Benny the Butcher + support: Włodi + Hałastra

Benny the Butcher will visit Warsaw's Progresja, with Włodi and Hałastra joining him as support.

Buffalo, New York rapper Benny the Butcher began his career in the mid-2000s and over the next decade recorded more than a dozen mixtapes as B.E.N.N.Y., including collaborations with artists such as Lil Wayne and 38 Special. He didn't emerge from the underground until 2017, when he and his crew—associated with labels Griselda and Black Soprano Family—signed to Eminem's Shady Records. Since then, he has released three studio albums, signed to Def Jam, and recorded with artists such as Big Sean, Rick Ross, J. Cole and Freddie Gibbs. Dubbed the rap game's answer to Jason Voorhees by Pitchfork for his focus and stoicism, Benny's approach to hip-hop is heavily inspired by old-school East Coast rap, with the rapper naming Wu Tang Clan and Mobb Deep as key influences.

Rapper and producer Włodi was one of the pioneers of the Warsaw hip-hop scene in the 1990s, paving the way for the further development of the genre in Poland as a member of the legendary group Molesta. His verses, which painted a vivid portrait of the city's street life at the time, have directly formed a large part of the vocabulary and ethos of Poland's hip hop; to this day, it is hard to find a rapper in the country who has not been influenced by Włodi. Over the years, he made a sharp turn towards raw introspection and social issues, most prominently exploring these themes as part of the duo Parias, which he co-founded with the rapper Eldo in 2009, inspired by their shared Muslim faith. Włodi's discography includes collaborations with most of the well-known figures of the golden age of Polish rap—from Slums Attack to Tede. He has also released six solo albums over the years, including an unexpected collaboration with experimental producer 1988 (W/88, 2020) and his latest work Hhultras (2023).

The Warsaw hip-hop duo Hałastra, comprising Kwiatek Haze and Prince Mazowiecki, has been active since 2019. After their first mixtapes, Pierwsza sztuka and Sztuki arkana, were released, Hałastra were already being proclaimed an alt-rap sensation and compared to the likes of PRO8L3M or Syny; like these two duos, they surrounded themselves with a mysterious aura, industrial beats and bars on street life hardships with the grime turned up to maximum. Unlike them, they never shied away from the Polish rap mainstream—their discography includes collaborations with Kaz Balagane, Kizo, Louis Villain or Peja. Halastra's third album, Kombinatoryka, is due for release in June 2023.