Benny the Butcher – “Excelsior” review

Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher returning after 9 months for his 9th EP. Being in the game for 2 decades already, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he alongside his cousins Westside Gunn & Conway the Machine would take the culture by storm off projects like Tana Talk 3 & The Plugs I Met. Harry Fraud came in for a sequel to the latter following the mature Burden of Proof & finally, Tana Talk 4 took it back to the basement a couple years back. Coming off having Hit-Boy produce half of it & leaving the other half to The Alchemist produce his Def Jam Recordings debut Everybody Can’t Go along with both Summertime Butch & Buffalo Butch back-to-back, Excelsior’s looking to refine the styles of those predecessors.

After the “Corner” intro, the first song “I’m the Program” is this symphonic boom bap opener suggesting you gotta laugh at life sometimes whereas “Sign Language” works in a vocal sample thanks to Harry Fraud living in the moment since too much going on. “$ & Power” featuring Skylar Blatt dabbles with trap courtesy of Daringer wanting those 2 things while “Duffel Bag Hottie’s Revenge” featuring Boldy James talks about the B$F artist currently behind bars. “Toxic” featuring Styles P returns to the boom bap to unite the Butcher with the Ghost until “B$F” featuring Fuego Base & Sule ends by repping their set.

With Excelsior, Benny continues to cement his place as one of the most important & vital voices in hip hop today continuing his evolution becoming reactivated in summertime mode with the streets watching & the culture listening. Some have jumped off the porch early & understood the game instantly, others took a lil time & some needed their hand held in every aspect and was only good at riding coattails. Then you have got people like him who’re The Chosen Few.

Score: 3.5/5

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Heem – “Bars & Noble 2” review

In front of us the 3rd studio LP from Buffalo, New York emcee Heem. Catching my attention in 2020 after becoming of a protege of Benny the Butcher & signing to Black Soprano Family Records, he also made a few appearances on the label’s showcase EP prior to dropping his debut mixtape Long Story Short & a debut EP High Art. His debut album From the Cradle to the Game came in the spring of 2023 & with the 1-year anniversary of Bars & Noble next month, it’s understandable for him to make a sequel.

“187” is this eerie boom bap intro talking about his murderous tendencies making them think it’s all good until getting caught up with later whereas “Charlies” soulfully clears up the feeling of everyone else being unable to walk in his shoes. “1993” somberly lets everyone know exactly where he comes from prior to “For Gangsters Only” featuring Charles Hider shouting out all the G’s in their lives.

The title track maintains an overall hardcore hip hop vibe instrumentally to talk about doing it for his city while “Gangsta Pain” featuring Harrd Luck returns to the boom bap so they can break down the hurt that all the street dudes out in their parts go through. “The Streets” works in a vocal sample so he can talk about practicing what you preach just before “Retro Flow” produced by CG has to be my favorite cut on here all across the boards.

“Dog Eat Dog” featuring Illy Foo begins the final act of Bars & Noble 2 by talking about the way the world is while “Simon Says” admits to the entire B$F squad having no screws to their heads. “Gangsta Boogie” ruggedly asks if anyone out there who were never feeling him are finally doing so now & not really dancing on beats that much, but then “Guns & Butta” samples “You Can’t Stop the Rain” by Loose Ends to sell 20s for the 10.

Heems finds himself on a whole new level since he’s been reconstructing his path in the rap game for the past 11 months & with Long Story Short still sticking out as my personal favorite of his, I do enjoy the Bars & Noble more than I liked the predecessor almost a year ago already. He’s at strongest, wisest & more well seasoned nearly half a decade into the game already although the features are cut below the original.

Score: 3.5/5

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Rick Hyde – “In Plain Sight” review

This is the 12th EP from Buffalo, New York emcee/producer Rick Hyde. Amongst the most notable artists on Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records, his debut album Plates that came out at the very beginning of 2019 was pretty solid on top of 11 EPs & a sequel to his full-length debut. The last time I covered Ricky was during the summer of 2023 when Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla produced Lupara homaging hip hop’s golden era, returning In Plain Sight starting the 2nd quarter of 2025.

