S. Samuel
Former The Source co-owner/rapper Benzino recently elaborated on recent comments he made about his early 2000's feud with music mogul Eminem and said he regretted thriving on the beef.
Zino emphasized how apologetic he is for allowing the anti-Slim Shady campaign to get too personal.
“When the Eminem situation happened, I was just on top and I didn’t have to answer to nobody else. When you’re on top and even with a lot of people in New York, even with labels, you still have to answer to somebody. Me and Dave [Mays] was it, and at that point, I wanted to prove to everybody like, ‘Listen, I’m the one running this here and I can do this without reservation’ — it was a mistake for me getting involved in the situation with Eminem. … The Eminem thing started getting uglier and uglier, and of course I can take responsibility for some of the stuff I said as far as directly towards his family, you know, really personal shots. It was out of order. I believe some of the stuff that he said was out of order also, but at the end of the day, it’s all fair in war — if I could do it over again, I definitely would. Eminem was and still is a major force. Hip-hop has brought cultures together – Asian, Latino, Black, White – and I should have been more responsible…If me and Em ever met — first I’d want to apologize about the Hailie references.” (Global Grind)
Earlier this month, Zino hinted at his remorse over the Shady tirade.
“It’d be good if we would be able to really sit down and meet,” Zino said in an interview. “It’s not like we’ve ever really been in a room together, ever really met and never really talked about the situation. I mean, I’d be open to it — I understand that he’s a great influence on the culture. Thinking back, I probably could have did things differently. I had The Source as a platform, and you just get caught up and at the time, I was caught up.” (“The Breakfast Club”)
Last year, he spoke to SOHH about Em’s popularity and downplayed their past conflict.
“I never met Eminem personally to have a personal issue beef with him. But all I’m saying is that he’s overrated. If he was black would he sell as many records as he does, would Rolling Stone say he’s the King of Hip Hop and would he be gettin’ all these opportunities? The people that run hip-hop are trying to push [a certain] perception out there. How come all hell breaks loose when somebody says somethin’ about this kid? Hip-hop’s always been competitive, man. Its not that serious. How come when it comes down to this kid its a problem?” (SOHH Guest Star)
He also previously addressed his weakened image in light of the feud.
“I’m gonna tell you, I don’t want my legacy left as Benzino lost the battle to Eminem. I’m gonna end up going back at him,” Zino said in an interview. “I’ma tell you right now, and it’s gonna be different this time. I feel like a boxer, I wasn’t really in lyrical shape to battle him then. Now, I feel like I am…Really now, I can consider myself a lyricist. I play with syllables, I use different flows, so now, it’s gonna be different — It’s gonna be a whole different situation, because I’m going to be going at him with a lyrical mindset. Not just saying things, trying to point out certain things. 2012, you can expect it.” (Baller Status)
Check out Benzino’s interview below:
