Beno – “Out on Bond” review

Beno is a 28 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan known for being 1/2 of the duo Drego & Beno. His partner in rhyme already has a couple solo LPs & 3 EPs under his belt already with the latest EP Krazy Man 2 coming out over a couple months ago. On the other hand, Beno has yet to put out any projects by himself up until this point & felt his debut EP had my wondering how he would sound by himself during an entire project since we’ve heard so many from his counterpart.

“BJ” opens with a flute, some 808s & string sections sticking to the g code whereas “B.T.A. (Beat That Ass)” featuring Lil Mello works in some pianos & 808s referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE world champion, ECW World Television Champion, 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 4-time & the final WWE Hardcore Champion, TNA World Champion & TNA X Division Champion Rob Van Dam.

Moving on from there, “Possible” finds himself optimistically feeling like anything’s a possibility over a decent Detroit trap instrumental prior to “Hmm Hmmmm” going for a darker vibe to the beat talking about catching an opp tossing his body in the trunk. “Ouuu Ouuuu” featuring Babytron & produced by Danny G finds the 2 likening themselves to heavyweights in a group of middleweights just before “Ballin’ is a Habit, Not a Crime” explains that the way he balls doesn’t involve illegal activity.

“Dead Wrong” featuring M.I.N.E. Entertainment signee 3200 Tre brings some pianos & 808s back in the fold talking about the only 2 types of people they know being either real or fake while the title track by Drego & Beno telling us what it was like for them growing up selling dope & getting money. “I Got the Urge” ties up any loose ends during the EP refusing to snitch on his squad, remaining the same as he was prior to making it.

Because of the announcement the previous weekend regarding Drego getting ready to serve a 1-year prison stint, it’s not hard to see why Beno wouldn’t take the opportunity to focus on a solo career until his better half comes home & Out on Bond brings it full circle from when Krazy Man initially dropped several years ago. Production’s better than I had initially anticipated & Beno holds the mic finely by himself with a tight guest list.

Score: 3.5/5

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Drego & Beno – “True Story” review

This is the sophomore full-length studio LP from Detroit trap duo Drego & Beno. Blowing up in the summer of 2018 off their debut mixtape Sorry for the Get Off followed by both Meet Us Outer Space & Sorry for the Auto-Tune after signing to EMPIRE Distribution, they would eventually take a 3-year break from making music before returning a year & a half ago on Sorry We Was Trapping. True Story however made me curious as to whether or not they could outdo themselves compared to the debut.

The title track produced by Helluva comes straight out the gate with a 2-minute Detroit trap banger talking about being in the hood if they ain’t trappin’ whereas “Boobie Trap” brings a menacing atmosphere instrumentally referring to themselves as big tippers. “On My Momma Ass” works in these ominous piano chords from Drego himself interestingly enough talking about bitches that don’t follow instructions bringing great destruction just before “Slimed Out 2” serves as a fun sequel to their biggest song.

“I Don’t Even Rap” has this bouncy, futuristic approach to the beat to talk about wettin’ up opps if they so happen to run into each other in the club while “MPR” once again brings a grisling vibe to the table discussing the gangsta lifestyles that they’ve experienced. “Ignorance” has this suspenseful trap groove to it admitting they could be tied in with the cartel, but then “Sheed” goes for a shimmery Detroit trap approach making it in & out the bank like Lloyd.

The rubbery “Get Me Going” asks if you want a tour of their house while the last cut together “Ball” fuses elements of orchestral & Detroit trap looking to hit the mall & spend it all shopping. The bells throughout Beno’s solo cut “Habit” are a unique touch saying that ballin’ is a habitual occurrence for him & fittingly, Drego’s solo joint “S.M.M.O. (Show Me My Opponent)” ends the duo’s 2nd album with Helluva throwing a hint of a west coast influence in his signature production style asking who his opponent is.

If Sorry for the Get Off is Drego & Beno’s best mixtape of the 3 they put out up until EMPIRE signed them, then True Story has to be the best LP of the 2 they’ve given us in nearly 2 years & the strongest they’ve sounded since the very mixtape that put them on the map. It’s significantly well-produced than a lot of their previous material & they pretty much make the case that they don’t need features to hold down the fort.

Score: 4/5

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Drego & Beno – “Sorry We Was Trapping” review

Drego & Beno are a duo from Detroit, Michigan who started to blow up in the summer of 2018 through the #GetOffRecords founders’ debut mixtape Sorry for the Get Off followed by both Meet Us Outer Space & Sorry for the Auto-Tune after signing to EMPIRE Distribution. But coming off a 3-year break they took in order to focus on further establishing themselves as solo artists, the pair are getting back together for a full-length debut a year & a half already since Drego put out his 1st solo effort Krazy Man.

