Benny The Butcher has crowned J. Cole the best rapper alive right now – but he wouldn’t have always said that.
The New York native came through to HipHopDX recently and chopped it up about a variety of topics – including who he considers the GOAT in Hip Hop. He explained that while Cole has always been a beast, the run he’s been on lately has solidified his status.
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“I’ma have to say Cole [is the best rapper alive],” Benny said. “Like right now, fresh in my memory right now. It gotta be that kid there, man. It’s a different aura with him, right? He always been a contender but I feel like he’s coming into his own right and standing over it. You know how [Lil] Wayne said he’s claiming it? I kinda feel like he’s claiming it right now. And he’s done enough where he could claim it.”
Benny also revealed he was recently at a writing camp with the Dreamville crew and he saw Cole going “crazy.”
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“I was at the Revenge of the Dreamers writing camp not too long ago and [J. Cole] was in there every day gong crazy. It was fire. A whole bunch of rappers in there – JID, Smino, Daylyt, me, Cole. A bunch of producers – [so many] I can’t even remember… Westside Gunn, Lil Yachty was through there.”
Check out the full clip below.
Benny The Butcher has always asserted his dominance in Hip Hop, but he’s equally vocal about recognizing the talent he is surrounded by — J. Cole, for that reason, is a name he always brings up.
Back in November, the Griselda MC talked about how the Dreamville boss has taken on a leadership role while most others in his position are “not worried about pushing the culture forward.”
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“A lot of things that he do that he don’t have to do,” Benny said on the Rap Radar podcast. “I know we can say that about a lot of people but it seems to me like he take interest in things like that, and that’s the difference — he realizes his responsibility of him being the top guy.
“And make no mistake, he’s the top guy. Cole is the top fucking guy in this shit right now, and for him to understand there’s a responsibility just say a lot about him, ’cause a lot of these dude’s don’t, man.”
Benny The Butcher also previously named J. Cole’s top feature verse being on his 2022 standout track, “Johnny P’s Caddy.”
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“Honestly, ‘Johnny P’s Caddy,’ I have to rank it at the top,” Benny told HipHopDX at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards. “Ya’ll know why. He’s on there with another spitter. I don’t know bro. I gotta go check that [Yachty] song out. I was listening to it the other day. I’ma listen to it better but, I think Johnny P’s Caddy, Cole verse still got the best title.”
