Benzino - Arch Nemisis

Legendz · 08-20-2008, 02:12 AM

Most people know Benzino as part owner of The Source Magazine and his, highly publicized beef with Eminem. However, his roots in hip-hop go very far back in the game.

Hailing from Boston he was a member of the Almighty RSO, The Made Men, Hangmen 3, and The Untouchables.He also released solo material. While not one of the most successful rappers of his day, Benzino did make an impact on hip-hop culture. That fact cannot be denied.

Sixshot.com caught up with Benzino to discuss his new magazine Hip-Hop Weekly, his new group, and of course the beef with Eminem.

Sixshot.Com: All right man you got Hip-Hop Weekly on the shelves and it’s doing real well. Turned a profit right?

Benzino: Oh yeah it definitely turned a profit. We actually won an award and we were ranked top 15 out of all the new magazines and that’s in terms sale and all that. We’re one of the hottest magazines out so we’re doing extremely well. God is good.

Sixshot.Com: Has it been a big transition going from doing the Source to doing Hip-Hop Weekly?

Benzino: Oh it’s a big difference and not even just with The Source but also back in the day just doing magazines was dif ferent. It was a whole big production. You have to get photo shoots set up. At one time we had over 40 people on staff. Hip-Hop Weekly is more similar to an US Weekly or People. It comes out every two weeks. It’s all about our information and short stories on artists. Of course there’s some gossip in there. We got columnists like Wendy Williams and Star. It’s a whole different process now. It has a lot more to do with the internet. We don’t do a lot of photo shoots now. A lot of photos are pulled from the net so it’s a lot easier way of doing magazines. Since the whole internet boom we’ve really had to kind of find different ways of doing things.

Sixshot.Com: Are you taking advantage of the internet now more than you did with The Source?

Benzino: Yeah it’s a big source for us. It’s a main source of where we get our information and I’m sure it’s a main source for where everybody gets their information. Even newspapers are getting more into the internet now. It’s definitely been a help.

Sixshot.Com: Have you read The Source since you guys left?

Benzino: I’ve glanced at it a couple of times. When we first left it was just looking crazy. It’s looking a little better these days. The people that they have running it just don’t have their thumb on hip-hop and what’s really going on. I’m not just saying that because we’re not there anymore. When we were there we wouldn’t be politically correct. That’s what was good about The Source when Dave and me were there. We didn’t answer to nobody therefore we didn’t feel like we had to be politically correct. I feel like in terms of magazines you’re going to get the best out of them when you don’t have to answer to anybody and you don’t have to be politically correct.

It’s about right and wrong. There’s not too much grey area. We always tried to stay true to the culture of hip-hop, which has always come from the streets and from the struggle. Taking it in a corporate direction is good because it brings more money to the table but then people just kind of tend to go with whatever is hot or who had the most advertising. I don’t think you’re giving the readers the best information possible.

Sixshot.Com: As a guy who has a lot of experience with hip-hop monthly magazines, what magazine would you say is number one right now?

Benzino: I guess I’d have to say XXL but mind you, XXL was just a copycat of The Source. They just copied the whole format of what we were doing. XXL kind of stayed relevant and they got rid of Elliot Wilson. At the end of the day there’s really not to many monthlies out there. I think Dave and me stayed relevant. I wouldn’t call XXL a great magazine though. It’s alright. There’s still a lot of fraud going on up there in terms of advertising and everything. It is what it is.

Sixshot.Com: I want to talk about your music a little. Are you still recording?

Benzino: Yeah definitely still recording. We’re out here in Miami. We just hooked up a brand new studio. I got a new group called 1st 4orty 8 which is comprised of me, my man Cognito, and my man Snoop. I’m still working with The Untouchables and some cats from Boston. I’m still working with Hangmen 3. The music thing has always been a love for me so it’s not a situation where I’m desperately trying to make money off of it. Everybody wants to make money off of music of course but it’s always been a love for me. I’ve been making music for years and I love doing it. I don’t see myself ever stopping. My son Ray-Ray is about to come out with his first album. He just turned 15 and he’s getting ready to do his thing. I’m in a real good place right now, controversy free. (Laughs)

Sixshot.Com: How does it feel being controversy free?