The intro sets it off with a drumless opener with some background vocals produced by Haas Almahdi keeping the grass cut so we can keep an eye out for the serpents whereas “God’s Timing” produced by his son Myles takes a shot at trap showing self-awareness of him being unable to stop grindin’. “Wish You Would” goes for a boom bap direction flexing he’s been doing this way before everyone else found their voice while “Minimal Effort” featuring Benny the Butcher & Lo Pro finds the trio dropping a verse with no hook.

“Exodus” featuring GoToMar$ maintains a boom bap vibe so both of them can get to the bag properly instead of sittin’ around leading into “2Gether” stripping the drums once more talking about saying Amen as soon as he comes back home. “10,000 Hours” fuses chipmunk soul & trap boasting that the love B$F has for each other is ocular, but then “What More Can I Say?” finishes by telling everyone to listen closely wanting to fax rap & dissing everyone pumping out dull music.

Starting the deluxe run, we are treated to a sequel to “Come Up” off Plates II making it clear that he’s still hungry over a piano instrumental while “Work Wednesday” incorporates more keys to do some soul-searching off the top for a few minutes. The final bonus track “Shine’n” sends things off officially by talking about hard times never mattering to him all that much since he’s survived all of them.

Similarly to Lupara couple years ago, In Plain Sight once again sees Ricky taking a backseat behind the boards allowing a couple notable names & mostly lesser-known producers to take the wheel although I personally find myself going back to Lupara more. The production ranges from drumless to trap, boom bap & chipmunk soul with Benny having my favorite guest verse of the 3 as well as Rick coming harder than he did on R.I.C.K. (Realizing It Can Kill) last Halloween.

Score: 3.5/5

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Giffy Pluggo – “Douda” review

This is the 2nd EP from Chicago, Illinois emcee & ATIP Records founder Giffy Pluggo. Emerging a couple years ago off his debut mixtape Paid Leave & it’s sequel last summer, he recently put out a deluxe version of his debut album Los Pluggos a few months ago followed by the last EP Pluggo’s Birthday at the beginning of 2025 itself. Only a couple months later, the Black Soprano Family Records affiliate’s still applying pressure by putting out Douda & one that really caught my interest considering the single “Casino” has been proving to be his biggest song yet.

“Couple Myles” is this trap intro that Benny’s nephew Myles laced reflecting on the days people went from hating on him & counting him out to signing a label deal whereas “Villain Origin Story” keeps the hi-hats in tact including a dope bar at the end referencing the Drake & Kendrick Lamar beef. “Roseland” featuring C. Bill$ finds the pair over a sample-driven boom bap instrumental getting hit hard by the quest for fame while “Tracy” goes for a soulful vibe to the beat wanting better for him & his romantic interest the track is named after in a perfect world.

To start the other half of the EP, the song “How I Came Up” hops over some pianos returning to the boom bap once again discussing his upbringings until a switch-up during the outro remembering his late homie Dilla just before “Plugs & Violins” featuring & produced by Rick Hyde finds the pair suggesting to boss up you want more out of life. “See You in Hell” reunited with C. Bill$ so they can talk about doing well as of late & finally, “Casino” featuring Jae Skeese on the remix ends with a soulful trap heater warning your fate will be sealed if you run up on them wrong.

“Douda 2” begins the deluxe run promising that you’ll meet your Ruler soon as the mistake of running up him had been made feeling like he might be killed out of envy while “Right Before Your Eyes” switches back into boom bap territory talking about becoming a star in front of us all. “Reggie’s Return (Nuck’s Fall)” poses the question of when his funeral was since his detractors thought he was dead while “No Turning Back” featuring ELZ talks about being nice since Ludacris was popular in the 2000s.

C. Bill$ & Henry Ali join Giffy during “Plug Party” assuring that they’ll cover the tabs for this jazzy celebration being thrown while “Mortgage” aggressively talks about him, refusing to tuck his chain because he’s way too important. “Tiffany” stylistically has a more chilled out approach to it boasting his girl being so bad that she can be considered an enemy while “Dinner at Smokey’s” blends a vocal sample with some horns explaining that this is in regards to the choices he’s made throughout his life instead of the money or the cars.

“Waddup” gets in his Chiraq bag lyrically over a decent trap beat telling all his detractors all their hatin’ failed ready to get shit crackin’ now that his exposure has been steadily increasing & to finish up the ATIP CEO’s most pivotal statement of his entire career, the final bonus track “London Towne Soldiers” featuring Cash Bundlez instrumentally takes inspiration from boom bap 1 last time spending the last 5 minutes coming together to recall the West Pullman living complex they grew up at.

