Review by Alex Dye

Hip-Hop is in the midst of a musical zeitgeist, with the rise of EP’s (and LP’s containing fewer tracks and clocking in under 30 minutes) as valid artistic projects rather than just stop gaps between full-length album releases. This means no more skits or filler tracks. Everything has to hit harder to make an impression. In the “Attack of the EP” series, we will be exploring the best of hip-hop EP’s and short albums released this year.

Griselda is a rap label/collective out of Buffalo, NY. Founded by half-brothers Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn and their cousin Benny the Butcher. The self-styled “Black Sopranos” are reviving mafia rap with a focus on their city of Buffalo. In the last several years, members of Griselda have consistently released critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Their output is prolific, with each member dropping several releases a year that have added up to dozens of albums under the Griselda moniker. Additionally, they’ve self-released several movies that also spotlight street life. 

Griselda garners a lot of comparisons to the Wu-Tang Clan, and for good reason. Each group was formed from interconnected artists from the street who masterfully (and with gritty realism) tell their stories dealing with drugs and violence over top of grimy synth and piano laden instrumentals. Griselda rappers are confident, but they don’t necessarily glorify the life, instead giving an intimate view into the world of the drug game. After Conway was shot and nearly killed leaving a club in 2012, the Griselda-verse has focused on expanding its roster of musicians and regularly releasing quality music.

On his latest release, Pyrex Picasso, Benny the Butcher distills the essence of Griselda into 7 tracks (6 if you don’t count the 30 second intro) that clock in at just twenty minutes. “Flood the Block” kicks off with an 80’s sample containing driving synth and electric guitar over boom bap drums which would not sound out of place playing over a Rocky montage. On “The Iron Curtain,” Benny fires out his verses with ferocity overtop of a gothic Phantom of the Opera–esque organ drone. He drops bars about his come-up, saying “I got my first gun when I was fourteen years old…I got it from Conway.” Not afraid to talk about scrapping for his money, but not bragging about it either, Benny coats verses about bullets and racks with a brutal honesty. And of course, he reps his city: “I’m from Buffalo, the home of the drivebys.” Buffalo, up until now has sat backseat to the rap empire that is New York City. For people who typically associate Buffalo with wings and Niagara Falls, this look into its dark side is revelatory. Conway joins him on “Fly with Me,” which explores choosing music over drug dealing and the question of where the better money comes from. It’s also a track about how their personal redemption from the game has made them heroes to their city. 

If you’re new to the Griselda-verse (like I was), this is a taste of what the rest of the catalogue has to offer. And even if you don’t live the life that Benny describes, culturally these are important snapshots into the relationship between drugs, wealth, and violence in the city that needs to be understood and paid attention to if there is any hope of ever reconciling and restoring this kind of urban experience.

You can connect with Benny the Butcher on Instagram and Twitter as well as stream Pyrex Picasso on your music platform of choice.