Benzino: The Interview
By Houston Williams
Dave Mays and Ray Benzino of The Source Magazine have been relatively quiet since being forcibly removed from control of the long-running Hip-Hop magazine by the publication’s board of directors. Benzino, the more vocal of the two, says his detractors are celebrating far too fast. The Boston-bred rapper/executive breaks his brief silence and says that the pair will unequivocally regain the reigns of “the Bible of Hip-Hop.” Without further intro, read the thoughts, plans and views of Ray Benzino.
AllHipHop.com: So, yeah a lot of people are just wondering what’s going on from your perspective. I mean we’ve seen reports and things like that, but what’s going on from your point of view?
Benzino: I’m just saying you got a situation where you got a whole bunch of people trying to basically give their, I mean it’s a situation where Black Enterprises is a [company of] Black uppity-ass n***as, okay? Who don’t know about Hip-Hop, you got a whole culture of these writers or these people just stay in the f**king house don’t even know what it is to be in f**king society as a f**king normal human being. Who basically just want to see me and Dave [Mays] fall. Like this Jeremy Miller, that’s like Dave’s “son,” just like Elliott Wilson [of XXL magazine] and Mimi [Valdes of VIBE magazine], they all came up through The Source magazine. At the end of the day, me and Dave are still 82% shareholders.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I heard about that.
Benzino: I mean you got to look at the people that are involved in it. You know Jeremy Miller - It’s like they don’t represent what a Hip-Hop is, you understand what I’m saying?
AllHipHop.com: Right.
Benzino: You got Jeff Scott and you know Butch Graves and Earl Graves. They don’t represent Hip-Hop. They don’t give a f**k about the Hood. They don’t care about n***as in the f**king street, about n***as being locked up. All these mother f**kers are doing is just selling out a whole f**king culture.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. From a business perspective do you feel that they’re just protecting their interests, aside from the culture?
Benzino: [It] should be our interests. You know what I’m saying, should be our interests. This isn’t about their interests. When they came in with their money and that bulls**t contract that they had that Dave sign, that was about them to try to take over the magazine. You understand they invested in the magazine, the number one Hip-Hop bible on the newsstand. That basically brought every other f**king magazine out there.
AllHipHop.com: Right, no doubt. So I mean are you guys in the process of trying --
Benzino: Without The Source there is no XXL, there is no f**king AllHipHop.com, there is no Ozone, there’s none of that without The Source. You understand what I’m saying. The Source [has been] around since 1988 - documented. We been covering the politics of it, the music of it, everything about it. There’s nothing bigger than The Source. It’s an institution. These mother f**kers don’t know nothing about the culture. All they want to do is try to reap the f**king benefits.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. How was it that they were able to do that considering that you guys are still 82% --
Benzino: They had a clause in their contract that said that if the company went in default they could add two board members. They add two board members, now they control the board. I’m a street n***a, you know what I’m saying. I don’t f**king know about no board s**t. I never went to one board meeting. I’m not a board n***a, I’m a street n***a and a sharp n***a. When Zino brought something, when we did the f**king Source Awards, we brought the ‘hood to TV. He wants to represent the ‘hood there’s, there’s no award show representing the ‘hood. It’s almost like people are embarrassed to be a part of the ‘hood, but want to benefit from the economics from the ‘hood. Enough of that, know what I’m saying, enough of that. That’s why Russell Simmons, Steve Stoute, Chris Lighty, all these coward a** n***as have to run around with f**king security. These n***as don’t rap, what the f**k is their excuse for running around with security?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, no doubt. Well what about Jeremy is he --
Benzino: F**k Jeremy. You understand what I’m saying? Jeremy went down and started some magazine called Down magazine. His partner went out on him, the magazine was about to fold. Nobody knew about that. We started this empire. You can say what you want about us but our legacy is already f**king in [history], it’s already written. If me and Dave [die] tomorrow our f**king history is already written in the magazine. There’s a lot of f**king weirdo writers out there, journalists who wished they could say that.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of journalists, what happened with [former Source Editor-in-Chief] Dasun Allah? Do you know what happened with that?
