“Houston, I want to do something special for ya’ll,” yelled Benny the Butcher as he walked to the edge of the stage at Warehouse Live. Smoke wafted across the room as he peered out at the audience in the venue. “But if I’m going to do it it needs to sound big. It needs to sound like this.”
As he took a step back from the audience the intro from “Legend” from his 2020 album, Burden of Proof, played through the speakers. As the crowd nodded to the music Benny removed his jacket and stood center stage in black shorts, a black shirt, and a bucket hat. Shimmering chains reading “BSF” hung from his neck. As the song came to a close Benny looked down at the set list taped to the floor in front of him.
“We got a lot more to do Houston. What ya’ll want to hear next?”
Benny the Butcher, fresh off this year’s release of the third installment of his Tana Talk series, touched down in Houston Sunday night. The rapper hit the road in 2021 with the Burden of the Plugs tour and then went back out with his Griselda label mates last spring and early summer. That tour only had Dallas as one of its Texas stops. Benny didn’t leave the rest of his Lone Star state fans hanging, recently announcing A Nightmare In Texas Tour, with dates focused on Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. The Houston stop brought out Bun B who came to show Benny love.
“Benny just came out to show Texas some love. This wasn’t a part of any extensive tour,” explained the Port Arthur MC as he walked around backstage. “This was just designed to bring the BSF entertainment family out here to Houston and, given Benny’s always had this blood splatter theme to his music, it works well because we’re all out here celebrating Halloween. There’s a lot of artists out here from the Houston community and it’s just a great night to come out and feel the good energy as well as support my brothers in Hip Hop.”
Showing love to fellow Hip Hop artist went both ways as Benny brought out Maxo Kream as a surprise guest to run through their single “Football Heads”. The crowd roared as the two traded verses back and forth. As Benny continued the show fellow members of his BSF collective backed him up occasionally jumping in to spit a verse.
BSF, the Black Soprano Family, is a collection of artists being put forth by Benny, who has had commercial success getting commercial acclaim for independent music with Griselda. Griselda, the collective and record label notably composed of Benny, Westside Gun, Conway the Machine, Body James, Armani Caesar, and more, have created their own wave in the industry by releasing their own independent sound straight from Buffalo, New York.
Their music, full of detailed stories focused of drug dealing set to a soundtrack of heavy soul samples, has attracted music heavyweights like Interscope, Shady, Def Jam, and Roc Nation. The group has also become the most recent blueprint for independent artists who see Griselda as a collective that has been able to again commercial success while remaining true to their sound.
That sound is not diminished when performed live. If anything, its enhanced. Benny moved through his extensive catalog, performing songs from Mixtapes as well as albums, and dipping into songs he’s featured on as well. The show was an ode to true Benny the Butcher fans that have been with him since day one and also a showcase for BSF.
For a city like Houston which champions is own independent sound the show was not to be missed. When you attracted artists like Bun B, Maxo Kream, and AJ McQueen on Halloween Eve you’re doing something right.
“I’m here for multiple reasons,” said AJ McQueen as he watched the show “but the thing I’m here for most is the lyricism. Benny is one of the people that’s out here really pushing lyrics and as a lyricist I came to support. Plus, Houston is just out here showing love. The city is really tapped in.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
