As a rapper, Benzino's career has been relatively unsuccessful, compared to many of the artists featured in his magazine. Though known for his run-ins with the police, Benzino is most famous for his on-going feud with rapper Eminem, and more recently hip hop group Slaughterhouse.
Benzino's impact on The Source
Benzino started his rap career with a group called the Almighty RSO. The group was known mainly for their anti-police song "One In The Chamba" from the Forever Doomsday album released through Tommy Boy Records. The single and album were considered controversial for the tone of the rap group and encouraging the murder of local law enforcement. In 1994 The Boston Police and the Fraternal Order of Police union had placed the group on high priority at the time forcing RSO to be dropped from the label. Benzino went on to record with rappers Antonio Twice Thou and Mr. Gzus, to form Made Men.
Since Dave Mays was a friend and manager of the group, he would frequently insert stories and reviews into The Source without the consent of the editors. Benzino also secretly inserted favorable coverage and advertising. In 1994 and 1999, Mays slipped in articles on Benzino's group forcing a majority of the staff to walkout in protest. After an article in GQ Magazine criticized Mays' decision on working with Benzino, it forced scrunity on the rapper and the publication. Editors claimed that Benzino and his associates visited the magazine, threatening journalists and stealing property. Benzino was arrested in a dispute with law enforcement in Miami in 2001. After publicizing the incident, Benzino became co-owner of the magazine, forcing out the original founders of The Source. When the publication held its annual awards, Benzino was nominated for awards even though his music is rarely seen or heard in the media. Industry insiders believe that Benzino was involved in rating albums. Therefore his role as the "five-mic giver" has been well recognized in the pages of the publication.
After acknowledging his position as co-ownerof The Source, he recorded a solo album. Benzino was signed to Motown Records and released The Benzino Project. The debut album featured many notable rappers, and also Pink. However, the album sold poorly, causing Motown to drop him from their label. The remains of the album was turned into a remix album featuring the same artists and a few different beats. Tarnished but undeterred, Benzino released his sophomore album under Elektra Records.
The Feud With Eminem
Benzino decided to air out his concerns with white multi-platinum Eminem. The rapper claims that Eminem's success ruins blacks and Latino rappers' chances of success. Benzino believes that corporations are controlling and supporting Eminem, which allows him talk about meaningful topics, while black rappers must rap about materialistic things.
One possible contributing factor for Benzino's concerns was Eminem's rating for his album The Marshall Mathers LP. Originally, The Source had given Eminem a two mics (star rating) for his album which was received poorly by the readership, so it was later changed to a four mic rating. Meanwhile, Benzino's Made Men was rated four-and-a-half mics. Eminem was upset and addressed the magazine on his follow-up album The Eminem Show.
Benzino claims that MTV is also partly responsible for the problems of hip hop. Executives at the MTV Video Music Awards allowed Eminem to show up with over 100 blonde clones dressed like him marching on stage for their 2000 awards show. Benzino also singled out Interscope's Jimmy Iovine for Eminem's rise to stardom. One thing that most angered Benzino was a rap Eminem made on "Without Me," one of his singles from The Eminem Show: “Though I'm not the first king of controversy/ I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley/ To do Black music so selfishly/ and use it to make myself wealthy" (although in the context of the song, it was not likely a comment intended to be taken seriously). Benzino considered this the last straw.
Before Benzino released his album, he recorded a "diss" record mixtape addressed to Eminem. In some of his interviews he has stated that Eminem is a part of the corporate "machine" and it is destroying hip hop. Eminem caught wind of Benzino’s comments and decided to respond. Eminem recorded two vicious tracks, attacking the credibility of The Source and the rap career of Benzino.
Not to be outdone by Eminem, Benzino threw out the claims of a corporate takeover and started to insult Eminem personally. He recorded a response to Eminem’s lyrical attacks by threatening his daughter and dubbing him the “2003 Vanilla Ice” and “Rap Hitler.” Eminem, fed up with this decided to air it out on radio. DJ personality Angie Martinez allowed Eminem to express his problems, in which Eminem branded Benzino as the “worst rapper in the world”. Benzino phoned in later, threatening to fight Eminem if they crossed paths. Elektra Records dropped Benzino, even before his sophomore album was ever released. Benzino's album Redemption sold 14,000 units, a major disappointment compared to his rival's album, The Eminem Show, selling over 4 million copies.
