Modern Review: Tana Talk 4

    Score: 2.5/5 | Released: March 11th, 2022

Written By: Anthony Seaman     

            Everyone in Griselda plays a role. What started off as a family business has exploded into an internationally known think tank for gravely neo-boom bap with a team that looks more like the cast of Ocean's 11 than The Town. The roster has expanded from the core trio to bring in Stove God Cook$, Boldy James, Armani Cesar, Rome Streetz, Estee Nack, Jay Worthy (sort of) and a re-welcoming of Mach-Hommy all ranging from classic cocaine cowboys to worldly auteurs to sparky loose cannons. At the labels core is an adoration of the grimy East Coast 90’s; Mobb Deep, Kool G Rap, M.O.P, Wu-Tang Clan. Eventually for this blessed time in rap and for the Griselda crew; the income grew exponentially, bringing with it a glitz and glam that made the dust of street corners seem less appealing. Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. most famously toed the lines of the corner and the c-suite inspiring Benny The Butcher to do the same. Tana Talk 3 was the proof that Benny could be a star, building upon the fervor caused by Butcher On Steroids and stellar features across Westside Gunn’s projects. It was hardcore to the label's principles, but showed an itch for something bigger that Gunn and Conway didn’t have. The Tana Talk series has been Benny’s underground hideout from the glossier Burden Of Proof and Plugs I Met 2 adventures, neither of which crossing into mainstream sounds quite as blatantly as say Jay’s Vol. 2, but still clear attempts to spread his wings creatively from the confines of the Griselda-verse. The push for expansion was warranted when you keep tally of what made Benny special compared to his cohorts. More personal than Conway, more potent lyricist than Gunn, better hook writer than Rome, more charismatic than Boldy, better production than Armani. Nobody in the crew then, or today, is as well rounded as Benny. Issues arise when he’s next to higher caliber stars, because what is special about Benny? It's not him being the best working drug dealer turned underground rapper (Gibbs and Pusha T have that on lock) and it's not him being some elite songwriter trapped behind dusty samples (Stove God on the otherhand....). Rooting for the underdog is what has made Benny special; the story of turning his life around after prison to run with his family to create a hip-hop enterprise is why we adore him more than any other Rich Porter obsessed rapper. With Burden Of Proof Benny tasted life outside of the shadows, seeing what the big dogs see. The film built up from nights on street corners was scrapped off, the bristled edges were sanded down, and the odyssey's into smuggling were sanitized into something more digestible with just enough of his core being in tact to separate him from the pack. On Tana Talk 4 he was coming back to the sounds that made him, but it didn't invigorate his skills. Rather he carried his watered down self into his old world, now too soft to stand up in the mean streets again.

        Across Tana Talk 4 it’s easy to slip into a state of boredom hearing the same stories again and again about making it from being a dealer, to a felon, to a rap star. Once upon a time hearing about his prison sentences and making things right with his family were untouched reflections, because they were still raw complicated feelings. The acidity of his frustrations were factory set into his delivery. In the 2 years leading to the album's release his career saw an exponential success (growing his fanbase working with Hit-Boy, Smoke DZA, and Lil Wayne) to which playing with the same fire that fueled his 2016-2018 rebirth becomes a tricky task when the first of the month is less anxiety inducing. The bite was removed from everyones favorite underdog. Despite the flourishing in his career, personal pain was still abundant after losing friend, producer and mentor DJ Shay to COVID in 2020 on top of being hospitalized on multiple occasions with asthma issues and gunshot wounds from an attempted robbery. For all the rigorous trials, the mentions of them are so surface level they’re easily washed into obscurity across the project. “Mr. Chow Hall” is an example of shallow speech, where blank spaces in his verse replace mentions of companies that paid him and his confidants, sacrificing the purity of his music to protect his own wallet. Less exciting than his subject matter is the instrumental backdrops he tells them over. “Back 2x”, “Tyson vs. Ali”, “Super Plug” and “Billy Joe” are a dime a dozen with hooks equally as uninspiring. When a high BPM kick comes on “Thowy’s Revenge” Benny sounds invigorated and fires on all cylinders in a mode he rarely gets a chance to maneuver in. “Weekend In The Perry’s” puts the cavernous dampness on the back burner for a more euphoric and watery vocal chop. “10 More Commandments”, albeit a nod to B.I.G's “Ten Crack Commandments”, is an imaginative update to a classic tune with a rare appearance from Diddy reclaiming his crown as an ad-lib master. Outside of an all-time verse from the streaking J. Cole, every guest vocal are watered down versions of the selected MC. Conway, Stove, Boldy, .38 Spesh and Westside gift Benny verses so limp it begs the question if they were new or just leftovers from their own sessions with the workhorse producers. 

        After a year living with this album, the want to keep pushing through the tracklist fades fast after the intro. The run time is only 40 minutes, but feels endless with loop upon loop stacked into the tracklist mesmerizing you to a state of malaise.  It’s not a fully lifeless piece, but just dead enough to keep the stethoscope on stand by. What’s missing from Benny is something that plagues many rappers who rely on traditionalist values; lack of invention. Focusing on fundamentals doesn’t inherently mean boring, but when you’re just kinda solid at the fundamentals with no flash around it, the boredom is impossible to run from. Tana Talk 4 is the embodiment of someone being too comfortable, hoping to find new life in old spaces. The flames of something new rarely survive throughout a whole verse, a bad omen for someone with aspirations of being in conversation with real legends.

Best Song: “Bust A Brick Nick”
Best Beat: “Thowy’s Revenge”
Best Moments: J. Cole on “Johnny P’s Caddy” / Diddy’s ad-libs on “10 More Commandments” / Verse 2 of “Thowy’s Revenge”