Aye crooked you KILLED YO VERSE on that Knox hill track shout-out to samad Savage for the production he is blessed with producer skills You the man hope you never put down the mic
He is currently working on the album that he claims will be his retirement album, to seek other ventures in Hip Hop, other ways to contribute than rapping. If he keeps to his word, we don't know. Wouldn't be the first time an artist said they're hanging it up and don't. Personally I think Crook putting down the mic would be a loss for Hip hop. He did say he may do features here and there though, support other artists.
Crook, for years now I’ve loved ur music, ur podcast, ur vibe. ♥️ Thanks for almost always responding to my twitter comments on your page even though I’m no one famous and only have like 100 followers…and that’s actually fine with me, cause in the words of another genius, “Twitter’s not a real place”😂. It’s so very cool of you man. To everyone else: Crook is one of the sickest spitters, most brilliant lyricists, and cadence kings to ever pick up a mic. Yet he’s somehow stayed humble as hell. Crook is as genuine as they come. And he stays out here spreading positivity, unity and real life wisdom. He deserves the utmost respect from all of you.
1: I would have released the full tape and not just a snippet. 2: I doubt Benzino and Em can Squash it. The Eminem & Benzino "beef" ended in 2002 (or was it 2004?), but Benzino has had Eminems name in his mouth for the past 7 years on social media on a weekly basis. There was a period when Benzino did the reality shows Love & hip hop, and all that. But once that ended (2017 or so?) and the money dried up once again, it was back at it with the CONSTANT Eminem hate on social media. Since bringing up Eminem is the only thing that gets him attention. I want to feel bad for him but I can't, the man is obsessed. And if Benzino focused on himself instead of Em, I'm sure he could have achieved something new he could be proud of and that would have made him a decent amount of income. But that's just my perspective.
What a lot of people forget to mention when it comes to the tape the reason Benzino could only release a snippet is because of the laws protecting minors which Em was at the time of the recording but Benzino tries to say Em was 25 at the time but nobody points to the law that limited how much Benzino could play .
Not to mention benzino tweeted about eminem a few years ago saying how he's part of the culture and is a great artist. Its a sad attempt at a money grab. I'm sick of hearing about this. Benzino needs to go his own way and eminem wouldn't even speak his name. He's had ems name in his mouth 20 plus years. Shits tiring and annoying at this point
@@Sagnasty17 I thought that's what happen until after almost 20 years Eminem released that song and reignited the whole beef. And if you're mad don't be at Z get mad at the interviewers who ask the question not the other way around. Whether he ignores or addresses it people are gonna say negative shit anyways. So again if you're mad blame the interviewers and the Stan's who you fail to realize are the ones keeping this going by stalking Z's pages about Eminem which keep this toxicity going. And by the way I'm sure some of us like yourself are tired of hearing this no argument there.
If their was Eminem hate at the time it's only cause of the Stan's which no one seems to address keeping this up by stalking his pages and bringing it up. Which I am sure will drive anyone crazy and make them say shit over all. so I am not buying the narrative Z cares that much to speak obsessively about him when theirs more to his life than that. Even in the interviews people ask him the question not the other way around. Whether he ignores or addresses it people are still gonna say negative stuff anyways. Either way when Z does things that are unrelated to this subject it's nice but Stan's must not have life to keep living in the past. Also not a fan of either but giving an objective take here on this situation.
So, if someone r*pes your mom, and she attempts to get them cancelled, but she fails, you're going to say "They try canceled X but they canceled there selfs."?
femzino used the source in his personal beef with Em, and personally ruined the source, and Em ended the career of femzino. femzino became broke. + Add this: the whole machine behind Em, Interscope, Universal, the Shady/Aftermath label, Goliath etc did not invest with ads in the source anymore. No advertisements etc. No income anymore for broke femzino.