Benzino: I like it man. I’m sure there are a lot of people because of all the beef with Eminem or whatever the case may be that have a bad taste in their mouth as far as Benzino goes but at the end of the day I just love music. I’ve always tried to speak up for the people who can’t really speak up for themselves. Hip-hop is a tool to let people know what’s going on in the world so I’m always gonna keep that in tact. I’m not really the type of guy who just runs with the crowd. I speak my mind and there are really no grey areas for me.

Sixshot.Com: Is your opinion of Eminem different today than it was back then?

Benzino: See what the case was back then was that you had a group of people in Interscope records that were trying to hold hip-hop down. They tried to make it so that everything they put out was gold. That’s not happening anymore. That who scene has kind of fallen. G-Unit is damn near all the way over now. Jimmy Iovine is having major problems with 50 Cent; I’m sure both business and personal. Eminem has been out of commission for a long time and I don’t think he ever represented the culture as a whole. He could spit but there are a lot of cats that could spit. I felt like because he was white he was getting things that artists of color weren’t getting. When he first came out MTV wasn’t playing anything but Eminem.

At this point they could barely play a video period. I was speaking to the whole hip-hop world out there who were trying to get their music heard without a double standard. Look at G-Unit, FunkMaster Flex and Hot 97 jumped right on that bandwagon. I’m sure it was because of money reasons or whatever. Now that G-Unit is over you got all these artists there and ain’t nobody really checking for them no more. I think DJ’s and program directors are very irresponsible. Hip-hop is supposed to be for the people. You got DJ’s who are A&R’s and DJ’s who are putting out music of their own and to me that’s not how it’s supposed to be. Like I said I didn’t have nobody telling me what to say so I was being blacklisted because of what I spoke. Look at New York now. They got artists who aren’t selling music and that’s because for five years they weren’t paid attention to. Now that G-Unit is done these artists are wondering why they can’t even sell 20,000 records.

Sixshot.Com: So you still got the club out in Miami?

Benzino: Nah, nah when I got indicted by the FEDS my liquor license got suspended and all that.

Sixshot.Com: You’ve been through a lot of business ventures. How have you managed to stay successful as a businessman through all the trials and tribulations?

Benzino: I just been loyal to Dave, the people that’s been around me for years, and myself. You have to have trust in God. At the end of the day you just can’t be lazy. You can’t sit around and talk about it or wish something would happen. You gotta get out there and get it. I’ve been a hustler since day one. Money is out there. You just gotta go get it. You gotta have patience and discipline. I was raised by a mother who always worked and a father who was a hustler to his heart so I guess I come from good thread.

Sixshot.Com: What ever happened with Monsta magazine?

Benzino: We put out a prototype and there was a guy that had the name so we had to go to court with him. We settled it and right now he’s working with us. We plan on putting gout another issue before Christmas. It’s no rush though. We just wanna keep Hip-Hop Weekly going. That’s the moneymaker right now.

Sixshot.Com: All right Benzino, what do you have coming up that we could look out for?

Benzino: I got this album coming out with 1st 4orty 8. I got my solo album coming out of course. We got a website coming soon too with all the blogs and all that. The magazine is doing real well. We might get into the hip-hop monthly game again. We put out Monsta as like a prototype to see how it would do. Life is good. My kids are doing well, everybody’s good so I don’t have anything to complain about man.

Sixshot.Com: Anything you want to say to your fans out there?

Benzino: Anybody who’s been supporting me don’t listen to the hype. I’m doing real good, real well. Long live hip-hop.

LadyValentine · 08-20-2008, 06:57 AM

Well I'll be damned...the nerve of this cat to keep repeating that "Now that G-Unit is over"

His career never even went anywhere rap-wise...him and David Mays ruined the source and his son will fail too thanks to the disgraced name of his wack father.

youngsetta · 09-07-2008, 12:24 AM

and it aint supposed to be a rapper putting out a magazine judging other rapper shut the fuk up already damn can't tell wats biggr ya mouth or ya head jus shut up already damn

suss3it · 09-07-2008, 04:01 AM

So because Eminem shut this bitch down, he doesn't represent the culture? He's talking about how hip-hop is for the people, but when the people decide they like Eminem he ain't even the culture? Why cause he white? That shit ain't even right.

G-Unit may be over, but at least they were something, nobody knows who the fuck Benzino is and here he is runnin' his mouth.