Basing itself around a character from The Chi on the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Showtime network executive produced by Common who was a gangsta & also the mayor, Giffy Pluggo’s story is similar given the fact he’s from Chicago & educated with had a street/rough upbringing in a neighborhood on the southside of Chicago called Roseland. Scenes from the show can be all throughout the EP & the production that Myles primarily handles takes it a few levels above Pluggo’s previous material.

Score: 4/5

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Ill Tone – “The Outcome” review

Ill Tone is a producer from Buffalo, New York known for his collaborations amongst the iconic underground labels Griselda Records, Drumwork Music Group & Black Soprano Family Records. His resume beyond that whole realm further includes the likes of Krayzie Bone & Project Pat, signing to B$F to put out an official debut album of his own through the local indie enterprise staying increasingly consistent with the output a week after Duffel Bag Hottie put out his new EP Shut Down the Dance Floor by recording his vocals through a prison phone.

After the Westside Gunn intro, the first song “Impossible” by Conway the Machine along with Jae Skeese & Rome Streetz fuses rap rock & boom bap doing what others thought couldn’t be done whereas the title track by Benny the Butcher ruggedly talks about his flow being unmatched when it is. “Supper Immaculate” by AZ & Elcamino doesn’t disappoint with its name since both of them kill it over some magnificent sampling & “Pick a Side” by Conway after the Ghostface Killah interlude talks about being either with them or against them.

Following the “Journey” skit, Benny gets another solo cut with “36oz & a Mercedes” discusses not being as humble as everyone else backed by this crooning soul sample just before “Raw Cain” by Elcamino reflects on the way things used to be for him back then. “The Mood” by Flee Lord & Gully talks about them holding it down for several blocks even if they don’t rule the world leading into “I See” by Elcamino & Player K soulfully promising the player shit coming with them when their time comes.

“Supreme Balla” by Elcamino & Smoke DZA brings a jazzy boom bap vibe to the table as both of them admitting that these weak MCs out here be pissing them off acting like they the shit when they’re gonna call them as they see them while “Punctuality” by The Black Abstract, Chase Fetti & Jae Skeese maintains the jazzily dusty flare talking about missing your future if you dwell on the past. “B.T.L.” by Elcamino, O.T. the Real & Stove God Cook$ ends with pure lyrical pressure from all 3 of them with some fresh ass sampling behind them.

Starring the deluxe run, “My Side of the Story” by Rick Hyde & Sule unites the pair to talk about the blood, sweat & tears that’ve led them to glory & no longer being ignored while “Colosseum Rap” by Elcamino & Fuego Base explains that this is for the men trying to get the bread & not for the suckas. The final bonus track “Kenny Solomon” by Jae Skeese & YoungstaCTP gets on some mobster shit instrumentally bridging the gap.

Showcasing the distinct sound of B$F that has drawn acclaim from critics & fans alike, Ill Tone’s full-length debut studio LP will easily stand until December as one of if not the best producer album that has come out in 2025 because the hard-hitting verses from a near-flawless list of guests over the Buffalo beatsmith’s dynamic production balancing boom bap, drumless, chipmunk soul, jazz rap & rap rock remain consistently aggressive from start to finish.

Score: 4/5

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Duffel Bag Hottie – “Shut Down the Dance Floor” review

Buffalo, New York rapper Duffel Bag Hottie putting out his 2nd EP by rapping over a prison phone. Known as one of the earliest Black Soprano Family Records signees, he has dropped 3 full-lengths along with 5 mixtapes & an EP through the label. Ghost of Rick James stands out the most in his discography personally although I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the Max Julian includes essential tracks of their own & is surprisingly looking to Shut Down the Dance Floor.

The title track is a trap intro boasting that he’s still fly & getting an unexpected visitor from a female one day whereas “Live from USP Canaan” talks about being in the Pennsylvania high security penitentiary as we speak. “Feel that Pain” marks labelmate Fuego Base appearing as the only feature on the whole entire EP working in some sampling linking with Duff to flex they only be hitting the club when the stacks move while “Winter Time in NY” exuberantly talks about spending the coldest & darkest of the 4 temperate seasons in his home state.