The Source magazine credibility was damaged before the tapes. NeverBenzino lowkey was having control of the mic rating. Em didn’t single handily destroy the magazine but his beef with no neck shed a bright light on the how grimy the Source was. NeverBenzino is really the one who made Source not credible with his wack music that he constantly promoted in the magazine and his obsession with Em.
From an outsider looking in it seems to me the intent of releasing the tape was for clout. I say that because of the manner in which it was done with a big media spectacle and an obvious narrative to paint Eminem a certain way without any context or chance to comment. If he truly felt Eminem was so problematic then why on earth would they put him on so many covers to sell the magazine? I also think the beef would have been squashed long ago if Benzino stopped talking about him every time he’s in front of a microphone & just apologized (in public or private)for his part in it. I hope he gets some help, because he’s obviously unhappy, angry, and it seems relationships with those close to him also suffer because of it.
Tbh I probably would have leaked the tape if I were in that situation of owning The Source. However, that doesn’t mean I agree with anything Benzino did prior to that. He never should have used the magazine to try to destroy Em. But once he made that decision Interscope had every right to retaliate…all’s fair in love and war, and this was definitely war. Answer to the 2nd question - I think Em was over this a long time ago but Benzino can’t let it go. I don’t see them officially burying this beef
I love that you, love the music just for the music. Doing all the hip hop weelky stuff, just to give us something to rock to. Your one of the goats of all time. Thanks crook
Crook this was a fascinating conversation. Your are a true OG with unreal perspective on the game. The whole ad revenue topic shifting away from The Source explains why it tanked - never knew that before. I don’t see Em ever squashing the beef w/Benzino for 1 reason: Benzino basically threatened Hailee’s life when she was just a kid. As a father, I would NEVER forgive that.
The right move for The Source at the time was to release the tape in its entirety, but not before having given Eminem the chance to comment on an article or interview. The way The Source did it back then compromised its journalistic integrity in order to advance Benzino's agenda. Had Benzino played it smart instead of aggressive, there is a possibility Eminem could have been ostracized from the core Hip-Hop fans that allowed him to survive the tape's release.
Zino a damn clown he tried to say Crook knew all bout it from the jump in all his interviews on his little press run love how Crook exposing his bs on it
I understand Bens move at the time, he had a hard on for Em and wanted to bury him.. it was big news. Fast forward to today, I'm almost 40, if someone was judging me today on something i did as a 16 year old, I'd apologise for my actions at the time but give it no more credence. I've grown since then, I'm not a kid anymore, I've matured. Judge me for the man i am today, this is no different, you can not judge a 50 year old man today on something he did as a kid when he openly repents on said matter. Most people grow and mature with time, some... Like Benzino, clearly haven't.
Yup, Zino keeps bending this fact to present it as if Em was 21 when he made those tapes. Em was 15/16 when he recorded those tapes. Which 21 year old hangs in High School? 😂
Exactly.. when Em was 23, 24 he was already a top tier lyricist when he dropped infinite. So ain't no way he went from that trash tape to a lyrical beast in just 2-3 years. So that alone should tell u he wasn't 21 when he recorded it, he was 16
@@kingjoeblack5 he was not 16 when he wrote biterphobia, that song was not recorded in 1988-89, it was recorded in 1994 and released in 1995, he was in his early 20's my guy. And he said "i'm bringing my nig proof for backup when i sing my gig" . If yall think that is racist then yall dumb as hell. Yes he said the N word a whole bunch of times back in the 90's mostly when he was performing on stage, and no one there was crying, but benzino a whole 60 year old loser who was calling whites the c word with his racist @ss
We all have said stupid stuff as a kid. We don't need to be forever accoutnable. If you killed someone, you can repent. You can't repent from rapping some dumb stuff when you were 16. You have given endless money and opportunities to members of poor urban communities, vs. Benzino has ruined oppturnties and destroyed people from different communities. Even if you hate eminem music... you should see the difference.
I alwayse am stoked to hear crooked I's insights, one of my favorite artist to grace the mic and truly top tier 👌 not saying that because I'm from long Beach, but it's just facts.
