Benzino And Eminem Move To End Rivalry
By Clover Hope
Date: 12/3/2004 2:56 pm
Eminem's conflict with Ray Benzino and The Source magazine may finally come to rest, as both emcees have expressed their desire to make peace after intense feuds and lyrical assaults.
Eminem contended that record labels profit when artists battle, as the disputes tend to generate more publicity.
"A lot of times when rappers have beefs, their sales go up so meanwhile the record labels and the heads of record labels benefit from this," Eminem recently told MTV. "They go home and they can sleep, they rest their heads knowing that they're selling records. Meanwhile, we're really out here."
Benzino responded to Em's bid to end their ongoing conflict, saying "It's all good. Time moves on, but if Eminem said that, I can only embrace that because he's a huge influence out there on the machine. My whole thing was really about the machine and if he's kind of speaking against the machine right now, then I'm all for a sit down and if it's going to be for the betterment of Hip-Hop and everybody, then I'm all for it."
Much of Benzino's angst toward Eminem has been rooted in race. He and his Source constituents presented a tape of Eminem using the N word about an African-American woman when he was younger, in the infamous "Foolish Pride" recording.
But Eminem owned up to his remarks on his latest album Encore, with the track "Yellow Brick Road" where he raps, "I've heard people say they heard the tape and it ain't that bad / But it was, I singled out a whole race / And for that I apologize / I was wrong."
The Detroit native also addressed the sizzling beef with The Source, Benzino and Ja Rule on "Toy Soldiers," a track Benzino said he was uncertain about at times.
The Boston-bred emcee told Hot 97's Angie Martinez, "It's like a whole bunch of different emotions so I actually let my guys tell me what they thought and they kind of thought that he sounded like he was kind of reaching out."
Benzino further explained that he didn't expected or intend the verbal quarrels with Eminem to erupt. "I think he's a huge influence and I think things got kind of crazy and it's a situation where maybe if he wouldn't have gotten so much on the defensive and tried to really understand what myself and The Source was standing for, we could have came to the table a while ago," Benzino said.
He added that he attempted to smooth over the incident with Eminem's record label Interscope before the "Foolish Pride" tape came into play.
The beef, Benzino said, has affected the business aspects of The Source, since Interscope has refused to advertise with the magazine or feature their artists.
"If you look in The Source, there are no Russell Simmons Phat Farm advertisements. It's crazy and that was because we went at Eminem and Russell took Jimmy [Iovine] and Eminem's side and there you have it," Benzino said. "The Source magazine went through some tough times, but at the end of the day it's a business and we survived because we're true to [ourselves] and we're true to Hip-Hop."
Benzino added that The Source will remain a staple in Hip-Hop and that artists need to end their conflict for the sake of Hip-Hop.
"We all have to come together and really stop trying to hurt each other because no other genre of music does this to each other," Benzino insisted. "At some point we can change it and if Eminem said that, I'm willing to sit down and definitely talk to him because whatever is the past is the past. We gotta work to make it better and make it better for our kids."
By Clover Hope
Date: 12/3/2004 2:56 pm
Eminem's conflict with Ray Benzino and The Source magazine may finally come to rest, as both emcees have expressed their desire to make peace after intense feuds and lyrical assaults.
Eminem contended that record labels profit when artists battle, as the disputes tend to generate more publicity.
"A lot of times when rappers have beefs, their sales go up so meanwhile the record labels and the heads of record labels benefit from this," Eminem recently told MTV. "They go home and they can sleep, they rest their heads knowing that they're selling records. Meanwhile, we're really out here."
Benzino responded to Em's bid to end their ongoing conflict, saying "It's all good. Time moves on, but if Eminem said that, I can only embrace that because he's a huge influence out there on the machine. My whole thing was really about the machine and if he's kind of speaking against the machine right now, then I'm all for a sit down and if it's going to be for the betterment of Hip-Hop and everybody, then I'm all for it."
Much of Benzino's angst toward Eminem has been rooted in race. He and his Source constituents presented a tape of Eminem using the N word about an African-American woman when he was younger, in the infamous "Foolish Pride" recording.
But Eminem owned up to his remarks on his latest album Encore, with the track "Yellow Brick Road" where he raps, "I've heard people say they heard the tape and it ain't that bad / But it was, I singled out a whole race / And for that I apologize / I was wrong."
The Detroit native also addressed the sizzling beef with The Source, Benzino and Ja Rule on "Toy Soldiers," a track Benzino said he was uncertain about at times.
The Boston-bred emcee told Hot 97's Angie Martinez, "It's like a whole bunch of different emotions so I actually let my guys tell me what they thought and they kind of thought that he sounded like he was kind of reaching out."
Benzino further explained that he didn't expected or intend the verbal quarrels with Eminem to erupt. "I think he's a huge influence and I think things got kind of crazy and it's a situation where maybe if he wouldn't have gotten so much on the defensive and tried to really understand what myself and The Source was standing for, we could have came to the table a while ago," Benzino said.
He added that he attempted to smooth over the incident with Eminem's record label Interscope before the "Foolish Pride" tape came into play.
The beef, Benzino said, has affected the business aspects of The Source, since Interscope has refused to advertise with the magazine or feature their artists.
"If you look in The Source, there are no Russell Simmons Phat Farm advertisements. It's crazy and that was because we went at Eminem and Russell took Jimmy [Iovine] and Eminem's side and there you have it," Benzino said. "The Source magazine went through some tough times, but at the end of the day it's a business and we survived because we're true to [ourselves] and we're true to Hip-Hop."
Benzino added that The Source will remain a staple in Hip-Hop and that artists need to end their conflict for the sake of Hip-Hop.
"We all have to come together and really stop trying to hurt each other because no other genre of music does this to each other," Benzino insisted. "At some point we can change it and if Eminem said that, I'm willing to sit down and definitely talk to him because whatever is the past is the past. We gotta work to make it better and make it better for our kids."