Benzino has also been the subject of scrutiny for using his magazine as a personal promotional platform as well as a tool against his enemies. In 2003, The Source released recordings of Eminem which included derogatory references to Blacks and women. Eminem apologized for making the tapes but also stated The Source's vendetta against him were the reasons for the allegations. The recordings, made in 1988, were the subject of a lawsuit from the rapper [1]. Eminem sued The Source for defamation and copyright infringement. The federal courts allowed an injunction to distribute a minimal amount of lyrics of the alleged tape. Benzino and the publication ignored the injunction and went forth to publish the entire lyrics on its website and in its magazine. By ignoring the injunction, The Source was found in contempt of court and were forced to pay Eminem and his label, Shady Records, a large compensation sum.
Benzino and The Source urged video stations to ban Eminem's video, "Just Lose It", and urged to have the song removed from Eminem's album, because of the video's depiction of Michael Jackson. In spite of their efforts, BET has been the only network to ban the video. Currently Eminem and Benzino continue to feud on albums, despite Eminem's plead to end the dispute with The Source, through the single "Like Toy Soldiers" from Encore) . Benzino responded with his "diss" record "Look Into My Eyes". The song's video parodies Eminem for being scared of Benzino, and for being willing to give up the rap game in order not to see the death of Eminem's friend Proof.
At one time, the two were willing to sit down together and settle their differences. But that was halted after a confrontation between Eminem and co-founder David Mays. They got into a heated dispute, causing Benzino to reignite the argument. There were numerous reports that Benzino had influenced editors to write a critical piece about 50 Cent and G-Unit after a comment was made by members of the group. The situation is unclear, but the magaqzine is once again attacking Eminem and his Shady Records. After the magazine was printed, Benzino and Mays were criticized for allowing their vendetta against Interscope ruin the credibility of The Source. The issue addresses the controversy surrounding Hot 97 personality Funkmaster Flex and rappers associated to Eminem and 50 Cent.
The Call For Benzino's Resignation
After fans and supporters of Eminem called for the removal of the rapper from the publication, Benzino formally resigned from his position as co-owner of The Source [2]. The rapper decided to leave the magazine due to the controversy surrounding his involvement, citing a dispute between the publishers of Black Enterprises, as well as Eminem contributing to his resignation. The departure was short-lived. Benzino soon returned to his former position at The Source saying that his reason for leaving had been to prevent the firing of Def Jam president L.A. Reid. Benzino placed the blame on Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine as well as Russell Simmons for pressuring Reid to remove Def Jam advertising from The Source. Insiders from The Source claimed that Benzino as well as Mays were part of a publicity stunt to encourage advertising in the magazine [3]. The owners wanted information to be leaked out so they can ease the advertisers' worries about associating with The Source.
After returning to the publication, Benzino was sued with multiple lawsuits. Former editor-in-chief Kim Osorio, and many female workers filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Benzino and The Source for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. After a taping of the previous Source Awards, Benzino was dealt numerous lawsuits for unpaid expenses and missing jewelry after he and Mays had invited their families to the award shows [4]. While filming a music video down in the Dominican Republic, the staff at The Source held another walkout. The Source's staff were upset about having received non-clearing paychecks with no response from senior management. Benzino's latest album, Arch-Nemesis, was released quietly in 2005 and has sold 10,000 units to date. Two of the Source's top music executives from Boston have been accused of a nightclub shooting in New York. Leroy Peebles and Alvin Chiles were both accused of the shooting that resulted in three people hospitalized.