The thing with Benzino and the tapes is that like you said, he used it as a weapon, not as journalistic news. 1. Yes, I would have released it in it's entirety. People needed to know. Then have a conversation with him, see it from his point of view. Racism isn't something to joke about, but if you use it as a weapon to demonize someone, once the beat the allegations, you've failed and failed miserably. 2. Nah, I expect to see these guys with walkers shaking things at each other. With the things that have been said, no squashing this.
first off, benzino is manipulative and a pathological liar, and if he's racist, those are the worst ingredients to be in charge of hip hop information among artists. If I was a source owner, I would play the whole track, not a snippet that favors a narrative. Then I would contact Em himself to do a sober adult interview. The people will decide for themselves if an artist should rise or fall. But as a business owner, yo ugotta keep your personal feelings out of it. Is there a world where they coexist? See, that's a problem because first and foremost Benzino has to acknowledge some form of self awareness that he is mentally ill. He's really exposed himself lately and eminem hasn't said a word, which says a LOT. If Benzino can be honest with himself, and honest with the people - yeah they could coexist. Maybe then that coi leray feat will have a silver lining.
I'll be honest. As much as I love hearing your thoughts, I NEED an album. A proper album. Ft em, Kendrick, Royce, maybe a UK artist named Dapz on the map (RU-vid him) 🤷🏾♂️
It’s funny because I told Suge I wouldn’t diss the homie and he replied “Oh yes you will because they will all diss you for doing business with me!” And he was right 😂
#1 - If I’m the Source I leave it alone cause the song wasn’t racist at all… just a ignorant kid making a trash song #2 - I don’t think it ever gets squashed till Benzino goes on a press run and apologizes for threatening to kill a 7 year old girl (way worse than ANYTHING said in Foolish Pride)
Just because its ignorant doesn't mean its not racist. Isn't all raciest shit ignorant also he was 15. So your saying a 15 year old kid doesn't know what he is saying is wrong? Then why would you make a raciest song to hurt a black girl? Because he knew what he was doing and it was his intent to hurt her. I think that is why EM said it was foolish because he excepts the responsibility for his actions. He knew what he was doing and it was raciest.
@@bgb946man don't act like u never said and did dumb shit when you were 15, 16. There are soo many grown ppl in the hood saying racist shit about other races, and benzino is kicking 60's door down and still saying a bunch of racist ish. So why don't u call him out for that?
@@bgb946even his members from d12 say it wasn’t racist. There was more to it. There was a couple of his blk rapper friends who had verses and were dissing white girls, so is that racist too?
@@James-pl5uc maybe cause they can relate to them idk, but regardless how they got introduced to hip-hop we should be happy that door opened up for them and now they get to discover all the amazing black rappers in the game as well. Building bridges and broadening horizons is only a good thing
They'll never squash it Crook. Em only ever responds to anyone on wax, and its always a response, never starts it. If everyone just shuts their mouths when they do interviews and stop belitting Em for his damn colour more than anything, Em has no reason to defend himself then. But he has every right to when people like Benzino always talk shit over the years. They're both too petty for this to end anyways.
Who cares if Benzino say Em’s name when all the podcast host or whatever keep asking about Eminem all the time ofc he gonna fucking respond. But he didn’t have all that energy for The Game who wanted a genuine rap battle with him.
@@Yo-Ah-Kim1. Game's beef wasn't even with Em. He acknowledged it as such, his beef was with Dre and 50. 2. Em silenced Game with a bar, that's all he deserves for the 'non beef' he's trying to get started on Em for clout. 3. Em's not going to dedicate a diss track for every little petty beef someone's going to try and start with him. Do you know how many diss tracks he's going to have to release then? 😏
@@Yo-Ah-KimGame's been awful quiet since 👀 He got no clout unfortunately, and destroyed his relationship with the label all for his 5 mins. Self sabotage is the saddest thing.
