Benny The Butcher is attempting to immortalize himself in the rap world. He’s recruited Lil Wayne, Big Sean and Hit-Boy to make this possible. But in an effort to be “Timeless,” did he waste listeners time?
THE SOUND: Created for Kanye West’s Watch the Throne back in 2011, the beat featuring in “Timeless” truly lives up to its name. Hit-Boy, the producer, put together a modernized boom bap beat, with a distinctive drum pattern and a raw, repetitive melody. The old-school vibes of the beat make listeners expect Jay-Z’s iconic voice to come barrelling through, but instead are met with Benny The Butcher’s similar low, booming flow. Collectively, this blast from the past perfectly encapsulates a lost era of rap — the type of rap even Drake described as music that “can only be created if you go through it.” We applaud Benny for his come-up and his success thus far, earning the track a 7/10 on the Intersect 1-10 rating scale.
THE RAPPING: Don’t get us wrong, Lil Wayne, Big Sean and Benny The Butcher sound great together. Digging beneath the surface, however, Lil Wayne is the star of this track. His name value brings listeners in and his flow makes them stay. Weezy’s flow is commanding and his lyrics blend perfectly into the boom bap atmosphere created with Benny’s hook and Hit Boy’s beat. His verse is filled with metaphors, reestablishing the relevant themes of drugs and violence that filled older rap songs. His consistent quality of varying flows and jabbing metaphors elevates the track and turns listeners' heads. But, can the other rappers maintain the heat?
Big Sean isn’t timeless. We said what we said. His lyrics hold a fading, slow sentimentality that doesn’t match the mood of the track. In an effort to show off his personal growth, he highlights his downfalls as a rapper. From track to track, Sean seldom switches up his flow, spitting the same subjects over and over again. “Timeless” gave Sean the opportunity to solidify his own immortality in the rap community, but he fumbled the bars. While consistency is king, even Benny notes, “What’s a king to a god?”
Benny The Butcher is a fantastic rapper when it comes to features. In other tracks, Benny is the lyrical dark horse. His heavy and aggressive flow shines when it is able to cut through softer melodies and trap beats. That being said, his flow, when paired with Hit-Boy’s beat, seems to fall flat. Basic lyrics are flying past listeners, with no words or phrases to get caught on. Nothing sticks with listeners during Benny’s verse. Listeners might gravitate towards this track due to its big name features, Lil Wayne and Big Sean. But, do they stay for Benny The Butcher? We’ve got our doubts, leaving us to give this a 5/10 on the Intersect 1-10 rating scale.
THE ART BEHIND THE SINGLE:
The team behind Benny the Butcher, Griselda Records, has been consistently putting out music for the past few months. Though popular, this group fits into the “if you know, you know” area of music. Fans of the artists in the collective are quickly converted into diehards, while the rest of the world sits in silence. That’s where “Timeless” comes into play.
Benny released “Timeless” with his album announcement on October 9th, 2020. With a beat designed for Kanye West and two popular featured artists, "Timeless" has the potential to live up to its name. Listeners should be drawn in by the mainstream names and stay for Benny's hard flow. From there, listeners will be itching for the upcoming album and inaugurate themselves into the Griselda fanbase. Unfortunately, this isn't the timeline that "Timeless" received.
Benny The Butcher's last album was released in mid-2019 as has remained relatively silent since. Now, re-entering the rap game, "Timeless" forces fans and listeners to make certain inferences about the upcoming album that, unfortunately, don’t bode well for Benny. The truth lies in the organization of the track. Sandwiched by Benny and Big Sean, Lil Wayne’s feature on the second verse stands out. Besides his signature, cutting voice, Weezy brings a different flow and elevates the track with his metaphors. By making Lil Wayne the star of the track, listeners are speculating about what the album could sound like. Benny could be working on a very collaborative album, taking it back to street-rap’s true competitive yet communal meaning. This could be the start of a phenomenal collaboration between many distinctive rappers both inside and out of Griselda Records. On the other hand, Benny could just be hiding behind great rappers, using them for his success. Benny can be touted as a worthy feature artist, but is he ready for mainstream rap?
Honestly, we aren’t sure if Benny has made it to god status yet, but we hope that his upcoming album proves himself worthy. These remaining questions leave us to give the art a 5/10 on the Intersect 1-10 rating scale.
Overall, "Timeless" receives a 6/10 on the Intersect 1-10 rating scale. Listen below and let us know what you think.