Benzino

Although Benzino maintains an active presence as a rapper, widespread notoriety defines him more sharply, particularly through the damage his actions inflicted on The Source, long regarded as hip-hop’s premier publication. Controversy followed him across multiple fronts: a 1992 confrontation with Boston police that prompted Tommy Boy Records to sever ties with his crew Almighty RSO after issuing the track “One in the Chamba,” widely viewed as a “Cop Killer” imitation; his alliance with David Mays, co-founder of The Source, which enabled self-promotion and favoritism toward associates within the magazine’s pages; sustained public assaults on Eminem and Interscope Records framed around accusations of racism; and his 2006 dismissal by the publication’s board of directors, which triggered subsequent litigation. Despite the perception that his executive influence at The Source merely propped up an otherwise marginal recording career, Benzino continued releasing material with stubborn regularity, even after repeated commercial disappointments and the erosion of major-label support amid poor sales and ongoing scandals.

Born Ray Scott on October 24, 1965, the Boston-based rapper and producer first performed under the names Raydog and Ray Dogg. He launched his recording efforts within Almighty RSO—also known as Roxbury Street Organization, Real Strong Organization, Rock Sh*t On, or Ray Scott Organization—alongside DJ Deff Jeff, Tony Rhome, and E-Devious. The collective issued its debut 12-inch, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” on Boot Records in 1986. Its follow-up, the 1987 single “We’ll Remember You,” also appeared on Boot and listed Raydog as producer. Tommy Boy Records signed the group in 1991 and released “One in the Chamba” the next year; the song advocated armed self-defense against police aggression, drawing immediate backlash from Boston law enforcement and advocacy organizations. The national furor surrounding Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” with Body Count further intensified pressure, leading Warner Brothers to withdraw the track and drop the act, after which Tommy Boy swiftly followed suit and released Almighty RSO from its roster.

Flavor Unit, an Epic subsidiary, next picked up the group, which capitalized on its reputation with the 1993 single “Badd Boyz” featured on the compilation Roll wit tha Flava. That arrangement proved brief, and RCA issued the Revenge of da Badd Boyz EP in 1994 before likewise parting ways. Rap-a-Lot Records then released the collective’s first full-length project, Doomsday: Forever RSO, in 1996; the album included the single “You Could Be My Boo” featuring Faith Evans and listed David Mays, the group’s manager and publisher of The Source, among its executive producers. Mays had co-founded the magazine in 1988 with Harvard roommate Jon Shecter. In 1994 he wrote a three-page profile of Almighty RSO that ran under a pseudonym despite objections from editorial staff; several writers resigned in protest afterward. Benzino reportedly warned staffers that he would “put niggas in body bags” unless coverage remained favorable.

Following the dissolution of Almighty RSO, Benzino assembled Made Men with Antonio Twice Thou and Mr. Gzus while forming the production outfit Hangmen 3 alongside Jeff Two Times and Johnny Bananas. Made Men debuted on Restless Records in 1998 with the single “Is It You? (Déjà Vu)” featuring Master P and appeared on DJ Clue?’s The Professional that same year via the track “Made Men.” The full-length Classic Limited Edition arrived in 1999, preceded by the single “Just You and I.” Benzino received executive-producer credit, co-produced several tracks with Hangmen 3, and opened the project with the interlude “Benzino’s Thoughts.” The Source awarded the album four and a half mics. Hangmen 3 subsequently released No Skits, Vol. 1 on Surrender Records in 2000, spotlighting the track “Holla Back (Holla Boston)” and featuring numerous Boston rappers from the Made Men and Wiseguys circles. As part of Hangmen 3, Benzino also produced “What U Rep” on Prodigy’s H.N.I.C. (2000), “Stillmatic [The Intro]” on Nas’s Stillmatic (2001), “Verbal Graffiti” on Cormega’s The True Meaning (2002), and “Planet of the Apes” on Raekwon’s The Lex Diamond Story (2003).

In 2001 Benzino joined The Source masthead as co-owner and delivered his solo debut, The Benzino Project, on Motown. The album yielded the singles “Boottee” and “Bang ta This” and included guest appearances by P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Brown, Pink, and Teddy Riley. Despite the magazine’s endorsement, the project moved only 75,000 units, prompting Motown to drop him shortly afterward. A December 2001 GQ article titled “Getting to the Source,” written by Maximillian Potter, examined the publication’s compromised editorial standards and detailed Mays’s longstanding ties to Benzino, including prior legal matters; Motown subsequently demanded repayment of the $773,000 unrecouped advance in advertising space. Surrender Records acquired the master tapes and issued The Benzino Remix Project in 2002, which featured alternate versions of “Bang ta Dis,” “Figadoh,” and “Boottee” while retaining the original beats.

Benzino next targeted Eminem directly. Although The Source had already assigned The Marshall Mathers LP a two-mic rating in 2000—later revised to four mics following reader outcry—Benzino escalated matters on Redemption (2002) with the track “Pull Up Your Skirt,” which contained lines such as “The 2003 Vanilla Ice how you playin’ it,” “You was Unsigned Hype before you ever met Dre/I birthed your little career, now you owe your life to Ray/The five-mic giver, the Marshall Maggot ripper.” Elektra released the album, which also spawned “Rock the Party” and “Would You,” yet it sold roughly 20,000 copies and led to an immediate parting. The Source continued its criticism, publishing pieces like “The Unbearable Whiteness of Emceeing: What the Eminence of Eminem Says About Race” and distributing a poster depicting Benzino holding Eminem’s severed head. Eminem answered with “The Sauce” and “Nail in the Coffin,” the latter including the lines “This motherf*cker, man, just won’t shut up, will you?/Talk about I owe you; bitch, you owe me!/I’m promoting you right now/Man, let’s put the nail in his coffin.” Benzino countered with “Die Another Day,” likening Eminem to David Duke and Hitler, positioning himself as Malcolm X, and issuing threats toward Eminem’s daughter. Eminem ultimately filed suit against The Source for defamation and copyright infringement.

Benzino’s third solo effort, Arch Nemesis, appeared independently on ZNO Records in 2005 with Mays credited as co-executive producer. The project featured production from Lil Jon and Scott Storch, a contribution from 2Pac, another Eminem diss titled “Look Into My Eyes,” and the single “Wide Body,” though sales hovered around 10,000 copies. That year, an advertising boycott by Interscope, Def Jam, Tommy Boy, Virgin, Motown, Universal, and others severely reduced revenue at The Source; Benzino briefly announced his resignation before quickly reversing course. Editor-in-chief Joshua “Fahiym” Ratcliffe, appointed in March, resigned in August after Mays and Benzino reportedly instructed him to lower the rating for Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show. Former editor-in-chief Kimberly Osorio filed suit alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, defamation, retaliatory discharge, and a hostile work environment; she received a $7.5 million judgment, forcing the magazine into bankruptcy. Benzino faced removal from the courtroom during the eight-day trial. In 2006 the board of directors voted to remove both Mays and Benzino from their positions.

Undeterred, Benzino issued The Antidote independently in 2007, introducing his new collective, the 1st 48. He and Mays also launched the tabloid Hip Hop Weekly.