Em has apologized multiple times. People can choose to accept it or not, thats their decision. They should have let it go after that but they didnt and they weaponized it. They should have put it out and let people decide for themselves and once that deliberation was over thats it. Period. Let it go. No they will never squash it. Benzino is racist af. Regardless of the Em beef. People truly and consistently racist on either side (black or white) should be called out and outed from the culture if they refuse to change. It should be about the love of the culture and em has put in more than almost anyone in the game. Rap, production, signed artists, shoutouts to OGs, and features for the next gen. Who else dedicated their entire acceptance speech to naming almost everyone in hiphop history.
As far as im concerned, you have every right to lyrically rip trash ben to shreds. Not only for how they hoed you but for saying fck eminem and anyone down with him and lastly for bringing your name in that mid ghost written dis. I think you deserve not only the bag it would bring you but the fans it would bring you as well. You are a lyrical monster as well. Everyone deserves to hear you shred. That's just my opinion. You may feel differently and either way i respect it 💯
Huh? All you dorks do is hate on em, you're the real stans, all top tier lyricists respect Eminem, it doesn't matter if you guys do, he's respected by his peers and the goats,your opinions don't really matter, cry more if you can't cope. The only reason benzino and others like him are barely relevant is because they go on podcasts and talk about em. That's the truth, yet "stans" are so full of hate...lmao bro all they do is cry about em and unfortunately em falls for it and gives them more publicity.. you honestly need to get over it 😂 no one gives a fuck what you think or what I think, the legends respect him, they know a lot more than you and I do. Go to counseling if it bothers you. @@Yo-Ah-Kim
Seriously? Did yall see that hate filled racial rant he did to that asian cop who arrested him for being the trash ben he is? Where is the #yakuza when you need them. Im just restating facts. Nothing i said is a lie. You like bumzino thats on you.
I think Benzino created an obsession with Em. Btw i appreciate u giving a shot to a new guy who made a good name in reactions and now is trying to make a name in hip hop. The song is fire
I would hold that tape and toss it, after finding out he was a teenager when he did that and he broke up with a girl. There is no way Benzino and Em squash the beef. Benzino talked about his daughter and kept talking about Em. Em never starts anything with anyone in the Hip Hop culture unless you come for him. He loves Hip Hop so much and he continuously big up the legends.
Why should Eminem squash something he never started? It's been over 20 years but people forget that beef didn't start over a racist tape. Benzino started dissing Eminem because he felt Em was benefitting from white privilege in hip hop which he was and was also acknowledged by Eminem himself. That racist tape came along almost a year later. Benzino has never explained why he chose to start a beef with someone who had never said one bad word about him prior and had been on the Source several times beforehand.
Good question. With the power you mentioned I would have done wht he do too. I wouldn't have expected him to be shutdown I would have expected them to cut ties with him. Valuable lesson we don't know his motive but that must be pure but make sure positive energy positive results
What's wild is him constantly bringing up racism when as a full grown ass adult not all too long ago is on body cam dropping every Asian racial slur he could think of while getting arrested
@@c0dy1287he's incredibly racist as seen by the tapes. Em was 15/16 when he made that mistake, what's Benzino doing as a full grown adult with those racist rants? And then he calls Em fans white and racist. Based on what? Majority of Em fans are global. Majority of them are not white and fck, we're not racist.
@@notforone What's funny is I first heard Eminem from my friend who was black and I'm Latino but I guess that doesn't fit the narrative clown shoes keeps trying to push
The problem was not that they shared the tape. The problem was that they didn't do it from a non-biased journalistic perspective. They did it with an agenda to take down the biggest artist. That is the problem. Not that they shared the tape.
Hi Legend. For the first question, the answer doesn’t matter. Let’s take it like this. You personally know Em. According to you, is Em a racist ? Everybody does mistakes. So do you and so does Em. The real question is : can we say that Benzino is really chasing Em for so long only for that tape ? I let the audience answer. For your second question, Em could accept to sit with Benzino. There is a conversation about that on RU-vid.But who can trust Benzino ? That guy kept discrediting himself, lying, using 👻 and even recorded a phone call with Em manager. Can Em trust such a person ?
