and doing time in jail. Tracks like Legend and Thank God I Made It sound like theyre delivered from the other side of years of struggle, with economic lyrical construction and inspired, atypical instrumentals. Several collaborators lend their talents to the album, including features from Rick Ross, Dom Kennedy, and impressive verses from both Big Sean and Lil Wayne on the victorious Timeless. ~ Fred Thomas

2020年も猛威を振るった注目のクルー/レーベル、グリゼルダ勢において正統派なラップ・スタイルを武器とするベニーの新作はヒット・ボーイが全曲をプロデュース。JVCフォース"Strong Island"を思わせる冒頭のタイトル曲からグッと惹き込まれ、重厚なトラックに次々と猛スピットする姿に圧倒される。リル・ウェインやフレディ・ギブスらのゲスト参加もあり、"War Point"ではグリゼルダのスリートップが揃い踏み。
bounce (C)Masso187um