Along with his cousins and fellow rappers Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine, with which he forms the collective Griselda, he is known for his '90s inspired rap songs and is often credited with leading a revival of the so called 'grimy' and 'gritty' hip hop music, influenced by mafioso and drug dealing themes.
Following the death of his brother, Machine Gun Blak, Pennick released numerous mixtapes and collaborative albums.
On October 3, 2006, Pennick's older brother Marchello Lowery, also known as Machine Gun Black, was shot in a drive by shooting on Montana Block, in Buffalo, New York.
[5] [better source needed] Motivated by the legacy and work ethic of Lowery, Pennick started to record songs and compile mixtapes at an increased rate, releasing 12 between 2007 and 2013.
Pennick's music would take a major shift from popular sounds and reused beats from existing artists, as was the trend in the 2000s mixtape period, to more targeted in house production.
The Black Soprano mixtape marked the end of his work as 'Benny', as future releases from this point would be under the moniker Benny the Butcher.
On March 3, 2017, Griselda (as a collective), as well as Pennick's cousins Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine, signed a deal with Eminem's Shady Records, a subsidiary of Interscope.
The cover is a painting of his deceased older half-brother, MachineGun Black as a baby, and the lyrics to the album would focus heavily on Pennick's feelings on the death of his brother.
The album was developed by setting aside suitable songs and beats created during Westside Gunn's, Hitler Wears Hermes 6, recording sessions.
Critics praised the production and content of the album, saying "There's a certain introspection that guides Benny’s lyrics on this song, as he touches on topics ranging from drug trafficking to police racism in the murder of Eric Garner".
[15] June 21, 2019 marked the release of his fourth extended play, The Plugs I Met, which included guest appearances from Black Thought, Pusha T, 38 Spesh, Jadakiss, and Conway the Machine.
"[20] On August 27, 2020, Benny the Butcher announced in an interview with Adam22 for No Jumper that he would release an album under eOne called Burden of Proof between late September and early October.
[28][29] The album included guest appearances from Armani Caesar, Babyface Ray, Conway the Machine, Jadakiss, Kyle Banks, Lil Wayne, Peezy, Rick Hyde, Snoop Dogg, Stove God Cooks, and Westside Gunn.
[33] On October 27, 2021, Benny the Butcher cancelled a concert at Detroit's Saint Andrew's Hall after he was hospitalized with asthma, a condition he has both rapped about and spoken about in interviews.
In August 2022, after trading insults with Benny the Butcher over social media for several months, Freddie Gibbs was beat up by a large mob of people while on a date at a Dinosaur BBQ location in Buffalo, New York.
[38] In a January 2024 interview with The Breakfast Club, Benny stated that the beef between the two rappers was over, but that he was not interested in making amends with Gibbs.