A veritable pillar of Benny the Butcher’s Black Soprano Family, Fuego Base is responsible for some of the Griselda spinoff’s hardest releases, not the least of which being 2023’s Biggest Since Camby. While he and his Buffalo label boss have previously recorded together for their respective efforts, Ashes in the Safe combines the two durably streetwise MCs for a proper project that flaunts their respective skill sets. On rugged yet haunting cuts like “The Fighting Irish” and “Like It Is,” they trade vivid verses about lives lived in and out of the proverbial trenches. While themes can get frighteningly grim at times, there’s a triumphant feel to penultimate track “Big Shirley” that makes clear that they’re winning. Fittingly, a few other B$F familiars step up to the mic, specifically OT The Real and Rick Hyde on cinematic posse cut “Warehouse 4” and Sule on low-key centerpiece “Rev X.” Certainly worthy of the spotlight, Fuego gets a solo look off, too, on the chilling and evocative “Pyrex & Prayers.”