Benny The Butcher fans were treated to a surprise project earlier this week, but their excitement has quickly turned to both disappointment and confusion.
Following its release on Friday (August 23), the Griselda rapper’s new EP Buffalao Butch, Vol. 1 has already been pulled from streaming services without explanation.
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The three-track project notably included Benny’s long-teased “Buffalo Freestyle” collaboration with Drake, as well as appearances from Fabolous and 38 Spesh.
Searching for answers, fans flocked to Benny’s most recent Instagram post promoting the EP with questions over its sudden removal.
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“[W]here tf did it go?? shits gone off spotify,” one person asked, while another commented: “Why not availabe anymore???”
Some speculated that Drake — who shared new music of his own via his burner Instagram account later on Friday — may be responsible.
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“Yo @champagnepapi free that track with Benny! Why record if you don’t want it to release [clown emoji],” one comment read.
Benny has yet to address Buffalao Butch, Vol. 1‘s mysterious disappearance.
“Buffalo Freestyle” had been a long time coming prior to its short-lived release on streaming services.
The song, which finds the Buffalo and Toronto natives trading verses over a sparse, moody beat from Boi-1da, was first teased in 2020 and leaked online the following year.
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At one point, it was even reportedly being considered for Drake’s Certified Lover Boy album but didn’t end up making the cut.
“Drake is Drake. He’s the biggest artist in the world, so ain’t no telling where that song gonna land,” Benny said on the Connected podcast in 2021. “We got the song, I played it for all the homies. It’s a vibe and he gotta place that where he sees fit to it.
“I feel like it definitely would have fit in and definitely would have mixed things up, but I also see why he didn’t put it on [Certified Lover Boy].”
Last year, the Black Soprano Family boss vented his frustration over the long-shelved song in an interview with Joe Budden.
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“I was pissed, I’m not gonna lie. I was pissed, man,” he admitted. “It’s a fucking Drake record! It was surely my biggest record … And the record’s just sitting in my pocket.”
He added: “That’s the biggest artist in the world so I understand his release schedule might be hectic or he might have people that be like, ‘We can’t drop that right now because we doing this.’ I understand that. He’s the name, but he represents a lot of people that he works with and his moves affect a lot of people, so I understand that part.”
