I’m not the biggest fan of rap beef. Really, most confrontations outside the realm of sports make me a little nervous since I’ve seen how far these things can go, but it’s also part of my job to keep readers abreast of trends in music. Well, one of the long-running trends this year has been the ongoing friction between collaborators turned combatants Benny The Butcher and Freddie Gibbs, so here we are.
Here’s the short of it; this spring, after Freddie made what appeared to be disparaging comments about Benny on Twitter, Benny responded by insinuating that his time to collaborate with Freddie had come and gone and that he’d rejected Freddie’s pleas to work on a joint album together. Then, two months later, Gibbs made an appearance in Buffalo, Benny’s hometown, sporting what appeared to be a fresh shiner on around his eye onstage. After some speculation by fans, a video emerged online the next day, apparently depicting the two rappers’ crews brawling at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurant in Buffalo ahead of Gibbs’ show there.
It was later reported that Gibbs’ chain had gone missing during the altercation and now, it seems we know where it ended up: in Benny’s possession. According to XXL, Benny posted a video on his Instagram Story showing off a jewelry collection that apparently now includes Freddie’s ESGN pendant (which some fans speculate actually belonged to a woman they believe he’s been dating since around the time of the fight). Freddie responded on his own Instagram Story, writing, “Benny gay ass need to stop flexing because he was there and didn’t throw a punch. Hoe ass n****s did all that brought a camera man and all for promo. Still can’t pack a room. Go head start rapping about me so I can start talking about these sealed plea agreements and shit … Head up fade solve everything. But n**** aint built like that.”
Now, Benny has escalated their static, posting another video to his Story this time wearing the ESGN chain while calling Freddie “MC Dinosaur Bar-B-Que” and mocking him for getting beat up. Freddy followed up with his own text post, against disparaging Benny for being unable to draw a crowd (legit, by the way — the Griselda show at the Novo in 2020 was sort of dead and this was pre-pandemic) and invited him once again to a one-on-one fight.
My take: Both of these guys are too old to be squabbling over social media like a couple of middle schoolers. Freddie’s 40 and Benny’s 36 and both should know better. Threatening shootouts and running five-on-one fades is corny, especially over rap. Either call Ultimate Rap League or get a boxing match sanctioned so you can have it out and have it over with, because this? This ain’t it.