Tardy EP Review | Benny the Butcher – The Plugs I Met

This project was released on June 21st this year. At first I was gonna do a regular full review for this project since it’s one of those bigger releases with a lot of hype behind it, but fuck that. I don’t think I have enough to say about this project in order to do a full review. I think it’s awesome though. I was surprised by how much I loved it because you may remember that I wasn’t really crazy about Tana Talk 3. I thought it was cool, but I didn’t love it nearly as much as everyone else seemed to. I think this project blows that one out of the water personally. It starts off on fire with Crowns for Kings. There’s not much going on in the song. It’s just two amazing verses over a very good beat from DJ Shay. I thought Benny killed that first verse.

Before I knew an A&R, I was weighin’ hard
Back when Nicki Minaj was in a trainin’ bra

The song was already really goddamn good, but then Black Thought just came in and completely demolished it. Man… That verse was fucking awesome.

For whom the bell tolls
Crown kings in Adidas suits and shell toes
We had to throw a lot of body blows and elbows
Wishin’ we could get from Snyder Ave to Melrose
Without the Dapper Dan bodybags and jail clothes
That warned niggas not to lollygag when Hell rose
We railroaded through the thicker things for gold chains and chicken change
No one throwin’ flames, there’s growin’ pains when in the game
And the blow, ashes in the snow, it’s no remains
Push the wheel as fast as it could go, we overcame the obstacles

My lort

The song is amazing. I love it. I thought the following track was even better though. First of all… Bruh… That fucking beat? Nigga, that shit is fucking incredible. I literally screamed when I first heard that beat while I was driving home. The whole song is fucking insanity. Daringer is a fucking monster, dude. I’ve always thought he was a really great producer, but I was not expecting this. This is one of the dopest beats I’ve heard all year. It’s fucking incredible. That shit is so fucking hard, man. Benny fucking murdered it too.

Rappers y’all compare me to, niggas scared of me too
It make they heart beat faster just hearin’ the truth

His verse is awesome. The hook is nothing special, but it serves its purpose well. I’ve been meaning to check out more of 38 Spesh‘s work, but I think this was my first time actually hearing him rap. He fucking slaughtered this shit though. I wasn’t expecting him to sound the way he sounds. I loved his verse though.

Them niggas dead on arrival, don’t question the title
No chance for survival, they ain’t checkin’ your vitals
A fast car with a gun, tryna catch up to rivals
I got a Lamb’ and a stick like I’m fresh out the Bible

Jaw Drop

He probably had my favorite verse on the song, but Jadakiss sounded amazing on the final verse too. This might be my favorite song on the project. I have to think about it more. It’s amazing though. The following song is amazing as well. I was really excited for this one because the features were really enticing. RJ Payne is a really exciting artist who I became familiarized with due to his intro on Erick Sermon’s latest solo album. He killed that verse, and this one is just as good, if not better. He fucking snapped.

More bananas than the zoo
Gorilla, and all my hammers got that panoramic view
You niggas gamble with life ’til that cannon blam at you
Small-minded, blow out your brain and expand a nigga view

Man, I wish y’all could’ve seen the reaction I had the first time I heard that shit. The way he said it was so dope too. I think he has a great voice for rap. A lot of people were quoting that line where he says “bars hit you like findin’ out your daughter a lesbian.” I don’t know why though. It’s honestly not really a good line. I mean, it’s not like it’s a trash bar or anything, but people were acting like it was amazing. That’s probably the wackest line in the whole song though. It’s fine though. If people think it’s an amazing line, good for them. I’m glad they enjoyed it. Anyway, Benny’s verse was great, and I was super excited to hear from Conway the Machine since he’s my favorite member of the Griselda crew, and his verse was awesome. Overall, I think RJ Payne probably had the best verse, but all of them killed it. It’s another amazing song.

Took the Money to the Plug’s House has another one of the hardest beats on the project, thanks to The Alchemist. The song itself is very good, although I don’t love it nearly as much as the previous few songs. I think the lack of features may have something to do with it because I also didn’t love the final track as much as the others.

That one also didn’t have any rap features. I like both of the songs though. 5 to 50 is one of two tracks that I actually heard before checking out the full project. It’s a dope song. It features India, who’s Benny’s wife. She’s not a rapper, so she’s kinda just talking on this track. The song is really good though. The Alchemist production was dope, and the three verses from Benny were great.

I hear these drug stories and I laugh
Talkin’ ’bout the coke sales they never had
Pull up on a nigga, you gon’ know the pad
Only house with a Bentley on the grass

The song didn’t blow me away like a lot of the others, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The other song that I’d heard before checking out the full project was the collaboration with Pusha T, 18 Wheeler. This is another fantastic track. Again, I don’t love it as much as the first three songs, but it’s still really goddamn great. The beat from DJ Shay is dope, and the first verse from Benny is great. I love the opening quatrain.

We don’t do no price talk ’cause I already know they numbers
Plus me & your old connect was tighter than them Dolce runners
First time I ever cooked a deuce, I got a four-way from it
Stabbed it in the pot so many times they think OJ done it

His verse was hard as hell, and of course Push killed it. I fucking loved the opening lines.

I’m nothin’ like you new gangsters, pointin’ guns at the camera
I bet you niggas practice in the mirror, brick of money to your earlobe
Six pics, same brick, somethin’ weird though

I’m glad he shitted on that behavior because it’s corny as fuck. I loved Pusha T’s verse, although it did feel a little short to be honest. It was definitely shorter than the first verse from Benny. I still think the song is awesome overall though. I love it.


This project is amazing. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was mostly due to the stellar features and top notch production, but I still think Benny is a very good MC. He just doesn’t excite me the same way someone like Conway the Machine or RJ Payne does. RJ Payne & 38 Spesh actually had my favorite performances on the project. There’s not a single wack verse on this EP though, and there’s not a song I dislike either. I saw someone say Benny was overshadowed by the features. I don’t know if I’d go that far personally. I mean, yes, I do like the features more than Benny himself, but it’s not like he didn’t hold his own. My opinion of Benny hasn’t really changed that much after hearing this project; Conway is still easily my favorite member, but Benny is very good. I love this project. It’s dope af to me.

Favorite Song: Sunday School
Least Favorite Song: 5 to 50

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Watch the videos below for more thoughts on this project.

90-95
Grade: A

2 comments

  1. Ayo G, good review, just a little correction:
    The woman speaking in “5 to 50” between the verses is the wife of Benny, and she’s not talking random shit at all, but real stuff that happened early on their relationship, the one you mention that appears in almost every Griselda work is Keisha Plum, check her out.

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