The current editor-in-chief Joshua "Fahyim" Ratcliffe, has recently left the magazine. Ratcliffe stated that a conflict of interest between the rating of highly acclaimed The Minstrel Show from rap group Little Brother was changed after threats to him by Benzino. Ratcliffe felt that Benzino's jealousy of any group deserving a five star rating is too much. Ratcliffe resigned after being forced to change the rating of the album. Lil' Kim who released The Naked Truth received the five mic rating instead. Although critics speculated that Lil' Kim's manager is currently Dave Mays, this is the first time that a female rapper ever received the highest rating in the magazine. The Little Brother album received a four-and-a-half mic rating instead of a five.
In 2006, the shareholders of The Source Magazine officially terminated co-founder Mays and Benzino after their controversal actions ruined the reputation of the publication. Benzino tried to avert the termination by obtaining a temporary restraining order to prevent him from losing his post as chief brand executive and president. After the restraining order was lifted, the shareholders formally dismissed Mays and Benzino. Former writer and editor Jeremy Miller officially became CEO of The Source. It's not clear if Benzino will continue to influence the magazine but it's certain that the situation the rapper is facing may lead to a more negative perception of the publication.
Almighty RSO- Doomsday: Forever RSO (1992?)^
Made Men- Classic Limited Edition (1998)^
The Benzino Project (2001)^
The Benzino Remix Project (2002)
Redemption (2003)
Arch-Nemesis (2005)
^It's noted that these albums are no longer found in retailers.
Redemption
Benzino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ima smoke until I'm fried
Help me cope with the demons that I can't hide
Intuition is a gift (nigga)
If you think that a nigga did it
Hit em in the chest and keep it movin'
Or go sit your silly ass down
Dont give me no excuses that you turned your little life around (naw)
You weave pain, aint nuttin but a g thang
Anyway, you better get him 'fore he get you (get you)
Fuck around, fall asleep then he wet you
Fuck around he call the feds then they get you
And your bitch is gonna flip and forget you
Drop to my knees, Lord I'm reachin out
I'm ordain to the streets (Tell me whats it all about uh)
Kill them niggas with the clout
Eliminate these haters
Ima deal with you later
Man this shit got me fucked up (fucked up)
Right up
I gotta keep token (pass that shit)
Conversatin with the devil
Im on another level
The evil thing that men do
Off with your head if you fuckin with Benzino (fuckin with Benzino)
[chorus]
God I'm droppin to my knees (to my knees)
My Rosaries in my hand
And I'm screamin Lord please (Lord please)
Gotta take the pain away (Gotta take the pain away)
Will I live to see another day (another day)
[verse 2]
I was, boring in heaven, raised in hell
Fightin demons off my back
Attack and kill
Chill
When murder is an option
Gotta take precaution
I'm already known, the Lord has a plan
But it's so damn hard bein honest man
And I'm stuck in my ways
So Ima blaze for life
Give these streets some praise
I know they raised me right (haha)
Jesus Christ, if my life turns upside-down
I'll sit beside you in your kingdom with your angels round
Hear the sound of your choir
All in my brain
The streets is on fire
They callin my name
Even though they caused me so much pain (so much pain)
They lace a thugged up on so much game (so much game)
The agony in extacy
People mad at me
If Judas' is next to me
End up in tragedy
Fuck it
Im destined to die young
Im losin my religion
Speakin in tounge
Im on a one way trip to death
Inhaling this pain like it's my last breath (so whats next)
Ima kill you 'fore you kill me
Fuckin with Hobby ya dead body
Your bitch gonna feel me
[chorus]
God I'm droppin to my knees (to my knees)
My Rosaries in my hand
And I'm screamin Lord please (Lord please)
Gotta take the pain away
Will I live to see another day (another day)
[Fatal Hussein]
Hussein the don
It's nothin I get there early
Cuz I stay in the mix
Could you imagine all the demons
When you stay in the Bricks
And every night I hear em talkin to me
It's like I hear em when they call me in my sleep
But I aint tryin ta feel em walkin to me
Six million ways to die
I choose the one, thats easiest to me
So I choose the gun
And if you choose the wrong one choice
you better choose to run
I had a soul of Makaveli
When you lose a lung
Take it from me
I make niggas learn respect
Disrespect hurt but pain is when I burn a tech
And it aint nutttin like gettin ya head slittin ya wig
And the fed find you buried with your bitch and her kids
It was rough comin up nigga, I aint eatin
You think Im tryin to turn the tables now, I aint beat
Im finna do this, ride it out to the end
Rest In Peace to my niggas
Makaveli the don, Killa Kadafi
[chorus 2x]
God I'm droppin to my knees (to my knees)
My Rosaries in my hand
And I'm screamin Lord please (Lord Please) Rest In Peace
Gotta take the pain away
Will I live to see another day (another day)
[Benzino - talkin']
No doubt, this one goin out to my brother Porky D
Hold ya head
Rest in peace Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Big Punisher, Big L, Freaky Tah
The lyrics to Benzino's Redemption are a raw and honest reflection of his struggles with inner demons and his tumultuous past. The first verse speaks to his coping mechanisms, namely smoking to handle the pain and darkness within him. He also acknowledges his intuition as a gift, warning those who cross him that there will be consequences. The chorus has him dropping to his knees, begging for the pain to be taken away and questioning whether he will live to see another day.
