Benny the Butcher: The Plugs I Met 2 [NEXT]

Why you'll love it

This vinyl edition includes "Thanksgiving," appearing on vinyl for the first time. The EP debuted at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and drew a Metacritic score of 79.

This edition

• Stereo mix

About the album

Sequels in rap usually mean more of the same. Benny the Butcher took a different route on The Plugs I Met 2, swapping DJ Shay's beats on the 2019 original for a full EP with New York producer Harry Fraud, and the Buffalo rapper sounds right at home in the change of scenery.

Fraud's production is smoky and cinematic, all soft keys and slow-moving loops, and Benny fills it with detailed, unhurried storytelling. "When Tony Met Sosa" sets the scene, "Plug Talk" and "Live By It" dig into the old life with a veteran's hindsight, and "Longevity" and "Survivor's Remorse" weigh what it costs to come out the other side. The guest list is strong: 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, French Montana, Jim Jones, Chinx, Rick Hyde and Teyonahhh all stop by. It came out on Black Soprano Family and Griselda.

HipHopDX said it confirmed his status as an elder statesman for a new generation, and Clash called him one of the most vital voices in rap. Fraud's beats are so cinematic that we now dim the shop lights whenever it goes on.

Also at Kops: more Benny the Butcher on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Black Soprano Family / Griselda / Get On Down (cat# NXT 118-LP), the 2021 EP.