08-20-2008, 02:12 AM	#1
Legendz Veteran Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 6,720 Repped: 871 Repped 9,245 Times in 1,391 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Benzino - Arch Nemisis Benzino - Arch Nemisis Most people know Benzino as part owner of The Source Magazine and his, highly publicized beef with Eminem. However, his roots in hip-hop go very far back in the game. Hailing from Boston he was a member of the Almighty RSO, The Made Men, Hangmen 3, and The Untouchables.He also released solo material. While not one of the most successful rappers of his day, Benzino did make an impact on hip-hop culture. That fact cannot be denied. Sixshot.com caught up with Benzino to discuss his new magazine Hip-Hop Weekly, his new group, and of course the beef with Eminem. Sixshot.Com: All right man you got Hip-Hop Weekly on the shelves and it’s doing real well. Turned a profit right? Benzino: Oh yeah it definitely turned a profit. We actually won an award and we were ranked top 15 out of all the new magazines and that’s in terms sale and all that. We’re one of the hottest magazines out so we’re doing extremely well. God is good. Sixshot.Com: Has it been a big transition going from doing the Source to doing Hip-Hop Weekly? Benzino: Oh it’s a big difference and not even just with The Source but also back in the day just doing magazines was dif ferent. It was a whole big production. You have to get photo shoots set up. At one time we had over 40 people on staff. Hip-Hop Weekly is more similar to an US Weekly or People. It comes out every two weeks. It’s all about our information and short stories on artists. Of course there’s some gossip in there. We got columnists like Wendy Williams and Star. It’s a whole different process now. It has a lot more to do with the internet. We don’t do a lot of photo shoots now. A lot of photos are pulled from the net so it’s a lot easier way of doing magazines. Since the whole internet boom we’ve really had to kind of find different ways of doing things. Sixshot.Com: Are you taking advantage of the internet now more than you did with The Source? Benzino: Yeah it’s a big source for us. It’s a main source of where we get our information and I’m sure it’s a main source for where everybody gets their information. Even newspapers are getting more into the internet now. It’s definitely been a help. Sixshot.Com: Have you read The Source since you guys left? Benzino: I’ve glanced at it a couple of times. When we first left it was just looking crazy. It’s looking a little better these days. The people that they have running it just don’t have their thumb on hip-hop and what’s really going on. I’m not just saying that because we’re not there anymore. When we were there we wouldn’t be politically correct. That’s what was good about The Source when Dave and me were there. We didn’t answer to nobody therefore we didn’t feel like we had to be politically correct. I feel like in terms of magazines you’re going to get the best out of them when you don’t have to answer to anybody and you don’t have to be politically correct. It’s about right and wrong. There’s not too much grey area. We always tried to stay true to the culture of hip-hop, which has always come from the streets and from the struggle. Taking it in a corporate direction is good because it brings more money to the table but then people just kind of tend to go with whatever is hot or who had the most advertising. I don’t think you’re giving the readers the best information possible. Sixshot.Com: As a guy who has a lot of experience with hip-hop monthly magazines, what magazine would you say is number one right now? Benzino: I guess I’d have to say XXL but mind you, XXL was just a copycat of The Source. They just copied the whole format of what we were doing. XXL kind of stayed relevant and they got rid of Elliot Wilson. At the end of the day there’s really not to many monthlies out there. I think Dave and me stayed relevant. I wouldn’t call XXL a great magazine though. It’s alright. There’s still a lot of fraud going on up there in terms of advertising and everything. It is what it is. Sixshot.Com: I want to talk about your music a little. Are you still recording? Benzino: Yeah definitely still recording. We’re out here in Miami. We just hooked up a brand new studio. I got a new group called 1st 4orty 8 which is comprised of me, my man Cognito, and my man Snoop. I’m still working with The Untouchables and some cats from Boston. I’m still working with Hangmen 3. The music thing has always been a love for me so it’s not a situation where I’m desperately trying to make money off of it. Everybody wants to make money off of music of course but it’s always been a love for me. I’ve been making music for years and I love doing it. I don’t see myself ever stopping. My son Ray-Ray is about to come out with his first album. He just turned 15 and he’s getting ready to do his thing. I’m in a real good place right now, controversy free. (Laughs) Sixshot.Com: How does it feel being controversy free? Benzino: I like it man. I’m sure there are a lot of people because of all the beef with Eminem or whatever the case may be that have a bad taste in their mouth as far as Benzino goes but at the end of the day I just love music. I’ve always tried to speak up for the people who can’t really speak up for themselves. Hip-hop is a tool to let people know