Benzino has admitted he deliberately denied Eminem a five-mic review in The Source during their beef in the early 2000s.
During his recent appearance on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast, the Boston rapper and Source co-founder opened up about stopping The Eminem Show from getting the magazine’s prestigious rating.
“I was the top of my muthafuckin’ food chain,” he said. “Even [Russell Simmons], Lyor [Cohen], all these n-ggas, Steve [Stoute] and everybody, they all had to answer to somebody.
“I was the top of a damn near $75 million company when n-ggas wasn’t getting money like that. I got that big money first and I was the top of that.”
He continued: “So when the Eminem thing came through The Source, at this point it’s getting disrespectful. So how the fuck am I gonna have this n-gga in my magazine? Would you?
“You’re not gonna put nobody in your magazine to give this n-gga five mics after this n-ggas being disrespectful. You wouldn’t do it, man. Nobody would.”
Benzino and Eminem released a number of diss tracks toward each other in the early 2000s, with Em taking issue with the four-mic review the magazine gave The Eminem Show on “The Sauce.”
“When the Unsigned Hype column in ‘The Source’ was like our only source of light/ When the mics used to mean somethin’, a four was like/ You were the shit, now it’s like the least you get/ Three and a half now just means you’re a piece of shit/ Four-and-a-half or five means you’re Biggie, Jigga, Nas,” he rapped.
“Or Benzino — shit, I don’t even think you realize/ You’re playin’ with muthafuckas’ lives/ I done watched Dre get fucked on ‘The Chronic’/ Probably ‘cause I was on it/ Now you fucked me out of my mics twice, I let it slide.”
Prior to his feud with Benzino, The Source spotlighted Eminem in their influential “Unsigned Hype” column in 1998 and gave The Marshall Mathers LP four-and-a-half mics in 2000.
In February 2022, Benzino said “it’s still fuck Eminem” and called out his fans in a number of tweets.
“To all you pussy ass Stans, we all know y’all are the most corniest non violent coward fan base hip hop has ever seen,” he wrote at the time. “I have a restaurant in Atlanta 5071 Peachtree industrial boulevard Chamblee GA. stop tweeting and pull up on me you pussies.”
He continued: “I been left this shit alone but since the COWARD ASS STANS still wanna talk shit and hide then it’s still fuck Eminem and if you got a problem with me, do something about it nothing you ever said has effected me in anyway. I know how to fight and I got big sticks. So pull up.”