To the first question... we all know benzino already had a problem with Em if you look at mics given to Em's albums... benzino didn't do what he did with that tape to just shed light on what Em said on those tapes... he did it to try to stop the phenomenon Em was becoming... you can see that every step of the way even you was unaware of what was going on and u was on your way to the expose... in his place if his heart was actually in the right place... she should have called up Em's camp... ask for a meeting to discuss what came across his desk and inform himself b4 shooting...and then decide what to do with/ about it.. 2nd place if his aim was to shed light only... after Em explained what the tape was about and issued that apology benzino should have stopped with the hating but that was not the case and still isn't... as he doesn't give an interview where he doesn't talk about Em... reinforcing once again the fact his intention with the tape was Not the the best. About the second question... no... benzino still stuck in the past he can't move on he blames Em for his misfortune when the only person he has to blame is himself and his own actions... is unfortunate that a man his age can't move past something that happened so many years ago and avery chance he gets he trashes Em and flip flops on his position about him not long ago he was saying beef was over etc etc then couple weeks later he again on a press run trashing Em... an obviously Em grew tired of it and had to say something... ence doomsday prt2... was about time benzino let go and remade his life....
Benzino was multiracial in the 70s and 80s in Boston as a child. He wanted to be a part of the predominant culture in his neighborhood but was kept out of both white and minorities social groups. He then saw his white side as keeping him from being accepted. Then he tries to rap after using his supposed street cred to muscle into the Source. Yet his skills were inadequate to do well. Then he sees Em, a white guy who gets that recognition and he tries to get a feature but gets rejected since he has no ability as an emcee. Now he is envious of Ems success and sees him essentially steal the spot Benzino feels belongs to him. Idolozatiin turns to hatred. And that is Benzino in a nutshell. Uber Stan turned obsessed hater.
Now some things started to make sense in regards to XXL. From what I get from this video there's a lot of behind the scenes moves being made. Em might have get backlash in the States of the tape, but overseas the tape thing didn't get any press. 1. Bigger the risk, bigger the reward. But when it backfires, things can get really ugly. 2. I don't see them squashing it. That's like waiting for 50 and Ja squashing it
Thanks for speaking out about how this went down from your side Crook! EDIT to answer your questions, 1 probably try to reach out to Mr Mathers or his people and try to get some background about the tape before just releasing it to make a story about it but I do see WHY he did it, probably saw it as a way to bring a lot of attn to The Source; 2 at this point, I don't believe Zino will ever get past it, so don't see them coming together to make amends or believe it would be genuine
To be completely fair as I support Eminem 💯. But .... If I was in Zinos shoes n got that tape. No questions asked. Id release that shit to the news. Plus exposed him in the magazine so I could benefit from the tape. Granted it'd be blackmail. But it'd be leverage to hold if some asshole said shit about me and my company. N Im just being honest and fair. Benzino just took that shit and played it. Which ultimately was his downfall. But if he did what i would've done, Em wouldn't be where he is today. So it comes hand in hand. Crook i know you feel me there.
Crooked must be one the most respected Emcees who never had a proper solo album rollout and big radio hits (minus slaughterhouse) but he always deserved his own big shot more than any other rapper I can think of. There's another universe where dre found crook and suge found Marshall
Kick a man when he's down you say, Benzino just took a plane to Detroit and shot a video outside Mom Spaghetti, for his diss record to Eminem, that guy is a full-on Stan
Crook, I remember when I first heard you on that joint for the wake up show years AGO. I'm from LA (Crenshaw and PICO..S Bronson to be exact , right above leimert park ) and I was blown away and proud as fuck to hear another a LA native spitting mazing bars, cadences, style, content, like you. I grew up on Freestyle fellowship, Pharcyde, Ab rude, all the project blowed heads. I was pretty close with Acey and MYKA, We met through JMD (Jam master divine) way back In the day.. So many slept on LA rappers that created so many of the styles that got bit and used by others. I used to battle at blowed as well, with Thesaurus, dumfounded, acid reign, CVE, Bus driver, etc. Anyway, You, imo, are one of the best to ever do it. I hope you read this but probably won't. Mad respect.
