Just when 38 Spesh thought he may never find a worthy Hip-Hop adversary to go on a track, his Buffalo-bred rap peer Benny The Butcher answered the call-to-action.
Spesh released his album Mother & Gun along with the accompanying film earlier this month. We’ll circle back to that project in a moment. However, a key takeaway from the rollout of the album related to Spesh’s latest announcement in conjunction with Benny The Butcher, came about during his recent interview with AllHipHop in which Spesh claimed rappers were running from him. And while that may be partially true, it certainly is the case for his Griselda rap counterpart, who has agreed to appear opposite Spesh to revive their favorite mixtape series via the upcoming Shot & Stabbed 2 collab.
“Hey, yo, y’all know what it is,” Benny The Butcher said in the announcement video 38 Spesh shared on his Instagram Story. “This is the most anticipated street album in a long time. Stabbed & Shot 2. Y’all wanted it. Y’all got it, man. Me and bro.”
Spesh added, “Back and forth, n###a,” he said. “The best to do it. You heard me? Y’all n###as is in trouble. Believe that.”
The pair have made good on their promise to reprise the mixtape series, set for an October 18 release, which debuted its first iteration in 2018. And with the record arriving on the heels of Spesh’s latest solo album, Mother & Gun, the potential for the Rochester rapper to go six for six in releasing standout projects in 2024 remains at a high percentage. On the other hand, though, it remains to be seen whether or not Spesh’s challenge for mainstream rappers to see him in the studio will be answered before the year ends.
“What I don’t like is when you rappers run from me, see me though, and act like y’all not running from me and then keep running from me,” Spesh told AllHipHop while discussing his album during a recent interview. “That s##t bothers me.”
Despite the fact that Spesh has released several collaborative projects this year, namely he and Grafh’s God’s Timing and In God We Trust with The Musalini, Spesh appears to have a hunger to work with artists of another echelon that isn’t currently being fed.
“What I mean by that is, act like ‘Yo I’m going to send you a verse, Yo, I’m going to hop on this joint,’ and it’s not like you asking, but some muthaf###as be like, ‘Nah, yo, we going to—and Imma,’ then when you send a joint, they run,” he said. “And I understand it’s a lot of pressure rapping behind me.”
In a sense, it’s somewhat refreshing that Spesh’s comments didn’t get the chance to truly age, now that he and Benny are gearing up to deliver their joint effort. I guess the question now is whether any other major mainstream lyricists will accept the challenge to rap with Spesh.
For now, check out the post of the pair of New York rappers announcing the project above.
