West Coast rapper Benzo turns life’s coal to musical gems on his latest single, Pressure featuring Flesh-n-Bone and Layzie Bone of the popular Hip-Hop group, Bone Thugz-n-Harmony. Here, the three emcees take turns trading bars on how they view life during times of internal and external conflict. From the sparse, piano laden beat to the quintessential cali flow, the track is as true to California hip-hop as it can be; laid back, direct, and introspective.
Hailing from the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles, California, Benzo has been consistently dropping singles since his 2018 track Look Out. Much like with Pressure, Look Out also uses piano to build out the eerie west coast production style many rappers of the region have carved out over decades. Benzo’s start in music began with his association with a few members of Watts Riot, a hip-hop collective from the same area. Sharpening his skills and feeding off the energy and talent of his fellow rap peers in the group, Benzo would then get the lifetime opportunity to collaborate with members of the legendary rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony on his first 2024 release with Pressure.
The track largely speaks about perseverance and overcoming states of depression, anxiety, doubt, and poverty with the chorus serving as self assurance that wealth is in the mind and spirit as well as the pockets. "We hurtin’ can’t no band-aid heal us. Stayin down, heads up, every day we gettin paid.” Flesh-n-Bone delivers a soul-bearing verse about these fears and night terrors that keep him up as relates to ‘pressure’; “Waking out my sleep drippin’, pourin’ sweatin. I’m livin in a nightmare, really got me trippin’, flippin. My life is threatened, but it aint to spare. Don’t know why they wanna go get me there.” The lyrics are transparent and paint the mental as one clouded with fear and unease; hoping to not succumb to the worst form of oneself. One I found to be the most impressive aspect of the track as the whole is despite its themes of depression, anxiety, pressure, and perseverance it never feels as dark or “preachy” in its execution, nor does it rely on typical hip-hop subject matter to appeal to the mass audience.
GENEUS Rating: 4 out of 5
Pressure earns a solid 4 rating out of 5 for its smooth production, thoughtful subject matter, and honest lyricism. The feature of Bone Thugz-n-Harmony members, Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone was the perfect addition to the sound and content and gave the track a throwback feel all while still managing to stay current as it relates to west coast hip-hop. All parties delivered substantial verses that kept on topic while paying ode to Watts. Looking forward to hearing how Benzo matures his sound further and elevates his experiences and lens on life to hip-hop fans who may or may not be familiar with the sounds of west coast rap.
Benzo's Instagram: @therealbenzomusic
Eric's Instagram: @leadsupremediesel
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