Benny The Butcher reacts to Big Daddy Kane calling him the top lyricist.
Benny The Butcher recently made an appearance on the Dope As Usual Podcast, where he reflected on being praised by Big Daddy Kane.
“I’m still humble,” said Benny The Butcher at the 9:38 mark. “I didn’t even know Kane knew who the f–k I was, y’feel what I’m sayin? So it’s like, when he was doing his sh-t, he was considered that guy, so it’s like he’s comparing me to those guys… Conway is that guy for sure, J. Cole is definitely that guy, y’know what I’m sayin?”
He continued, “And it’s like to be compared with those guys… that let me know I’m a top lyricist when it comes from guys who were top lyricists.”
During an interview with AllHipHop, Kane called Butcher among the current top lyricists. “When you look at the era of the Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Kool Moe Dee and then you see how it evolved and became Rakim and KRS-One, and then you see how it evolved again in the era of Nas, Biggie and JAY-Z, from a lyrical standpoint, you want to see it keep evolving,” he said.
He continued, “By the time the ’90s came around, Hip-Hop had become so commercial, that it was more important about having commercial songs and something more simplistic. A lot of the artists that came after that, their mindset wasn’t really on being lyrical, it was on writing catchy songs. That’s really where their mindset was.”
“So when you see people like J. Cole, Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, Kendrick Lamar and Lady London, I have a special respect for that because they’re true to lyricism.”
