''Burden of Proof'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American rapper

Benny the Butcher Jeremie Damon Pennick (born November 27, 1984), known professionally as Benny the Butcher or simply Benny, is an American rapper. He is part of the hip hop collective Griselda with frequent collaborators and first-cousins Westside Gunn and Conw ...

. It was released on October 16, 2020, through Griselda/

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. Produced entirely by

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...

, it features guest appearances from

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

Conway the Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine (or simply Conway), is an American rapper. Alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn and cousin Benny the Butcher, Conway was a member of Griselda Records ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Queen Naija Queen Naija Bulls (; born October 17, 1995) is an American R&B singer and media personality. Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, though she was raised majorly in Detroit, Michigan, she started out her career as a vlogger on YouTube and then participat ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

and

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American rapper. He is a co-founder of independent hip-hop label Griselda Records. He is the brother of rapper Conway The Machine and cousin of rapper Benny the ...

. The album was acclaimed by critics and debuted at number 27 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with about 19,000 equivalent album units.

Critical reception

''Burden of Proof'' was met with critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 82 based on six reviews. Jayson Buford of ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' praised the album, calling it "the biggest Benny album to date, but he doesn't lose what made him great and such a beloved underground rapper. His boasts are as strong as ever, and his flows are cold like the air in the Buffalo streets". Mark Elibert of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' said, "Benny raps with so much confidence and gratitude here that listeners have to tip their hat to the certified Buffalo legend. For those used to the aggressive, violent music of The Butcher will be happy to hear this fresh, refined take on his sound". Tim Sentz of ''

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

'' stated, "It's a busy record for sure, but it makes for an exhilarating listen front to back. At less than 40 minutes, it's also one of the most compact rap albums of the year, running more like a singer-songwriter level of conciseness and less of an over-zealous rapper".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Fred Thomas compared the album to previous releases, by saying that it "finds Benny the Butcher fully formed after years of development and growth. There's even a marked upgrade in production compared to his 2018 outing ''Tana Talk 3'', which stuck close to the

East Coast hip hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

influences that had guided the majority of Benny's work before that point". Robin Murray of '' Clash'' said that the album "pushes Benny The Butcher back to the forefront, and offers further evidence that Griselda is one of the most vital labels in North American hip-hop right now". Dylan Green of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' said, "He has every right to experiment and try on sounds as he sees fit.

attempts to balance this out by heading in the opposite direction so fully that it occasionally overwhelms Benny's personality. ... ''Burden of Proof'' is undoubtedly the next step in Benny's evolution, even if the music doesn't always match the vision".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Albums produced by Hit-Boy Griselda Records albums Empire Distribution albums Benny the Butcher albums