Benzino: I’m saying Dasun is one of the best writers we ever had up there who understands the cause, but Dasun is a real emotional cat. And sometimes his emotion is a passion, just like myself and it ends up guiding his path. So you know he’s gonna be alright whether he’s up at The Source or wherever he is, Dasun is gonna be alright.
AllHipHop.com: Cool.
Benzino: Those cheap mother f**kers [former Source employees]. They always been clowns from day one, man. They always been guys that never could be accepted so like this is like their revenge right here. Watching me and Dave in the newspaper getting ousted in The Source. [Click here to listen] But, guess what, I’m coming back, yo. I’m coming back and I might come back on a f**king horse.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I hear you, so you think, you are in the process of getting The Source back or trying to get it back or --
Benzino: I’m coming back in on a f**king horse. Let me tell you something. I got lawyers so good that Jeff and Jeremy will be doing magazines in Alaska.
AllHipHop.com: So you mean you are going to try to get The Source back or in the process of doing that?
Benzino: I’m coming back in on a f**king horse.
AllHipHop.com: Ok, so how’s Dave doing, mentally wise, you know what I’m saying, is he straight?
Benzino: You mean the man that basically started a one page newsletter in 1988 to the biggest Hip-Hop media f**king conglomerate ever? I think he’s doing just fine, buddy.
AllHipHop.com: Oh, okay. You know, I’m sure that some things that went down probably that bothered him.
Benzino: Dave’s like this: We stood up for something. You understand what I’m saying. While this c**ksucker Jeremy’s going to try to suck Jimmy [Iovine] and Eminem, we stood up for something, you understand what I’m saying? We stood up for something. We stood up for the ‘hood. Interscope, they damn near control AllHipHop.com. They control XXL. Believe me, when I am back up in power at The Source, Eminem will never be in the pages of the Source again.
AllHipHop.com: What about the Ozone incident [Ozone named Benzino "Most Successful Extortionist" in their 2005 wrap-up issue]. Do you have any different feelings about that or --
Benzino: Oh man, don’t ask me about that f**king s**t monkey whore, man.
By Houston Williams
Dave Mays and Ray Benzino of The Source Magazine have been relatively quiet since being forcibly removed from control of the long-running Hip-Hop magazine by the publication’s board of directors. Benzino, the more vocal of the two, says his detractors are celebrating far too fast. The Boston-bred rapper/executive breaks his brief silence and says that the pair will unequivocally regain the reigns of “the Bible of Hip-Hop.” Without further intro, read the thoughts, plans and views of Ray Benzino.
AllHipHop.com: So, yeah a lot of people are just wondering what’s going on from your perspective. I mean we’ve seen reports and things like that, but what’s going on from your point of view?
Benzino: I’m just saying you got a situation where you got a whole bunch of people trying to basically give their, I mean it’s a situation where Black Enterprises is a [company of] Black uppity-ass n***as, okay? Who don’t know about Hip-Hop, you got a whole culture of these writers or these people just stay in the f**king house don’t even know what it is to be in f**king society as a f**king normal human being. Who basically just want to see me and Dave [Mays] fall. Like this Jeremy Miller, that’s like Dave’s “son,” just like Elliott Wilson [of XXL magazine] and Mimi [Valdes of VIBE magazine], they all came up through The Source magazine. At the end of the day, me and Dave are still 82% shareholders.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I heard about that.
Benzino: I mean you got to look at the people that are involved in it. You know Jeremy Miller - It’s like they don’t represent what a Hip-Hop is, you understand what I’m saying?
AllHipHop.com: Right.
Benzino: You got Jeff Scott and you know Butch Graves and Earl Graves. They don’t represent Hip-Hop. They don’t give a f**k about the Hood. They don’t care about n***as in the f**king street, about n***as being locked up. All these mother f**kers are doing is just selling out a whole f**king culture.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. From a business perspective do you feel that they’re just protecting their interests, aside from the culture?
Benzino: [It] should be our interests. You know what I’m saying, should be our interests. This isn’t about their interests. When they came in with their money and that bulls**t contract that they had that Dave sign, that was about them to try to take over the magazine. You understand they invested in the magazine, the number one Hip-Hop bible on the newsstand. That basically brought every other f**king magazine out there.
