When a rapper is on the come-up, it’s easy for them to rhyme as though they’ve got nothing to lose. As for the most part, they don’t. However, what can aid in sustaining the excitement around a rapper’s unfolding catalog is when that do-or-die spirit never wanes and, if anything, only intensifies as they transition from establishing themselves as an MC to collating the evidence for a spot among the greats.
Considering that he didn’t garner the world’s attention span until he was in his mid-30s, Benny The Butcher knows what it’s like to know that you’re great, but still languish in the throes of anonymity. Now that he’s got a global reach and a fanbase that’ll go to bat for him at every available opportunity, the don of the Black Soprano Family is making the transition from underground king to a major label artist, striding through the hallowed halls of Def Jam.
But before he takes his place among that rich lineage, The Butcher has gone out of his way to prove to fans that signing on the dotted line hasn’t come at the expense of his soul nor the starkly real force of his output with Tana Talk 4.
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Complete with cover-art that depicts himself, Griselda Records curator Westside Gunn and his late brother Machine Gun Black in their youth, the latest installment in the series is both a reflection of the trials and tribulations of his past and a precursor to a glorious, potentially historic future.
Beginning with the project’s lead single of "Johnny P’s Caddy," this opening track doubles as a powerful assertion of where he’s at in the game. Doused in smoldering production from The Alchemist on what is the first of many appearances, Benny sets off with the confidence of a made man that doesn’t have anything left to prove in the lyrical department but will go out of his way to unleash a mesmerizing display all the same.
As if his own insightful verse wouldn’t have been enough to get the project off on the right foot, placing a blistering J. Cole feature at the front-end of his last pre-Def Jam release is not only a bold declaration that he has no fear of being overshadowed, but that these are the circles that he rightfully runs in these days. Authoritatively declaring that it’s "bout time I got my respect," The Butcher is no longer asking you, but telling.
From the outset of the project, the grand musical expansiveness of The Plugs I Met or Burden Of Proof is notably absent in favor of an icy minimalism that might as well be a second home to the Griselda crew. As such, "Johnny P’s Caddy" sets the tempo in more ways than one.
Plunging us into familiar but no less sinister territory, "Back 2x" takes us into the murky and desolate world of Daringer’s production with aplomb.
An instruction manual on the pitfalls of street life, Benny glides as only he can over such a downbeat backdrop. In another example of Benny’s propensity for neatly marrying track and guest, Stove God Cooks is as compatible as anyone could be for this world and it’s one that they flesh out with their own distinct approaches to verbal illustration.
A collision of worlds between Griselda’s Buffalo camp and their Detroit outpost, the Boldy James-aided "Weekend In The Perry’s" allows Benny to document the lengthy come-up of the crew at large over a glittering soul loop from Alc, proclaiming:
Who didn't I put on? Took Ls and then I regroup
On a shoestring budget, I showed them what I could do
Ask Jake and ask Cap 'bout the bosses that I produced
I'm West’s best investment, but that's between me and you
Although he’s usually content in his own, coke-inflected mythology, Tana Talk 4 permits Benny to step into the broader heritage of trappers-turned-rappers as he provides some modern appendices to one of Biggie’s famed sermons.
Described to The Breakfast Club as his attempt to "bring that Biggie energy to 2022," "10 More Commandments" even interpolates that original Chuck D intro before he recites his own golden rules for the drug game.
Actively co-signed by the Bad Boy camp, Diddy appears in order to expand upon the hustler’s mindset and outlines the paradigm shift that’s occurred in culture and society since the first edition dropped.
We ain't gotta repeat the past, the crack era
And do what we did before, you know what I'm sayin'?
We one of the world's most valuable commodities
That's black culture, baby
From new acquaintances to family members, Benny continues to put his best foot forward on the dizzyingly self-referential "Guerrero." Bolstered by Westside Gunn, Benny provides the perfect fan service for long-time fans with well-woven bars that nod towards tracks across its predecessor of Tana Talk 3 and the Hit-Boy-helmed Burden Of Proof from 2020.
An interesting approach to a verse, moments such as this make it clear that there is no dearth of creativity at play here. And while his impeccable lyrical ability can’t be contested nor disputed, perhaps his willingness to abscond from his comfort zone could.
Although his proclamation that we want him "back on that Daringer s**t" on "Back 2x" holds weight, it doesn’t necessarily depict the entire picture. While we certainly want those beats to remain with his universe, it’d also be great to see him replicate the virtuosity that he displays over this tried and true production with some other sonic directions.
Plus, it must be said that for all Tana Talk 4 never ceases to engage, the context of its placement in the broader Griselda timeline doesn’t help matters. After all, given that it feels like an extension of preexisting themes, it can't possibly seem as pertinent or timeless as the personal odyssey that Conway The Machine just provided us on God Don’t Make Mistakes.
That said, Benny isn’t shy about alluding to the struggles and the conditions which led him to a life of hustling. Although littered throughout the project in finely crafted bars, the sense of helplessness that he’s experienced comes across most acutely on “Billy Joe” as he rhymes, "I wasn't really good at shit so sellin' poison suited me, low-income based livin', my pops avoided schoolin' me."
Elsewhere, on the uncompromising "Bust A Brick Nick," Benny touches on the dichotomy between professional success and personal losses that comes with making it out.
While Benny does take center-stage for much of the project, he’s not shy when it comes to going blow-for-blow with some of his familiar allies.
Over a serene, Alchemist beat, "Tyson vs Ali'' allows himself and Conway to square off for an intense sparring session. With both parties rhyming tenaciously in order to prove that they are as close to 1A and 1B in the game as you can get, its title speaks to the reverence that they're both held in today, with fans endlessly debating over who rules the roost as both men root for one another’s continued success.
Affectionately referred to as "Uncle Al" by Benny, the magnetic chemistry between Alchemist and The Butcher is held up on "Thowy’s Revenge." Flowing in a way that is both intricate and effortless over its regal horns, Alchemist proves once more why he's nigh-on peerless at this point.
In one of its most captivating lyrical moments, Benny alludes to the endless dilemma of gatekeeping that formerly underground artists face from their own listenership when they make it big, spitting,
Fans choosy 'bout the artists I fuck with
Too successful for 'em all of a sudden
They gon' blame it all on all of this money
Clearly, Benny isn’t looking to place a cap on his potential in order to appease anyone. Likewise, he isn’t pulling any punches or deceiving himself either. On the closing track "Mr. Chow Hall," Benny speaks of not only his place in the Griselda framework, but makes reference to his place in the wider pecking order of modern hip-hop. Along the way, throwing what appears to be a little dig at Shady Records for good measure through a conspicuously censored lyric.
They say West is the brains, and Benny is the star
Conway the silliest with the bars, well, I couldn’t agree more
'Cause I'm on prime time TV fresh off tour in Dior
And what that **** deal was for, my shit was ten times more
On its own merits, Tana Talk 4 is a captivating listen that seeks to show us new dimensions of familiar terrain. Armed with a consistency that is almost unparalleled, Benny is operating at the peak of his powers and with this project, he has reassured fans that his trademark griminess and poetic street bars haven’t been neutered by his ascension in the game. But in the wider Benny The Butcher canon, it can’t help but feel like a prelude to what’s waiting around the corner on his major-label debut.
