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Benny The Butcher Names The MCs That Inspire Him

Though the process of ranking has always been a cornerstone of hip-hop discourse, opinions tend to hold a lot more credibility when they come from an authoritative source. Often times, those very sources are top tier, elite-level emcees — a testament to the mentality that real recognize real. It goes without saying that Benny The Butcher has earned his place among the game’s top tier spitters, a fact made wholly evident with the release of Burden Of Proof. That is if Tana Talk 3 and The Plugs I Met didn’t already make that fact abundantly clear.

Benny The Butcher

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Having secured collaborations with the likes of Eminem, Royce Da 5’9″, Black Thought, Ghostface Killah, Lil Wayne, Tip Harris, and more, one has to wonder when Benny’s name will carry such weight to rising emcees on the come-up. In the meantime, we had a chance to chop it up with The Butcher about the current rappers that inspire him.

“Freddie Gibbs,” he names first, showing major love to his Alfredo collaborator, with whom he worked on “Frank Lucas.” Russ gets the next selection; while that may prove surprising to some, it should be noted that Benny and Russ go way back, having collaborated on “I Thought You Got Me.” Not to mention the fact that Benny was originally supposed to open for Russ in a major stadium tour, though COVID-19 swept those plans aside with haste. “Conway too, I feel like sometimes he don’t get the credit,” continues Benny, looking within his own crew. “Who else? There’s a lot of us, man, we be knocking on the door. There’s a bunch of us.”

For more insight from The Butcher, including some of his bucket list collaborations, the history behind his Butcher moniker, and more, be sure to check out our complete interview with the Burden Of Proof rapper right here. Are you surprised by the rappers he named?

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DJ Akademiks questions if Lil Durk will get bond as the racketeering case goes on

Lil Durk’s legal battle is about to take another big step, and DJ Akademiks is already sharing his expectations for what could go down when the rapper returns to court in November.

Durk is in custody, awaiting his next VICAR case in which authorities say he was running a criminal enterprise. His next trial was set for October 5, but recent developments have called into question when those proceedings will occur.

Durk’s murder for hire trial recently resulted in a not guilty verdict in November. Regardless of that outcome, he remains in custody because the separate racketeering related charges remain unresolved. Durk’s attorneys have asked for the new hearing and have been ordered to appear by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, which also must submit a fresh bail report.

Against that backdrop, legal commentator Bradford Cohen had previously suggested Durk could eventually get bond. That view ties in with Durk’s not-guilty verdict in the earlier case, and the argument that the outcome could make it harder to sustain the remaining allegations.

DJ Akademiks sees things a bit differently. In a recent livestream, Akademiks predicted that Durk would not get a bond at the Nov. hearing. He believes the charges will stick and cites the seriousness of the allegations in the VICAR case as his reasoning. He also doesn’t appear to expect the rapper to be released from jail anytime soon as the case moves forward.

Akademiks’ prediction concerns the bond hearing, not Durk’s chances at trial. Durk’s legal situation remains unresolved for now. His recent acquittal has altered the circumstances of his arrest, but the separate racketeering case still looms over the rapper as both sides prepare for the next phase.

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DJ Akademiks Resurrects 2015 Drake vs. Meek Mill Beef With Alleged Nicki Minaj Backstory

DJ Akademiks is digging up hip-hop history buried for 10 years as he offers his supposed explanation for how the Drake/Meek Mill feud came to a head in 2015. The back-and-forth between Akademiks and Meek Mill has resurfaced the conversation. Akademiks returned to the long-running Drake-Meek beef on his stream last night, saying a comment by Nicki Minaj had something to do with what happened between the two rappers.

According to Akademiks, Meek and Minaj were shopping at a designer fashion store when they got to the register. He says that when Meek told her he didn’t have the cash to pay for Minaj, she allegedly told him he would never be Drake. Akademiks also claims Minaj left the store on her own, and then Meek went on X, and what happened next started the infamous feud with Drake.

The account remains an allegation, not a confirmed explanation. The information provided has not been independently verified, and ultimately only those involved, including Minaj and Meek Mill, could confirm the story’s authenticity.

The beef between Drake and Meek Mill started in 2015 and has become a staple in hip-hop conversation. Meek struggled after the fallout, while the beef became a defining moment in Drake’s career. However, the two eventually made up and collaborated on “Going Bad,” signaling a return to a more cooperative relationship despite the rivalry’s tension.

Now that Akademiks and Meek are throwing shots again, the events of 2015 are back in the conversation. By reflecting on the feud, Akademiks has added another possible piece of context to a story that has been a hot topic in hip-hop for years.

Whether his version of events is what actually happened, however, remains unresolved. Currently, the designer-store story isn’t factual, but it is Akademiks’ version of the events surrounding the beef.

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