“Story Time Duff” has a dope chipmunk soul vibe referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, co-founder of $7 Productions who recently landed a partnership with The Walt Disney Company & the final boss of professional wrestling himself The Rock set to appear in Toronto tomorrow night to confront the current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber XV & “Heats” ends by promising that he’ll keep us updated on what’s going on with him.

Now I have seen some criticism from people online regarding his vocals being recorded from the prison phone, but I look at it the same way the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard recorded his verse for “Conditioner” off the almighty Wu-Tang Clan’s 3rd album The W in the sense that he’s still capable of rapping as good as he did almost 7 & a half years ago. Would love to see him make another body of work on the caliber of consistency Ghost of Rick James had reached once he comes home.

Score: 3.5/5

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V Don – “Sent For” review

New York producer V Don curating his 3rd EP after signing to Black Soprano Family Records & Roc Nation Records. In the past 15 years, he has become one of the most in-demand producers that the underground has seen working with the likes of Willie the Kid to Ransom & Estee Nack in addition to his small handful of solo efforts including the debut album The Opiate & his last EP Better Than Money. The latter celebrated its 3-year anniversary earlier this month & is returning with Sent For.

“Mafia” by Eto is this gritty boom bap opener talking about never sitting in a spot if he could never landlord it whereas “Fortunate” by Hobx & WhoisBravy hooks up some strings along with kicks & snares to discuss staying putting in orders in order to maintain the baller mentality of theirs. “The Same Day” by Benny the Butcher & Conway the Machine finds the pair talking about goals coming together doing something to your soul leading into “Episode” by Lloyd Banks boasting that his life’s complete.

The song “Too Much” by Al-Doe & Willie the Kid reaches the backend of Sent For by going drumless suggesting you should take it if you like what you see from them while “Old Kemba” by BabyMaine & Ty da Dale returns to the boom bap talking about staying hands on with the work. “Know Me” by Elcamino & Sule closes V Don’s debut with B$F/Roc Nation with both MCs giving headshots as if they’re photographers & that you better act as if you know what the deal really is.

Whether it be the Deutsche Marks saga or B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties) & the Chaos is My Ladder duology, V Don’s case in being one of underground hip hop’s most in-demand producers has already been made clear as day in the past 15 years & his Black Soprano Family/Roc Nation debut takes it a step further introducing himself to a wider audience. His signature hardcore boom bap sound remains the same & he recruits a mostly high tier list of performers to kill his beats.

Score: 4/5

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Elcamino – “Full Moon” review

This is the 18th EP from Buffalo emcee & singer Elcamino. Blowing up in 2017 off his self-titled EPwith Griselda Records, his profile increasingly grew after being followed up by Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018 along with dropped 2 studio albums & a few EPs the year after that. They Spit on Jesus proved to be a well received Black Soprano Family Records debut becoming the first Camino project that I had covered since On the 3rd Day & that much like No Weapon Formed Against Me was an improvement over some of the material we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. 6 months after having Real Bad Man produce The Game is the Game followed by Ill Tone recently producing Built for Cuban Links named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…produced by RZA, Meech started the final quarter of the year flexing his Millionaire status & is ending it with a look at a Full Moon.

“Who Braggin’?” awkwardly kicks things off by impersonating Future for whatever reason while “Legal Money” takes the atmospheric trap route instrumentally doing shit that no one else can compared to him. “Forever” works in some background vocals & hi-hats talking about being too valuable whereas “Real” featuring Duckman vibrantly flexes that they’re still clappin’ out here. “Dat’s My Bae” feels like another Future-inspired song & so does “Back Ballin’” except it’s more playful. “Everything He Knows” lavishly ends with promising that he’ll do this shit for life.

Not trying to make it to sound like that I’m hating on the guy because I’ve been listening to Elcamino ever since he first signed to Griselda almost 8 years ago & have given him his praise in the dozen of projects I’ve reviewed him in the past, but I’m kinda torn on this EP personally. He can very much sing as well as he can rap on trap production like he can on traditional east coast sounds, it’s that the heavy-Future influences can be a little off-putting to me.

