Benny the Butcher

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Jeremie Damon Pennick (born November 27, 1984), known professionally as Benny the Butcher, or simply Benny, is an American rapper and songwriter. He came to prominence in 2018 following the release of his debut album, Tana Talk 3. Along with his cousins and fellow rappers Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine, with which he forms the collective Griselda, he is known for his '90s inspired rap songs and is often credited with leading a revival of so called 'grimy' and 'gritty' hip hop music, influenced by mafioso and drug dealing themes.^[1]

Despite being signed at the age of 15, he continued to engage in drug dealing activities for a significant portion of his early life. Following the death of his brother, Machine Gun Blak, Pennick released numerous mixtapes and collaboration albums. His notable and most cited works are the albums Butcher on Steroids, Tana Talk 3, Burden of Proof, Tana Talk 4 and the EP The Plugs I Met.

Pennick's music often centers on his experiences as a young drug dealer in Buffalo, New York and the obstacles and experiences he encountered. He has been praised by peers and critics for his storytelling ability and choice of sound.^[2]

Early life

Pennick was born on November 27, 1984 and was the second-eldest of eight siblings, raised by a single mother. He spent his childhood growing up in Montana Avenue in the city of Buffalo, New York. Due to the prevalent youth poverty rate in the area, Pennick started dealing heroin at the age of 14,^[3] despite witnessing his mother struggle with addiction.

Career

2004–2005: First mixtapes

Early in his career Pennick started to work with local Buffalo hip hop stalwart DJ Shay and started to record songs regularly. Pennick released his first mixtape titled Tana Talk in 2004. Pennick notes he printed 5,000 copies of his mixtape and handed them out for free to gain fans. Tana Talk 1 is considered a piece of lost media, of which Pennick himself initially commented that he does not have a copy. However, in an interview promoting Tana Talk 3, Pennick hinted that he does have the source files for the mixtape, and would release the mixtape should he feel inclined to in the future.^[4] He released the follow up, Tana Talk 2, in 2005.

2005–2013: Shooting of brother and initial mixtapes

On October 3, 2006, Pennick's older brother Marchello Lowery, also known as Machine Gun Blak, was shot in a drive by shooting on Montana Block, in Buffalo, New York. Pennick was in jail for violating his parole at the time. The death of Lowery impacted Pennick and his cousins profoundly, and has a major influence on the content of their music and lyrics.^[5]

Motivated by the legacy and work ethic of Lowery, Pennick started to record songs and compile mixtapes at an increased rate, releasing 12 between 2007 and 2013.^[6] During this time he was still an active drug dealer, being caught numerous times by the police and serving multiple sentences in prison.

2014–2016: Signing to Griselda Records, Black Soprano Family and final projects as Benny

In 2014, Westside Gunn founded Griselda Records, through which Benny, Conway The Machine, and Westside Gunn would self-release their own projects. Pennick's music would take a major shift from popular sounds and reused beats from existing artists, as was the trend in the 2000s mixtape period, to more targeted in house production. He adopted the sound pioneered by his cousins, Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine, and developed by the in house producer, Daringer. Pennick appeared on many releases by Griselda Records and started to gain popularity as a regular featured artist. Around the same time Pennick founded the Black Soprano Family, a collective of Buffalo rappers that he was affiliated with. They released the collective mixtape Black Soprano Family on May 11, 2015.^[7] He then released the mixtape My 1 on a 1 in 2016. The Black Soprano mixtape marked the end of his work as 'Benny', as future releases from this point would be under the moniker Benny the Butcher.

2016–2017: Benny the Butcher and new artistic direction

During 2016, Pennick began to work with the in house producer for Griselda Records, Daringer, and moulded his sound to match the sonic aesthetics of other Griselda imprint members. He released his first solo mixtape under Griselda, titled My First Brick, on October 8, 2016. This mixtape marked a change in Pennick's style and choice of beats to rap over. The mixtape followed a more 'boom bap' aesthetic, incorporating live instruments instead of the more heavily 808s and synthesizers typical of his previous mixtape efforts, and showed more experimentation with sound. He then released the EP 17 Bullets, emphasizing his new artistic direction.

On March 3, 2017, Griselda (as a collective), as well as Pennick's cousins

That same year, on November 17, 2017, Pennick, as Benny the Butcher, released the mixtape Butcher On Steroids, in collaboration with DJ Green Lantern. This was part of a series of mixtapes that DJ Green Lantern was creating with Griselda Records members, having made similar 'Steroids' mixtapes with Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn. The mixtape was received with critical acclaim and widely praised by fans and critics who noted Pennick's progression and refined sonic Palette.^[10][11]

Capitalizing on the success of Butcher on Steroids, Pennick collaborated with his hometown friend and fellow rapper, 38 Spesh, to release the joint mixtape Stabbed and Shot, officially released on 18 February 2018.^[12]

2018–2019: Debut album Tana Talk 3, The Plugs I Met, WWCD and critical acclaim

On November 23, 2018, Pennick released his debut studio album