AllHipHop.com: Right, no doubt. So I mean are you guys in the process of trying --
Benzino: Without The Source there is no XXL, there is no f**king AllHipHop.com, there is no Ozone, there’s none of that without The Source. You understand what I’m saying. The Source [has been] around since 1988 - documented. We been covering the politics of it, the music of it, everything about it. There’s nothing bigger than The Source. It’s an institution. These mother f**kers don’t know nothing about the culture. All they want to do is try to reap the f**king benefits.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. How was it that they were able to do that considering that you guys are still 82% --
Benzino: They had a clause in their contract that said that if the company went in default they could add two board members. They add two board members, now they control the board. I’m a street n***a, you know what I’m saying. I don’t f**king know about no board s**t. I never went to one board meeting. I’m not a board n***a, I’m a street n***a and a sharp n***a. When Zino brought something, when we did the f**king Source Awards, we brought the ‘hood to TV. He wants to represent the ‘hood there’s, there’s no award show representing the ‘hood. It’s almost like people are embarrassed to be a part of the ‘hood, but want to benefit from the economics from the ‘hood. Enough of that, know what I’m saying, enough of that. That’s why Russell Simmons, Steve Stoute, Chris Lighty, all these coward a** n***as have to run around with f**king security. These n***as don’t rap, what the f**k is their excuse for running around with security?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, no doubt. Well what about Jeremy is he --
Benzino: F**k Jeremy. You understand what I’m saying? Jeremy went down and started some magazine called Down magazine. His partner went out on him, the magazine was about to fold. Nobody knew about that. We started this empire. You can say what you want about us but our legacy is already f**king in [history], it’s already written. If me and Dave [die] tomorrow our f**king history is already written in the magazine. There’s a lot of f**king weirdo writers out there, journalists who wished they could say that.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of journalists, what happened with [former Source Editor-in-Chief] Dasun Allah? Do you know what happened with that?
Benzino: I’m saying Dasun is one of the best writers we ever had up there who understands the cause, but Dasun is a real emotional cat. And sometimes his emotion is a passion, just like myself and it ends up guiding his path. So you know he’s gonna be alright whether he’s up at The Source or wherever he is, Dasun is gonna be alright.
AllHipHop.com: Cool.
Benzino: Those cheap mother f**kers [former Source employees]. They always been clowns from day one, man. They always been guys that never could be accepted so like this is like their revenge right here. Watching me and Dave in the newspaper getting ousted in The Source. [Click here to listen] But, guess what, I’m coming back, yo. I’m coming back and I might come back on a f**king horse.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I hear you, so you think, you are in the process of getting The Source back or trying to get it back or --
Benzino: I’m coming back in on a f**king horse. Let me tell you something. I got lawyers so good that Jeff and Jeremy will be doing magazines in Alaska.
AllHipHop.com: So you mean you are going to try to get The Source back or in the process of doing that?
Benzino: I’m coming back in on a f**king horse.
AllHipHop.com: Ok, so how’s Dave doing, mentally wise, you know what I’m saying, is he straight?
Benzino: You mean the man that basically started a one page newsletter in 1988 to the biggest Hip-Hop media f**king conglomerate ever? I think he’s doing just fine, buddy.
AllHipHop.com: Oh, okay. You know, I’m sure that some things that went down probably that bothered him.
Benzino: Dave’s like this: We stood up for something. You understand what I’m saying. While this c**ksucker Jeremy’s going to try to suck Jimmy [Iovine] and Eminem, we stood up for something, you understand what I’m saying? We stood up for something. We stood up for the ‘hood. Interscope, they damn near control AllHipHop.com. They control XXL. Believe me, when I am back up in power at The Source, Eminem will never be in the pages of the Source again.
AllHipHop.com: What about the Ozone incident [Ozone named Benzino "Most Successful Extortionist" in their 2005 wrap-up issue]. Do you have any different feelings about that or --
Benzino: Oh man, don’t ask me about that f**king s**t monkey whore, man.