The second verse delves deeper into his personal struggles, with Benzino sharing that he was born in heaven but raised in hell. His honesty about his tendency towards violence, his stubbornness and his desire to praise the streets that raised him is poignant. The verse ends with him acknowledging his faith in Jesus Christ and his willingness to go to the kingdom if his life takes a turn for the worse.
Overall, this song is a reflection of the pain that comes with living in dangerous and violent environments, the temptation towards drugs and violence and the hope for redemption through faith in a higher power.
Line by Line Meaning
Ima smoke until I'm fried
I will smoke until I feel relieved from the pain caused by my demons.
Help me cope with the demons that I can't hide
I smoke to keep my demons at bay because I cannot control them.
Intuition is a gift (nigga)
I have a gift of intuition.
If you think that a nigga did it
If you believe someone is responsible for your problems.
Hit em in the chest and keep it movin'
Confront the person responsible and move on.
Or go sit your silly ass down
Stop making excuses about your life.
Dont give me no excuses that you turned your little life around (naw)
Don't try to make excuses about how your life has changed.
You were born into violence
I was born into a violent environment.
You weave pain, aint nuttin but a g thang
You became accustomed to pain because of the environment you grew up in.
Anyway, you better get him 'fore he get you (get you)
If someone is a threat, you should attack them before they attack you.
Fuck around, fall asleep then he wet you
If you mess around and fall asleep, the person may kill you.
Fuck around he call the feds then they get you
If you mess around, they may call the police to arrest you.
And your bitch is gonna flip and forget you
If you get caught by the police, your partner may turn on you.
Drop to my knees, Lord I'm reachin out
I am praying to God.
I'm ordain to the streets (Tell me whats it all about uh)
I am destined to live on the streets.
Kill them niggas with the clout
Eliminate those people with power.
Eliminate these haters
Get rid of those who hate you.
Ima deal with you later
I will take care of you later.
Man this shit got me fucked up (fucked up)
This situation is making me feel terrible.
Right up
Right away.
I gotta keep token (pass that shit)
I need to keep smoking.
Conversatin with the devil
Talking to the devil.
Im on another level
I am on a different level of consciousness.
The evil thing that men do
The evil acts that people commit.
Off with your head if you fuckin with Benzino (fuckin with Benzino)
If you mess with me, you will suffer the consequences.
God I'm droppin to my knees (to my knees)
I am praying to God.
My Rosaries in my hand
I am holding my rosary beads while praying.
And I'm screamin Lord please (Lord please)
I am begging God for mercy.
Gotta take the pain away (Gotta take the pain away)
I need the pain to go away.
Will I live to see another day (another day)
I wonder if I will live to see another day.
I was, boring in heaven, raised in hell
I was born in heaven but raised in a hellish environment.
Fightin demons off my back
I am facing my demons alone.
Attack and kill
I have to attack and eliminate my enemies.
Chill
Relax.
When murder is an option
When killing someone is considered as a viable option.