what’s going on in the world so I’m always gonna keep that in tact. I’m not really the type of guy who just runs with the crowd. I speak my mind and there are really no grey areas for me. Sixshot.Com: Is your opinion of Eminem different today than it was back then? Benzino: See what the case was back then was that you had a group of people in Interscope records that were trying to hold hip-hop down. They tried to make it so that everything they put out was gold. That’s not happening anymore. That who scene has kind of fallen. G-Unit is damn near all the way over now. Jimmy Iovine is having major problems with 50 Cent; I’m sure both business and personal. Eminem has been out of commission for a long time and I don’t think he ever represented the culture as a whole. He could spit but there are a lot of cats that could spit. I felt like because he was white he was getting things that artists of color weren’t getting. When he first came out MTV wasn’t playing anything but Eminem. At this point they could barely play a video period. I was speaking to the whole hip-hop world out there who were trying to get their music heard without a double standard. Look at G-Unit, FunkMaster Flex and Hot 97 jumped right on that bandwagon. I’m sure it was because of money reasons or whatever. Now that G-Unit is over you got all these artists there and ain’t nobody really checking for them no more. I think DJ’s and program directors are very irresponsible. Hip-hop is supposed to be for the people. You got DJ’s who are A&R’s and DJ’s who are putting out music of their own and to me that’s not how it’s supposed to be. Like I said I didn’t have nobody telling me what to say so I was being blacklisted because of what I spoke. Look at New York now. They got artists who aren’t selling music and that’s because for five years they weren’t paid attention to. Now that G-Unit is done these artists are wondering why they can’t even sell 20,000 records. Sixshot.Com: So you still got the club out in Miami? Benzino: Nah, nah when I got indicted by the FEDS my liquor license got suspended and all that. Sixshot.Com: You’ve been through a lot of business ventures. How have you managed to stay successful as a businessman through all the trials and tribulations? Benzino: I just been loyal to Dave, the people that’s been around me for years, and myself. You have to have trust in God. At the end of the day you just can’t be lazy. You can’t sit around and talk about it or wish something would happen. You gotta get out there and get it. I’ve been a hustler since day one. Money is out there. You just gotta go get it. You gotta have patience and discipline. I was raised by a mother who always worked and a father who was a hustler to his heart so I guess I come from good thread. Sixshot.Com: What ever happened with Monsta magazine? Benzino: We put out a prototype and there was a guy that had the name so we had to go to court with him. We settled it and right now he’s working with us. We plan on putting gout another issue before Christmas. It’s no rush though. We just wanna keep Hip-Hop Weekly going. That’s the moneymaker right now. Sixshot.Com: All right Benzino, what do you have coming up that we could look out for? Benzino: I got this album coming out with 1st 4orty 8. I got my solo album coming out of course. We got a website coming soon too with all the blogs and all that. The magazine is doing real well. We might get into the hip-hop monthly game again. We put out Monsta as like a prototype to see how it would do. Life is good. My kids are doing well, everybody’s good so I don’t have anything to complain about man. Sixshot.Com: Anything you want to say to your fans out there? Benzino: Anybody who’s been supporting me don’t listen to the hype. I’m doing real good, real well. Long live hip-hop.

08-20-2008, 06:57 AM	#2
LadyValentine Veteran Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Throw A TV At You Crazy Posts: 3,891 Repped: 82 Repped 1,839 Times in 356 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 27 Times in 24 Posts	Well I'll be damned...the nerve of this cat to keep repeating that "Now that G-Unit is over" His career never even went anywhere rap-wise...him and David Mays ruined the source and his son will fail too thanks to the disgraced name of his wack father. __________________ Why In The Hell Would You Let Your Fingers Type Such Absurdity? - Me

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09-07-2008, 12:24 AM	#3
youngsetta its all about da unit Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: da home of hip-hop Posts: 257 Repped: 0 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	and it aint supposed to be a rapper putting out a magazine judging other rapper shut the fuk up already damn can't tell wats biggr ya mouth or ya head jus shut up already damn

09-07-2008, 04:01 AM	#4
suss3it Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,032 Repped: 234 Repped 7 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 5 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	So because Eminem shut this bitch down, he doesn't represent the culture? He's talking about how hip-hop is for the people, but when the people decide they like Eminem he ain't even the culture? Why cause he white? That shit ain't even right. G-Unit may be over, but at least they were something, nobody knows who the fuck Benzino is and here he is runnin' his mouth.