In 2020, 38 Spesh and Benny the Butcher have decided to release in physical format on CD via the German label Air Vinyl Records their mixtape made in 2009 "Cocaine Cowboys" and which until now they had never found a way to publish except digitally. Specifically, the guys chose to split that mixtape into two parts, releasing two different albums: "Cocaine Cowboys [1]", which is released under the same title as their mixtape created eleven years ago, and therefore could be mistaken for a similar version to the original when half the tracklist is cut off, and "Cocaine Cowboys 2", this album, which is therefore not a legitimate sequel to that 2009 tape, but rather the second part of the new edition, which more or less coincides with the second part of the tracklist of that old mixtape, with the addition of a couple of cuts in collaboration with Benny taken from the 2015 Spesh "The Trust Tape" ("Trust Life" and "Loyalty").
It opens "Trust Life", short song, jazzy boom bap, lean and tight drum, decent sample, slow smooth delivery by the duo. "Loyalty" is slightly better, jazzy boom bap with essential and energetic drum machine, slow flowing delivery of Spesh and Benny in back n forth; splendid melodic female sample in the background and elegant piano, both contrasted by a messy drum. As written above, the album opens with tracks taken from 38 Spesh's 2015 solo tape.
"The Truth" is the first cut from the 2009 tape. Short joint, jazzy boom bap, excellent horn sample combined with a melodic female soul sample, slow drum, good flowing energetic delivery of the two MCs. The fourth track consists of a rhythm, messy drum, decent jazzy and dark samples, functional hook, slow delivery of Spesh, Benny is smoother. The following track boasts a jazzy boom bap with slow delivery of both. "American Dopeboy" has a skeletal and slow drum and taut strings in the background, here too rapper Griselda goes better than the founder of Trust.
Track number seven has a jazzy boom bap close to dance, with decent samples and a slow, hard drum to support Benny and Spesh's energetic, slow, drug braggadocio bars. "NY State" is what comes closest to being an original cut of this compilation: jazzy bap boom, good samples, slow and pounding drum machine, smooth and energetic delivery of the two Empire State rappers. Not even this choice is original: 38 Spesh brings back the track number 21 of "Cocaine Cowboys", which was titled "Freestyle", the only collaborative freestyle of the two rappers after a couple of solo freestyles each. The album is closed by the seventh and final cut taken from that tape, "Trapping", featuring Conway the Machine: energetic jazzy boom bap, slow hard drum, simple hook, good slow smoothness delivery of the trio.
38 Spesh & Benny re-release their 2009 collaborative mixtape, at the time supervised in production by DJ Shay, and split it into two discs: the first one remains under the name "Cocaine Cowboys", the second one is this. Record of 26 minutes and 9 songs, it's a pretty solid coke rap tape, recommended for fans of the duo.
Highlights: "Loyalty", "NY State", Trapping".
Rating: 7/10.
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