I feel like when he got that information the source was way too important to go off half cocked you should’ve made some calls and looked into it before calling journalist for meeting. Second, I don’t know if they ever get over it what happened to the source and all the drama up to this point seems like it might be too much to get past, though I wish they would.( just my opinion) also so glad the crook’s corner is back to being a constant .love it man
This video left a lot to be desired. When did you meet Em? How did that influence your opinion? Do you think its justified to pull up all these years later? Is it fair to claim that represents him today and outweighs all of his words and actions since? I understand the apparent need to release the tape back in the day, but that's an older situation than most of the freshman class. I think your INSIDE view on the situation is more important than your outside view at the time, because the past is the past.
So I’m 10:30 in and Crook I respect you as a lyricist. I even purchased the slaughterhouse projects. With that being said I don’t care what ambitions/ dreams you have. The racist rap hour isn’t a beef it’s disrespectful and as a black man you chose to not respond which is your right. However, I learned something about your character and it’s that you’ll look the other way while people not from out culture will disrespect our culture. I don’t care if he was 15, 23 or 45. At 15 I knew racism first hand and so did Marshall. These excuses are bs! If you made a tape at 15 talking about the Jewish community you would’ve been made to apologize. In addition, if you entered their culture and disrespected the group you would’ve had everyone and their mother responding and your career likely would’ve ended. Hoping for the best in your endeavors my brother.
1. Eminem DID apologise, multiple times. He issued a statement multiple times and he put his apology on wax. You don't have to accept it but the fact he has apologized multiple times should not be dismissed. 2. People are kids when they're 15. To hold a person accountable for their mistakes as a kid, especially when they've apologized as adults is not right. The courts even got in on this case and dismissed it because they judged Em was a minor at the time.
@@notforone him apologizing on a song isn’t acceptable to me. You can accept it and that’s your prerogative. I’m not upset with Crooked I it’s his decision bc it’s his life. I just disagree with his actions in the moment. I am also not in his position and I am considerably older than he was at that time. I already articulated why being 15 isn’t an excuse. I was a sophomore in high school at the age of 15. He knew exactly what he was doing. Why did the courts get involved? After continuing to listen to Crooked I he brings up ads being pulled from the Source bc of Benzino’s “beef” with Eminem. There’s a lot of interest in a “kids” prejudice comments in “one” song. The agenda was very clear in my opinion. Why didn’t the courts and the distribution companies have so much interest in dismissing his homophobic comments on popular songs after he became a megastar? To each his own but as an 80’s baby whose parents had crosses burned on their lawn in the 80’s miss me with this narrative.
@@michaeljohnson8353 Is apologizing publicly in a statement better than a song? Because as I said, he done that too. An apology on song stays timeless. As long as people exist, that apology exists, unlike a public statement which gets buried with time. Re: pulling out ads. Zino led a smear campaign against an artist WELL BEFORE the tapes were discovered, based on the fact that he didn't like a white rapper gaining success. Em's manager tried to get in touch with him to de-escalate the situation and Benzino double crossed him by recording the call and releasing it on his song. When he got the tapes he weaponised them and spearheaded his hate/smear campaign against Eminem. Eminem in response to this pulled out his advertising from Zino's magazine. Why would he want to continue flourishing the platform of the man who had an agenda against him? We need to mention here, Zino also issued death threats against Em's daughter TWICE, on wax. The courts got involved because of the tape ownership & it's legal use. The case details are recorded online in text form. Your brought up is a one size sample. You can't speak for everyone else's childhood or the situations they were brought up in. No one's saying what Em did wasn't wrong but the fact is he was held accountable for it and has apologized for it multiple times. What else can you expect him to do? Would you hold an adult accountable for a mistake they did underage? We don't try underaged kids as adults - crimes committed as minors are treated as juvenile offense for a reason. You seem to hold a strong bias against him regarding his song content as well. Be truthful here - Is he the only rapper who used homophobic language on his songs? In the genre of hip hop infamous for its profanity, sexism, explicit language and slurs, why are you specifically picking on Eminem in regards? Do you hold black rappers accountable to the same standard?
