When a gifted rapper emerges on the scene or drops an acclaimed album, it’s common for others to question their influences and inquire about their musical taste. With his highly-praised, Hit-Boy-produced album Burden of Proof currently available, Benny the Butcher revealed his picks for the five best rap groups of all time.
The “Legend” rapper was a guest on ESPN’s “Jalen & Jacoby” when he was asked to list his top five rap groups. “In no particular order, you gotta go the Wu[-Tang Clan], you gotta go the W,” he began. “And then you have to go to Mobb Deep. Rest in peace Prodigy. You have to go to The LOX. Those guys raised me too. I went on tour with them, with those guys, when I was still living in the projects.”
Benny went on to name Run-DMC which triggered memories of his childhood. “My pops used to play these dudes so much, my pops used to have the speaker in the backseat of his car, and we’d ride and listen to Run-DMC,” he said before going into his final pick, admitting it often changes.
“The last one, it kinda fluctuates,” Benny said. “You got a lot of dudes. You got guys like Outkast … I could’ve said Gang Starr. Just so many groups that affect– I had to go back because there’s so many groups that affected me growing up and musically that I gotta include them.”
During his press run for his latest project, Benny told Complex that he considered Nas, JAY-Z, Nore and Capone legends when he was growing up, noting “that whole era” inspired him. “I fed off of that, and that nurtured me into an adult lyricist,” he said.
Burden of Proof dropped earlier this month and features the likes of Rick Ross, Big Sean, Lil Wayne and Griselda’s own Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine.