Perhaps better known for his shady reputation than for his accomplishments, Benzino worked in the rap industry for a decade before going solo in 2001 with much hoopla. During the final months of 2001, he became a regular fixture in The Source magazine, even appearing on the cover despite being relatively unaccomplished relative to the usual cover features. Moreover, his album featured a spectacular array of big-name guests, everyone from P. Diddy to producer Teddy Riley. But his album flopped, selling less than 75,000 copies. Worse, his label, Motown, dropped him less than four months after releasing his album. But Benzino bounced back -- but not without a tarnished reputation. Shortly after the circus-ring hoopla surrounding his debut died down, it came out that Benzino secretly co-owned The Source. This news explaining why the magazine endorsed him so much and perhaps why so many rappers were quick to grant him favors (presumably in exchange for favorable coverage in the influential publication).
Originally known as Raydog, the Boston rapper/producer (born Ray Scott) joined the rap group Almighty RSO in the early '90s. The group didn't attain much success, debuting on Virgin Records in 1996 with Doomsday: Forever RSO then quickly disappearing. But Benzino remained busy as part of the production team Hangmen 3. He also busied himself with Made Men, a trio that debuted in 1999 on Restless. In addition to his work with Hangmen 3 and Made Men, Benzino also befriended David Mays, the CEO of The Source, the rap industry's leading magazine. The specifics are sketchy at best, but somehow Benzino managed to secretly become co-owner of The Source. Keeping this in mind, it's no coincidence that Benzino embarked on his solo career in 2001 with much support from his magazine: among other endorsements for his debut album, The Benzino Project, he appeared on the cover as well as a fold-out centerfold. However, even with the endorsements, The Benzino Project flopped. Motown dropped the rapper after less than four months of his album's release, citing poor sales (under 75,000 Soundscans) and requesting that the unrecouped balance ($773,000) be compensated with advertising space in The Source.
Note, though, that an article published in the December 2001 issue of GQ by Maximillian Potter may have had something to do with Motown's decision. In the article, titled "Getting to the Source," Potter detailed the magazine's lack of editorial integrity, drawing from accounts of former Source executives such as former music editor Reginald Dennis and co-founder/CEO Mays' original partner, John Shecter. In particular, Potter details Mays' longtime relationship with Benzino, including brushes with the law. The article presented a unfavorable view of both The Source and Benzino, perhaps giving Motown yet more incentive beyond sales to drop the troubled rapper. The master tapes to The Benzino Project went to Surrender Records, who re-released the album as The Benzino Remix Project in 2002. Though tagged as a "remix" album, it differed only slightly from the original Motown release: most notably, different versions of "Bang ta Dis," "Figadoh," and "Boottee" that featured different guests but the same beats.
Benzino decided to launch a press assault on Eminem, eventually releasing the "Pull Your Skirt Up" single which spouted off several insults towards the white rapper. Targeting Eminem because of his skin color, Benzino's attack was met with an indifferent media, although Eminem offered two strong rebuttals in the form of underground singles. Not to be outdone, Benzino began claiming that the track was a response to racism in America, and started claiming it was the machine he was railing against, not Eminem. But mere weeks after stepping away from these claims, he released another single entitled "Die Another Day," where he calls D12 "house niggas," compares Eminem to David Duke and Hitler, compares himself to Malcolm X, warns Eminem's daughter that she might end up dead, and then chastises other rappers for battling with one another. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
