Before its release, Wu-Tang Forever was one of the most anticipated albums in hip-hop history. Fans were buzzing after Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), expecting the Wu-Tang Clan to push boundaries even further.

But tensions behind the scenes, change in creative, and high stakes made the making of this double album just as intense as the music itself. In this video, we dive into the hype, the chaos, and the legacy of one of rap’s most ambitious projects.

[via Clout Cancún]

The always-impressive Buffalo rap classicist Benny The Butcher releases a lot of music, but it sometimes comes out in unpredictable, haphazard ways. Last year, for instance, Benny and his Black Soprano Family crew released their Summertime Butch album. Benny also came out with the Buffalo Butch Vol. 1 EP, which had a Drake collab and which almost immediately disappeared from the internet. Now, Benny’s got a new seven-track project entitled Excelsior available on all digital streaming platforms and it’s an instant classic.

Excelsior, which is named after the New York state motto, has appearances from Styles P, Skyler Blatt, P.R.E.M.O., Sule, and Fuego Base, as well as production from people like Harry Fraud and Daringer. The lead single “Duffel Bag Hottie’s Revenge” features another underground rap workhorse: Boldy James, who somehow had time to record his verse for this amidst his schedule of releasing a new album every other week this year. (I have lost track of whether or not that’s an exaggeration.)

Stream the album and purchase the official merch here.