The last entry in “The Plugs I Met” EP series by Benny the Butcher was five years ago and produced entirely by Harry Fraud. Though the Buffalo emcee has released a plethora of material since then, the Plugs series seems to be a fan-favorite. 2026’s “The Plugs I Met 2.5” is a six-track EP now mostly produced by Harry Fraud, with the sole variants being DJ Shay and Daringer. The “Scarface” (1983) imagery for this series continues to manifest in the album cover, with another aspect depicted of Tony Montana’s first meeting with Alejandro Sosa. This time, it’s got Omar Suarez added to the mix, and anyone who’s seen the movie knows what happened to him.
The EP begins with “The Dog & The Wolf”, a spoken word track from Detroit emcee Bruiser Wolf, giving his take on the old Aesop fable as one of never losing hunger or freedom. Mr. Fraud laces a souful production on “Rise & Fall”, with Benny beginning the track. He spits of hustler tales and relates it to the music business with lines like “I bought a crib and then it burnt down / Illuminati after me from all them deals that I turned down.” 38 Spesh and ElCamino also contribute verses, conveying their world-weary sentiments on street dealing. Fuego Base and Bruiser Wolf appear on the moody strings-laden “Big Difference”. The latter appears on the hook as Fuego takes down wannabe hustlers in his verse.
The vintage Griselda sound makes a return on the Daringer-produced “Once Upon a Time”. Spooky and menacing, Benny raps with intensity about how every boss or plug once started from the bottom before rising. The piano and flute samples on “Talk Shows” are almost wistful, especially when juxtaposed with the lyrics from Benny and Raekwon. For this track, Rae had the better verse, lacing it with internal rhyme schemes and greater experience as a progenitor of east coast crime raps. The closing track, “Can’t Be Much” is the EP’s sole single, detailing the contrasting process between fast money and slow rewards:
This is by far the shortest of the Plugs series and the least varied in terms of production. The first one had several producers while the sequels have since narrowed that approach. “The Plugs I Met 2.5” is another urban crime audio instruction guide by Benny the Butcher, showing the securities and perils of such a life in equal measure.
Benny the Butcher :: The Plugs I Met 2.5
7Overall Score