Benny The Butcher asserts his dominance in “Everybody Can’t Go.”
STREAM
TOP 5
5. How To Rap
The formula for handling rap fame is perfectly articulated in this track.
So, here’s the thing: I don’t love the Rap City-ass, generic hip-hop beat that drives “How To Rap.” However, if there were any time I would tolerate hearing it, it would be in a track like this, where Benny The Butcher schools us on the annoying, terroristic, and positive s**t that comes with being a street-savant turned rapper.
I love how Benny The Butcher switches between talking directly to us and giving himself several pats on the back in this song. I imagine getting advice from a cocky dude like Michael Jordan would sound like this.
4. BRON
LeBron James has had such a great career that he’s made a weird name like “Bron” actually sound mighty.
As anticipated, “BRON” is as grandiose as a rap track can get. The song is powered by this hard-hitting, action-packed Hit-Boy beat that I would prefer to hear in a palace or church in Egypt. Sounding relaxed but also ready for smoke, Benny shines over the beat, hitting us with bars that speak of his impressive come-up and the love he gets from his city. The biggest things that will catch your attention about the song are how choppy Benny’s flows are and how he repeatedly uses the same rhyme pattern.
3. One Foot In (Ft. Stove God Cooks)
Benny The Butcher and Stove God Cooks give me Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green vibes in “One Foot In.”
The beat that powers “One Foot In” just got into a full-blown melee with my speakers. That s**t was ugly.
Fortunately, Benny The Butcher and Stove God Cooks exhibit no hesitation in tackling it. In Benny’s verse, he employs various flows and an assertive tone, rapping about his ascent to the top and contemplating retirement from the game. Meanwhile, Stove God Cooks emphatically underscores his superiority over everyone else. While I believe Benny could have allowed the hook to stew a bit more, I have no complaints about any other aspect of this song.
Stove God Cooks’s verses need to be accompanied by visuals. Simply listening to them isn’t enough.
2. Big Dog (with Lil Wayne)
I’m surprised that Lil Wayne doesn’t have 100 more songs called “Big Dog.”
Benny The Butcher and Lil Wayne have collaborated on many tracks these past few years. Of all of them, I think “Big Dog” might be the grittiest. In the song, driven by this dark, spellbinding beat courtesy of The Alchemist, the two rappers trade verses about their competitive ways, quick tempers, and reckless lifestyles. While Benny shines by hitting us with some of his most dynamic flows in a long time, I think Wayne steals the show here. His punchlines and aggressiveness will make you do a stank face as if you were looking at Gordon Hayward’s ankle injury again.
1. Back Again (With Snoop Dogg)
I feel like Snoop Dogg was used perfectly in this song.
Damn, that East Coast versus West Coast beef is long done, isn’t it? In “Back Again,” a collaboration between a New Yorker and a Californian, we witness a track that seamlessly blends the distinct sounds of both coasts. While Snoop graces us with one of his most classic-sounding verses in a while, Benny The Butcher toys with frantic flows and celebratory lyrics. However, when all is said and done, it’s the old-school hip-hop beat by Hit-Boy that might steal the show. It’s so good that, after two minutes, Snoop and Benny simply talk over it, probably to let us experience it as unfiltered as possible.
Sh*t, I haven’t heard Snoop Dogg say “boogie oogie oogie” in a while. Yeah, Benny The Butcher got his money’s worth with this feature.
SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN
1. Jermaine’s Graduation (4/5)
2. BRON (4.5/5)
3. Big Dog (Ft. Lil Wayne)(4.5/5)
4. Everybody Can’t Go (Ft. Kyle Banks) (4.5/5)
5. TMVTL (4/5)
6. Back Again (With Snoop Dogg) (4.5/5)
7. One Foot In (Ft. Stove God Cooks) (4.5/5)
8. Buffalo Kitchen Club (with Armani Caesar) (3.5/5)
9. Pillow Talk & Slander (with Jadakiss & Babyface Ray) (4/5)
10. How To Rap (4/5)
11. Griselda Express (with Westside Gunn & Conway The Machine) (4/5)
12. Big Tymers (with Peezy)(4/5)
OVERALL RATING
(B+)
Benny The Butcher is one of my favorite rappers in the game today. Despite the fact that he uses the same flow on plenty of tracks, I just love how authentic, animated, and street-certified his verses sound. In Everybody Can’t Go, I feel like we get Benny’s most polished raps to date. If I were to guess, now that he’s seen a little bit of fame, his words seem wiser than ever, and his approach to every song feels akin to watching an NBA player who knows they can score on any defense. No more proving that he’s really from the streets or sold that s**t; he’s been validated.
Benny The Butcher is really f**king good on this album, but let’s be real: the beats that we get might just be better. Even though I pay $7.99 a month for Spotify, I just feel like I owe Benny more for crafting an album full of The Alchemist and Hit-Boy beats. Their beats don’t only boom, but they also give off mafioso, ’90s hip-hop vibes that I absolutely love. I do think we should give Benny his flowers for actually hitting us with competent raps over them. I mean, I hear so many albums with great beats and bad raps, so don’t just assume you’ll always get both.
The only way you can be a guest on this album is if you’re down to whip ass on the mic. That said, Lil Wayne, Stove God Cooks, Peezy, and Jadakiss are the ones who had verses that stood out to me. Wayne, in particular, went nuclear. I also think Snoop Dogg’s hook in “Back Again” is fantastic, and Kyle Banks added some well-needed soul into the album with his feature in “Everybody Can’t Go.”
My love for hip-hop emerged in the late ’90s when almost every album featured quality raps and great beats. As someone who reviews practically every mainstream hip-hop release, I can tell you that we aren’t getting that on a consistent basis these days. Everybody Can’t Go proves to me that the ’90s era can still be channeled because if you placed this album alongside releases such as It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot or The Life & Times of Shawn Carter, Vol. 3, it would fit right in.
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
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