The title track is a hyphy-laced opened apologizing for disappearing from the scene whereas the 5th installment of the “Slatt Season” series works in some strings & a rubbery bass-line tossing the mic back & forth with one another talking about getting the money. “Provolone” takes a more suspenseful route to spit some gangsta raps, but then “RTA” returns to a more Bay Area sound talking about running through anything with their new straps.

We get some synths & bells for the “Tuck & Duck” sequel basically continuing the themes of the predecessor while “Palm Angels” is Drego solo cut over some woodwinds paying tribute to the titular brand. Lil Yachty, Sada Baby & Tee Grizzley all tag along for the heinous “Wit It” talking about thuggin’ in public just before “Dope Game” shoots for a more tenser aesthetic to describe life as hustlers.

“Xelinage” is the bombastic Beno solo cut talking about having hoes on the weekend while one of the 2 biggest rappers in the city right now Babytron comes into the picture for the song “Vaxuum Seal” brings some Hi-NRG to admit they ain’t shit without such. The penultimate track “You Hip?” almost has a tropical quality to it asking listeners know what the deal is & “Bhrome Hearts” is a rich closer to the album getting materialistic.

I was genuinely curious to hear where both these dudes would go after 3 years off & I think that they gave us a worthy debut LP. Both halves never lost their step as far as their chemistry goes & the production stays true to the Detroit trap sound even though there are points where they don’t come off as repetitive like most artists in that style do.

Score: 3.5/5

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Drego – “Krazy Man” review

Drego is a 23 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan known for being 1/2 of the duo Drego & Beno. Their debut mixtape Sorry for the Get Off established them as one of the biggest groups in Detroit trap as did Meet Us Outer Space & Sorry for the Auto Tune respectively, extending their break as a pairing to focus on their individual careers & Drego becoming the first of the 2 members to make his official solo debut exhibiting the mind of a Krazy Man ahead of their debut album together.

“55 Bars” takes on the intangible fame & seeking for clarity simultaneously referencing the greatest QB of all-time Tom Brady whereas “Ball” by Drego & Beno finds them going back & forth with one another seamlessly asking how you gon’ tell them to live when you ain’t even doing shit with your life. “Numbers” uses sharp numerical wordplay for 2 & a half minutes just before “Okay” featuring PeeWee Longway compares themselves to Tony Montana.

Meanwhile on “Pick the Plug Again”, we have Drego making reference to the Ice Cream Man era of No Limit Records founder Master P leading into “Chauncey Billups” honoring the 2004 NBA Finals MVP it’s titled after. “If You Want” by Drego & Beno featuring Cash Kidd & Nuk unites the quartet killing to get what they want while “Dis Dat” gives the fine print to those he wants to influence.

“Popovixh” keeps it rollin’ talking about making more plays than the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Greg Popovich until “Ronda Rousey” obviously refers to the former WWE Women’s Champion, UFC Hall of Famer & the inaugural UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion of the same name. “Dub” by Drego & Beno featuring BandGang Biggs, BandGang Lonnie Bands & BandGang Masoe boasts of them being like the Pistons during their first of 3 NBA Championship seasons while “Push da Bag” by Drego & Beno gets on the back-&-forth tip again delivery wise.

BandGang Biggs & BandGang Lonnie Bands come back with the late BandGang Paid Will in place of Masoe during “Eddie Long” touching people’s spirits similarly to the late pastor who passed away 4 years ago, but then “I Know What U Want” featuring Sada Baby finds the 2 talking about being the only ones around their way up by $60M. “In the Game” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. shows no signs of slowing down the money counting while “Sponsor” shuts down the need for any kind of backing since he knows every baddie.

“Zaza Pachuila” featuring Veeze got these organ melodies during it’s course matched with 808s boasting that both of them have achieved self-employed status while “Drekio” talks about nobody being able to do it the way he does it. “Ms. Dash” featuring Ju6aby, Money Reese & 5auce Lik concludes our journey into the mind of a Krazy Man with an underwhelming collaboration saving the best verse for last showing off their gang ties.

Many including myself got introduced to Drego through his guest appearance on the viral Sada single “Bloxk Party”, so Krazy Man was a huge deal for that crowd of people & he holds it down well enough for me to be confident of him becoming successful with or without Beno. Nevertheless of having to see when the other eventually goes up at bat & a couple moments where the guests’ performances fall flat, it’s a tightly conceived Detroit trap solo debut.

Score: 3.5/5