@@notforone at work so I’m not a liberty to address all of your questions. I’ll be concise on a couple statements you made that are factually incorrect. Underage children are tried as adults. There are many examples of that within literature and here on RU-vid. Search teens serving life sentences. I’m not saying Eminem is the only hip hop artist to engage in homophobic slurs. The conversation was about Crooked I’s comments and Eminem’s relationship for the most part.
Cloutzino. Anyway we can always rely on Crook to bring us the real. It's crazy though to think there's a timeline where Crook and EM could have had beef, if Crook had chosen differently. Of course we don't want that, but it is interesting from a purely MC perspective, I wonder the caliber of diss tracks that could of come from that, and who would have got who. It's also interesting, from a "universe is funny" viewpoint that Crook was at that press confidence, and today Crook and EM are great affiliates. If things had gone south back then, we may not have had Slaughterhouse, for one. Crook and EM are in my top 3, so I'm really glad it did not go that way. Peace
I would not have sacrificed my journalistic integrity if I were SINZino. I do not think that the beef between Em and SINzino will be squashed. Too much damage has been done. He threatened Eminem's daughter. SINzino for many years kept slandering Emimem and falsely labeling Em a racist many years after he stopped saying racist stuff and after Em apologized for what he said. Benzino constantly lies. He said that he wanted to squash the beef. Then, he said F Eminem and said denigratory stuff about him. Benzino said on Drink Champs inebriatedly that he would hug Em and squash the beef. Then, later that week, he went back to trashing and speaking disparagingly about Em. Benzino is not sincere. I would not blame Em if he said F Benzino for life. Benzino did too much despicable stuff. Word.
Here's what doesn't hold up. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, white supremacists were NOT doing RAP music; they did metal--hardcore metal! So, we know that he created the Slim Shady persona that said some crazy evil ish, but in his rhymes he always distinguished between Slim Shady, the rap persona Eminem, and the real man Marshall Mathers. Bizarre has said that the whole tape actually makes fun of racial stereotypes of all races. Did it go too far?!? Was it clumsy because he was upset about relationships with girls?!? He felt it necessary as an artist and a person who knew how much influence he had over white kids and how they viewed black artists and even people generally that he offered an explanation and apology instead of just saying he was making a parody of racism, which he could've done. In discussing it since then, he has always made sure that he points out the antiracist perspectives he actually holds, because a racist is NOT who he is!!! I think it's despicable that Benzino and others out here get passes on calling Royce a Tom carrying water for "massah," criticizing Bizarre as lying to make money off Em, and on and on. Like Tony Yayo says, nobody else was out there protecting him from being locked up by taking him on an international tour and wearing t-shirts/using platforms like the Grammy's to call out that situation and get him freed. Representing RAP/HIP HOP CULTURE rather than race is something Em/Marshall Mathers has always done to the best of his ability, but he never shies away from doing what he can to address race-related issues to produce positive movement of the needle whenever there's something he can do! People criticize him for that freestyle going at Trump, but it was a black rapper who had prompted that action by saying they needed their white allies in the industry to act as just that! So, if that meant the Secret Service showing up at his house, Marshall Mathers was willing to take on that beef to do what would have been more dangerous for some of the black artists looking at that line--a line Marshall Mathers/Eminem made as clear as possible existed with Trump and racists on one side and HIM on the opposite side where he wanted his fans to know he was and they should be, too, if they really frucked with him!!! What I remember every time this racist label comes up is the story of how he and Proof became friends. At least the story I heard was that Proof invited him over to play video games and whatever after they met, and while he was