Score: 2.5/5

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Sule – “Written on Wide’s Corner 2” review

This is the 9th EP from Englewood, New Jersey emcee Sule. Signing to Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records at the end of 2022 after putting out 7 EPs over the course of a decade, he’s also notable for his guest verse on the Biggest Since Camby closing track “White Lives Matter” produced by Havoc formerly of Mobb Deep & of course the well received Black Soprano debut Written on Wide’s Corner earlier this spring. Fast forward to Election Day 2024, we’re being treated to a sequel.

“New Jersey State of Mind” is a boom bap opener, letting us know what it was like for him growing up in the titular state whereas “Trois Sopranois” featuring Benny the Butcher & Fuego Base finds the trio representing B$F to the fullest for a few minutes. “Victor Cruz” produced by STREETRUNNER offers a soulful trap flare referencing the WR for the New York Giants, but then “Cutz” featuring Flames Dot Malik gets the 2 together for an aggressive hardcore hip hop joint breaking generational curses.

To start the other half, “My Brother’s Keeper” soulfully talks being known for making promises instead of threats while “Sule Common Wealth” featuring Lo Pro works in more kicks & snares so they can refer to themselves as the same ones who ran it. “I Made You Wealthy” featuring Fuego Base maintains a boom bap flare addressing people who’ve betrayed them after making them rich & “The Crash Out Story” ends by teaching everyone to leave their valuables at the stash house.

Sule has quickly risen to become one of the best artists on the Black Soprano Family roster in the past 8 months & in contrast to Written on Wide’s Corner achieving his goal of making Englewood a landmark, the follow-up elevates that further. The production is a mix of boom bap & trap just like the predecessor was, a couple of the guests stick the landing performance-wise & the New Jersey artist himself continues to tell us what it’s like where he’s from.

Score: 4/5

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Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh – “Stabbed & Shot 2” review

Here we have the 2nd collaborative LP between New York rappers Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh. One comes straight outta Buffalo becoming 1/3 of the core Griselda Records trio & the other hails from Rochester. There was even a point in time where Benny was signed to TCF Music Group years before Griselda went on to take over the underground altogether & they’ve worked with each other numerous times over the course of their careers. 6 years later, they’re linking back up for a sequel to Stabbed & Shot.

After the “Still Better” intro, the first song “1st of April” produced by V Don starts with a dreary boom bap instrumental talking about being staples in their corners whereas “High Stakes” finds the 2 showing off their street ties maintaining a dark atmosphere to the beat. “Thruway Music 2” is a sequel to a highlight off the first Stabbed & Shot continuing where the predecessor left off prior to “Who Really the King?” talking about people acting like family when that isn’t an action word over strings, kicks & snares from Chup.

“Center Stage” heads for a soulful direction thanks to Harry Fraud reminding us that they actually be living that life just before the 2nd & final single “Brick Specials” comparing their lifestyles to that of a lit movie. The lead single “Jesus Arms” featuring Busta Rhymes was a step above the b-side from the Bink! beat to the mobster-themed lyrics, but then “Hometown Hero” talks about their statuses in Buffalo & Rochester respectively.

Dave East & Klass Murda join Benny & Spesh on “Bad Guy” pointing out the fact that some don’t show you love until you start catching Ws while “Money Counter” hooks up some sampling teaching us that jealous friends happen to be the most foolish in the circle. “Internal Affairs” featuring O.T. the Real brings the trio together over a raw Daringer instrumental bringing it hardcore while the STREETRUNNER-laced “Intent to Sell” gets back on the hustling tip.

The song “Coke Runs” featuring Ransom gets the encore of Stabbed & Shot 2 going by making it clear that you haven’t seen the impressive traits that they all share in the past while “Watchlist” gives off more of a jazzier vibe to the beat talking about making $100M requiring risk. The closer “Power” featuring Elcamino finishes the Stabbed & Shot sequel talking about power becoming the cause of separation in the room while “ICE” looks at both sides of the streets they played. The titular freestyle lastly shows a back-&-forth chemistry from them for 3 & a half minutes.

Much has changed in the interim in the past 6 years including the respective statures of Benny & Spesh as they have both grown, elevated & evolved. Stabbed & Shot 2 though has made it’s case in being the rare sequel that surpasses it’s predecessor with Benny returning to his roots by reconnecting with the TCF founder to go on another round of paper chasing shooting for a sound that can only come from experienced street hustlers.

Score: 4.5/5

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