Benny the Butcher
Everybody Can’t Go
DEF JAM
Depending on the day, the month, the week, the year, it’s hard to figure exactly what’s going on with Griselda Records. Spearheaded by brothers Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine alongside their cousin Benny the Butcher, the collective came of age by slinging high-priced, limited-edition vinyl from their hometown of Buffalo. They positioned themselves as a boutique entity, unveiling album after album of dusty soul grooves, coke raps, and grisly details of life on the Nickel City streets. As they transcended from regional darlings to national mainstays, drama seemed to follow them. A Shady Records deal came and went rather quickly; Conway expressed his frustration with his role in the group; Westside threatened retirement and picked fights with trolls on Twitter. Amongst all the chaos, Benny remained the constant. He was always just sort of there, rapping his ass off and generally asserting himself as the group’s figurative bedrock.
On Everybody Can’t Go, he sort of says “fuck all that noise,” positioning himself as a superstar emcee both within his crew and among rap greats. Benny balances his roles as a team player in Griselda and the founding figurehead of Black Soprano Family, but here he’s simply Benny the Butcher: newest face of Def Jam Recordings. The gritty coke raps remain, but it’s clear this is a major label effort in a number of ways. Everybody Can’t Go is a reminder that Benny is so charming mostly because his early albums sound entirely un-A&R’d—even with the major label contract, he retains the sounds he likes to rap over. “BRON,” which features a great Just Blaze–ass beat from Hit-Boy, finds Benny showcasing how clever he can be with the pen as he flips LeBron’s story to mirror his own: “And I’m Bron / After the chip, I told my folks back home, ‘So long’ / I move my family and my bricks to a place whеre it’s warm.”
Elsewhere, “One Foot In” is a nervous track marked by a minimal beat and screeching synths—add it all up and it sounds like a fresh update on Hell Hath No Fury era Clipse as Benny scoffs at anyone who’s ever stood in his way: “A rapper never reached out? / He either senile or deaf.” The album’s penultimate track is the inevitable posse cut, “Griselda Express.” Alongside Westside, Conway, and Black Soprano Family member Rick Hyde, Benny spells out why he and his team have become arguably the most captivating crew in rap.
What’s most impressive about Benny on Everybody Can’t Go is how he uses Griselda as an assist, not a crutch. Whereas earlier tapes would sometimes find him leaning into his affiliation, here he seems to be saying that Griselda should be recognized as the group that Benny the Butcher is part of. When everyone in the group has this mindset, things can get messy—but life is all roses these days for Benny and his partners. Everybody can‘t go, but Griselda can.
