''Burden of Proof'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 and songwriter. He came to prominence in 2018 following the release of his debut album, '' Tana Talk 3''. Along w ...

. It was released on October 16, 2020, through

Griselda Griselda, also spelled Grizelda, is a feminine given name from Germanic sources that is now used in English, Italian, and Spanish as well. According to the 1990 United States Census, the name was 1,066th in popularity among females in the Unit ...

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. Produced entirely by

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first signed with fellow producer Polow da Don in 2007 as in-house production staff for his l ...

, it features guest appearances from

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

Conway the Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine, or simply Conway, is an American rapper and co-founder of the hip hop label Griselda Records, alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn. Acclaimed for h ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper. His fourth mixtape, ''From the Westside with Love'' (2010), was met with critical acclaim; its sequel, '' From the Westside with Love II' ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

Queen Naija Queen Naija Bulls (; born October 17, 1995) is an American singer and media personality. Born and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bulls began her career as a YouTube vlogger, and appeared on the thirteenth season of ''American Idol''. Her 2017 si ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

and

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American Rapping, rapper and fashion designer. He co-founded the Independent record label, hip-hop record label Griselda Records in 2012 with his paternal half- ...

. 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 an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

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. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' 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 Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

streets". Mark Elibert of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' 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 * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

'' 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'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 borough of New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Co ...

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 or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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