Beat Butcha’s sound is self-described by the adjectives grimy, eclectic and soulful. So far in 2022, that holy trinity was put on display in the form of Dreamville’s surprise Gangsta Grillz mixtape, one of Chance The Rapper’s comeback singles, “Wraith,” and Benny The Butcher’s anticipated effort, Tana Talk 4, among others. Checking in with XXL, here, the 40-year-old, U.K.-bred producer speaks on his recent power moves in the rap game.
How did you get involved on the creation of Dreamville’s “Stick”?
That song was originally only JID and Kenny Mason. It’s been in the vault since 2020. Me and Araabmuzik had been cooking up some stuff together. That was one of the standout joints that we had made from the batch. And I guess [A&R] Matt McNeal, who was working at Dreamville at the time, had submitted it to JID. I found out it was on the Dreamville tape not too long after that. I didn’t even know Cole was on it yet. So that was a lovely surprise.
How did “Wraith” by Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa come together?
I cooked that one with Smoko Ono, who is one of Chance’s good friends and main producers. This one came from a folder of ideas to flip that I gave him. One day, he texted me and was like, “Vic and Chance are going crazy on this right now. I’m pretty sure this is going to come out. So please, don’t give this to anyone else.” Another notable thing to say about that is that my boy Dom [Dominique Sanders] laced it with the crazy bassline as well. Super funky.
Can you detail the work you’ve done on Brent Faiyaz’s Wasteland album?
I contributed to three songs on the album. I fully produced “Heal Your Heart” with Mike Blud, which is like an interlude. I did some additional on “Loose Change.” And I added drums to “Addictions.” He’s one of my favorite artists of this day and age. We hadn’t worked until “Heal Your Heart,” which came from a Spotify Secret Genius session in 2019.
What’s the story behind the recording of Benny The Butcher’s “10 More Commandments” song?
It’s always a pleasure to be a part of any Griselda project. Me and Daringer have a long-standing collaborative process. The way that we put this one together was kinda similar to how we cooked up WWCD [What Would Chine Gun Do]. We were at The Alchemist’s studio in the B room. At least two of the beats on the project were made on the same night shortly before Benny started working on Tana Talk 4. Those were joints that we had in the stash that seemed to work with the direction.
Read Beat Butcha's interview in the 25th anniversary issue of XXL magazine, on newsstands now. Check out additional interviews in the magazine, including our cover story with Eminem, plus conversations with Bobby Shmurda, Yung Miami, JID, GloRilla, Yvngxchris, Sleazyworld Go, Jim Jones, Symba, Reason, Stunna Gambino, Styles P, Jim Jones, singer Jessie Reyez, engineer Ethan Stevens, actor Trevante Rhodes and music executive Katina Bynum. The issue also includes a deep dive into a narrative piece on the U.S. court systems' battle against rap lyrics, rappers’ longstanding connection to anime, the renewed interest music supervisors have in placing 1990’s hip-hop in today’s lauded TV series and the 254 past covers in XXL history.
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