Benny the Butcher releases Kendrick Lamar-sampling benefit single for Buffalo shooting victims
Rapper Benny the Butcher has released “Welcome to the States,” a protest song about mass shootings and racism in the U.S. Specifically, the song was inspired by the May 14 shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Benny’s hometown of Buffalo that left 10 dead and three more injured, almost all of them Black.
“Welcome to the States” has Benny rapping over the beat from Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together” from Mr Morale & The Big Steppers. “Welcome to the States,” he begins, “where we die over our skin color and race / ideologies formed on hate, now our grocery stores ain’t safe.” The song comes with a powerful black-and-white video and you can watch that below.
All profits from “Welcome to the States” go to Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund that provides financial assistance to those affected by the tragedy. Benny has also made a limited edition “Pray for Buffalo” t-shirt and all proceeds from that go to the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund as well.
Benny played NYC’s Terminal 5 with the rest of the Griselda crew in May, just a few days after the shooting, and they addressed it on stage, dedicating the night to victims. Benny said we “gotta stop this hate shit” while Conway the Machine wore a hoodie with all the victims’ names on it.