there, Proof just went in his closet and got out of pair of sneakers he gave Em. Marshall Mathers was so poor growing up that his ill-fitting shoes with holes in them that were falling apart got Proof's attention, a kid who wasn't exactly rolling in riches or even in a comfortable middle-class life. Yet there wasn't an issue of race between them; Proof just saw a need he could fill for a dude he thought could be a good friend, which is what they became--and not even just friends but really like brothers!!! They were so close it literally almost killed the man Marshall Mathers to lose him to that bullet, especially after the "Toy Soldiers" song/video he thought somehow doomed his brother and made that death partly on him. This is just wrong to keep trying to push some bull ish narrative that is the ONLY thing that gives Benzino any kind of platform or attention now, and the podcasters and old-school rappers who saw the truth as events unfolded along with the new artists who were influenced by Em no matter how much people try to dismiss that need to STOP this mess and deal with the reality that Marshall Mathers and Eminem are NOT racists, while Benzino we KNOW actually IS!!! That's not just an Eminem thing; he was racist and misogynistic to APD officers just doing their dadgum jobs when he decided to get drunk and behind the wheel of a car. He needs to stop worrying about Eminem and start working on HIMSELF!!!
To answer the first question, the beef was poppin off, so Benzino should have leaked the tape to other media. i think that would have hit Em harder The way he did it seemed desperate and clout chasing
the biggest problem bumzino had was is he is so racist himself its like someone shouting you should be turning vegan whilst munching on a fat beef burger with extra bacon!
Though he is the most under rated but lyrically very few can even keep up with crook, just keep being a fuckin monster and more so moving how u move like a veteran grown ass man
To answer the 2 questions here’s my approach: In the short term I see this tape drop at my desk and I’m like “oh Lord I got something we gotta expose this!” But Benzino wasn’t thinking about all the legal stuff that went into it and what it meant long term for The Source. Ultimately, if it was me, I would’ve just kept it in my back pocket due to have large and supportive Eminem’s fanbase was. The final question, I don’t think Em and Benzino will ever move on. Benzino tried taking Em’s money, trying to discredit his career and he said some dumb ish about Hailie. Benzino flops back and forth talking bout he wants to end the beef one minute then screaming I hate Eminem the next.
As a lyrical myself I find myself going back and forth between you and Ransom for my #1 M.C. of all time, since you got him on the track "Enemy of the State" you are 1A and Ransom is 1B until he proves otherwise. C.O.B 4 life. Suuutt Suuutt
If I were Benzino back then I would have played the tape in its entirety and then spoken on why I felt the need to expose such a tape. I would have also reached out to Interscope, Dre, and Em beforehand due to the umbrella they and many other labels/artists fall under at UMG. Benzino not having the business since or wherewithal to see this before making such a move shows why The Source had such a drastic and fast fall from grace. The business acumen was and is simply not there. However, the only reason Benzino chose to go that route was for one reason and one reason only. He did not like the fact that a white rapper was receiving support and backing from other labels, artists, and people in the hip-hop community as a whole. It has always been and will always be about race with this dude. It was never more apparent than watching his Drink Champs interview where he was dogging Em out and 5 min later crying and saying he wanted to hug him and he had no issues with him. He comes across as being disingenuous, especially how this man doesn't say, do, or think anything without adding #eminem or bringing Em's name into it somehow. Even Benzinos own IG hashtag handles are littered with #Eminem, #EminemBeef, and so on. I feel sorry for Benzino one second and then I remember that he single handly pissed away more than 30 million dollars. The only reason he is as insignificant and broke as he is right now is because of his dumbass decisions. We all have to answer for the choices we make, he's just seeing the results of making poor choices repeatedly.