Gotta take precaution
I have to behave with caution.
I'm already known, the Lord has a plan
I am a known person, and God has a plan for me.
But it's so damn hard bein honest man
It is very difficult to stay honest in this life.
And I'm stuck in my ways
I am stuck in my habits and behaviors.
So Ima blaze for life
So, I will smoke weed for life.
Give these streets some praise
I am grateful to the streets.
I know they raised me right (haha)
The streets helped me become the person I am.
Jesus Christ, if my life turns upside-down
If my life falls apart in the future.
I'll sit beside you in your kingdom with your angels round
I will go to sit with Jesus in the afterlife.
Hear the sound of your choir
I imagine hearing the choir in heaven.
All in my brain
It is all in my mind.
The streets is on fire
The streets are violent.
They callin my name
People are calling for Benzino.
Even though they caused me so much pain (so much pain)
Even though they caused me so much suffering.
They lace a thugged up on so much game (so much game)
They teach the thugs so much.
The agony in extacy
The painful pleasure.
People mad at me
People are angry with me.
If Judas' is next to me
If someone I consider a friend betrays me.
End up in tragedy
This will end badly.
Fuck it
Forget it.
Im destined to die young
I know I will die young.
Im losin my religion
I am losing my faith.
Speakin in tounge
Speaking in tongues.
Im on a one way trip to death
I am going towards death with every action.
Inhaling this pain like it's my last breath (so whats next)
I am smoking weed to cope with pain like every breath I take will be my last.
Ima kill you 'fore you kill me
I will kill you before you kill me.
Fuckin with Hobby ya dead body
If you mess with me, you will end up dead.
Your bitch gonna feel me
Your woman will be attracted to me.
Hussein the don
I am Hussein, the leader.
It's nothin I get there early
I am always the first one to arrive.
Cuz I stay in the mix
Because I stay involved in everything.
Could you imagine all the demons
I can't imagine all the demons.
When you stay in the Bricks
When you live in a very rough neighborhood.
And every night I hear em talkin to me
I can hear my demons talking to me every night.
It's like I hear em when they call me in my sleep
Sometimes I hear them even in my dreams.
But I aint tryin ta feel em walkin to me
But I don't let them physically come to me.
Six million ways to die
There are many ways to die.
I choose the one, thats easiest to me
I pick the easiest way to die.
So I choose the gun
I will use a gun.
And if you choose the wrong one choice
If you make a bad decision about the way you die.
you better choose to run
You should try to run away.
I had a soul of Makaveli
I had a soul like Tupac's.
When you lose a lung
When you lose one of your lungs.
Take it from me
Believe me.
I make niggas learn respect
I teach people to respect me.
Disrespect hurt but pain is when I burn a tech
Getting disrespected hurts, but the real pain is when I use a gun.
And it aint nutttin like gettin ya head slittin ya wig
There's nothing worse than getting your head cut with a knife.
And the fed find you buried with your bitch and her kids
The police find you dead and buried with your woman and her children.
It was rough comin up nigga, I aint eatin
I had a tough childhood, and I didn't have enough to eat.
You think Im tryin to turn the tables now, I aint beat
You might think I am trying to take revenge now, but I am not.
Im finna do this, ride it out to the end
I am going to keep going no matter what.
Rest In Peace to my niggas
I wish my friends peace.
Makaveli the don, Killa Kadafi
Tupac and Kadafi, the infamous rappers.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zinka
Maybe i should listen to all of Zino's projects because this track right here is alright
Martin Lee
ray killed this... slapped hard...Bezino project was dope too....
Kings Brenmann
one of his best tracks. Benzino raps well
Omovbude John
My best znos track
Sebastián Roca
the sound is too low... but I like it (Y
Adam Gordon
R.I.P. Fatal ✊🏾
MiXTER MEDINA
PIOLA GUACHOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yelyahmandarina
hey guys. i'm desperatly searching for benzinos track "i'm fucked up". i heard it at a party, it stucked in my head and now i can't find it anywhere. help please! :)
semperxian
rip fatal!
semperxian
soul of makaveli