It's always a family affair whenever Benny The Butcher and his Black Soprano Family tour together. Despite their multiple trips around the country, this time was different.
Various members of the Buffalo-based rap collective touched down at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale an hour before the first night of Benny's "Everybody Can't Go Tour" began on Tuesday, April 16. The Def Jam artist was the star of the show alongside supporting act Boldy James, but the opening night also put the spotlight on B$F's Rick Hyde, Heem B$F, IMYOUNGWORLD, Fuego Base, and the group's newest signee Malik.
"This is my first tour with B$F," Malik told iHeartRadio.
"I was running around with them last year just sitting back a little bit, pop out here and there, but this time I'm in the show," he added.
Since their inception nearly a decade ago, Black Soprano Family has gained plenty of notoriety that has helped them become one of the most revered rap collectives to come out of New York. B$F consists of at least 11 artists including Benny The Butcher and other artists like Elcamino, LoveBoat Luciano, Jonesy, FlexxBaby, Sule and Duckman, who just dropped his project Black Soprano Eskimo. The family is managed by Jake Amankwaah and Howard “Harlem” Fickling, who were also in the building for the tour's opening night.
The "Everybody Can't Go Tour" comes in support of Benny's anticipated Def Jam debut Everybody Can't Go. His fourth studio LP holds new collaborations with Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss and members of his Griselda & B$F families. It arrived nearly three years after he signed with the iconic label. Benny and the crew have spent years bringing their music to fans on stages all over the U.S., but this is their first time performing in Fort Lauderdale. According to Young World, this tour will be serve as a victory lap for B$F.
"First of all, it starts with Benny," said Young World, who's the youngest member of the squad. "I think he's in spot right now where it's kind of self-explanatory with the Everybody Can't Go title of just shedding a lot of extra weight that he didn't have to carry, a lot of burdens. He's letting loose and having fun this tour. I feel like this is kind of like 'I made it. Let me enjoy it' for him."
With the crew's loyal mixer DJ Zoo on the turntables and their vibrant captain Ten on the mic, Young World and Malik both opened up the show with lively performances that the crowd loved. The show continued with another incredible set from Griselda's own Boldy James. He began his set with "Straight & Tell" off his 2022 joint album with producer Nicholas Craven Fair Exchange No Robbery. Craven himself was off to the side of the stage while James performed their record plus other bangers like The Alchemist-assisted "Double Hockey Sticks" and "Diamond Dallas." It was the first major tour stop James performed at since he survived a horrific car crash last year. The crash inspired him to call up Craven and cook up a joint album called Penalty of Leadership, which dropped earlier this year. Overall, James was grateful to be included in Benny's tour.
"It's all love man," Boldy told iHeart. "It's Benny The Butcher & Boldy James that's my brother. B$F that's family forever. Griselda that's forever. It's all love it's always been. To me, personally, any feature available I got I'mma always put Benny on it. He complement what I do the most. I don't really think n***as can't f**k with the Butch."
Photo: @99kronicles
After the crowd chanted Benny's name numerous times, The Butcher made his grand entrance. His assertive energy was felt throughout the venue as he delivered his latest album's intro "Jermaine's Graduation" and "One Foot In." In between songs, Benny set the tone for the course of his 6th solo tour. He made sure the crowd was having a good time along with the squad, and also took some requests from fans. At one point, there were even cheers for Boldy to join him for a performance, but the Detroit spitta let the headliner get all the shine on the first night.
"Maybe all those other tours were for the fans and supporters," Benny told the crowd. "But I can honestly say this tour, this one right here is for me. I'm gonna keep that in mind but we're going to have a lot of f**king fun man. Let me get a shot of that liquor and play some s**t."
The set list was a mixture of hits from Benny's past and present. He continued the show by breaking out a few stand-out tracks from the album like "Back Again" as well as other fan favorites like "97 Hov," "Broken Bottles," "Sunday School" and "Dr. Bird's" off Griselda's WWCD album. Later on, he whipped out songs like "5 to 50" and "Johnny P's Caddy" featuring J. Cole. Instead of having Cole as a special guest, Butcher had the fans rap the Dreamville founder's verse.
Midway through the show, he brought out B$F's Rick Hyde and Fuego Base as his special guests. Hyde performed a couple songs like "It's Over" off Benny and DJ Drama's Black Soprano Family mixtape. Meanwhile, Base pulled up to deliver his memorable song "Lil Tasha." Benny kept the guest list within the family in an effort to prove how meaningful this tour is to him.
"Black Soprano Family & Griselda," Benny told fans. "It's n***as who thought this s**t was gonna be over in a minute, in a flash. Nah— this s**t is forever."