Time Magazine Slams the Source

January 05, 2004

Time Magazine Slams the Source

Good stuff. Although I thought Benzino's father was Italian? And it's foul how Jon Shecter is being edited out of the Source's history.. more on that later.

A Source of Discomfort
How did it come to pass that the nation's biggest rap magazine is gunning for hip-hop's biggest star?

...On Jan. 12, The Source plans to ship out 800,000 copies of a CD on which a young Eminem clumsily raps, "Black girls are dumb, and white girls are good chicks." This should be a major coup for the magazine — a world-famous white rapper uttering a racist phrase — yet somehow it isn't. Eminem has already issued an apology, explaining that the tape is 10 years old and he made it just after breaking up with an African-American girlfriend. "I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was," he said. Almost all the hip-hop community has accepted Eminem's contrition as sincere, and outrage has boomeranged on the questionable journalistic judgment of Mays and The Source.

Ever since Mays, as an undergraduate at Harvard, founded the self-proclaimed "magazine of hip-hop music, culture and politics," ethics have been a sore spot. While much of the magazine's early journalism was daring, some of it was also tainted by Mays' friendships with the rappers he covered. One of them was Ray (Benzino) Scott. "I met Ray when I had just got to Harvard and started my rap radio show," says Mays. "He had the hottest group in Boston, and yes, I became their manager, just as he helped me with my dream to start The Source."

Benzino, who is black and Puerto Rican, may have helped The Source, but it wasn't long before his friendship with Mays was also hurting it. In 1994 Benzino and his fledgling rap group, the Almighty RSO, went to editors at The Source, threatening to "put n_____s in body bags" if their album wasn't positively reviewed. (Benzino maintains he was kidding.) The editors knew that their boss was managing the group, and on those grounds, they refused to cover the band at all. But as The Source went to press, Mays inserted a three-page profile of the band into the magazine. When the editors discovered that Mays had not only overruled them but had personally written the profile, many quit in protest.

The Source's credibility took a hit, but Mays persevered, hiring new writers, and at least financially, the magazine recovered and even thrived. Meanwhile, Benzino re-formed the Almighty RSO into Made Men and continued getting favorable coverage from The Source — despite being dropped by several record labels. In 2001 Benzino was added to The Source's masthead as a co-owner, though he admits he has never invested in the magazine...

...A Source staffer says, "It's insane for a rap magazine to antagonize the No. 1 rapper the way we have. I can't believe Dave would be doing this if Benzino wasn't in his ear all the time." Mays says, "We're in a no-win situation with conflict of interest, but what do you want me to do about it? Benzino is like a brother, and I'm not going to stop being with him." The war with Eminem has had real costs. Interscope Records — home of Eminem, 50 Cent and Dr. Dre — has pulled its ads from the magazine, and Mays concedes that the past year has been "very tough financially." But The Source's long-term problem is not money but credibility. Unearthing the Eminem "black girls" tape required journalistic initiative, and Eminem's rise has had real consequences for hip-hop. "This is a huge story," says Mays. But David Mays is probably the wrong man to tell it.

Posted by jsmooth995 at January 5, 2004 02:56 PM

Comments

Benzino is a complete idiot if he can`t separate his personal issues with Eminem, Dre and 50 from his business. He needs to remember that this IS a business and that money talks and bulls**t walks. No one cares about what Eminem said 10 years ago...no one really cares what Benzino said 5 minutes ago for that matter. He has no credibility because he is so blinded by his beefs that he can't make judgement calls for the good of his magazine.

Posted by: FlyGirl at January 5, 2004 04:05 PM

Eminem is a white-corporate-media-owned-and-cultivated-mc-wannabe....
Why wasn't he diss-covered before hip-hop sell-out-gangsta-wannabe Dr. Dre found him? I'll tell you why... MARKETING. What better to grab the mostly white "PURCHASING AUDIENCE", than a WHITE mc???? Everybody learned the Vanilla Ice lesson, so instead of a hip-hop dancing "Yo, word to yo mutha" white brutha... we have a family-hating, I'm mad at everything cracker...
Need an example? Okay...
Bruthas and latinos know all about whiteboys trying to be down, and proving they're hard by PRETENDING to be CRAZY, INSANE, on ALL TYPES OF DRUGS....
Do you get it? My people of color know what I'm talkin' about. Nobody would just take some white MC with minimal skillz serously, so enter DRE, the Biggest FRAUD IN HIP-HOP HISTORY (Yeah he can produce some fly shit, but then again this is hip-hop....everyone down with hip-hop and a studio can make sick beats....) and when I say fraud I say that this is a man who built his GANGSTA credentials by slapping a FEMALE jounalist and hauling ass when BIG SUGE started flexing REAL gangsta shit. So, back to my point.... enter DRE. What's needed to make some BIG money after all that BULLSHIT GANGSTA nonsense of the early to mid 90's? Hey... I got it!!! Let's pluck an okay white rapper (with no range of mc'ing skills, just a transportable-flow-formula which can easily be picked up by TRUE HIP-HOP HEADZ) and turn him into a PUNK-ROCK-RAPPER-MC....angry at the world...for nothing....angry at his mom... for shit that we were all exposed to without asking, thanks to publicity seeking Em and Dre. Now we have an "MC" that white America can be down with...
Not because of the shared challenges and difficulties face by fellow whites (like anything really exists..), but because he is basically PUNK ROCK-HEAVY METAL packaged into a rapper. You know, when hip-hop is reduced to AMERICAN IDOL style rappers (DaBand... don't get me started) like it is now, maybe no-one out there really cares or has the capacity to care. Most of the young hip-hop audience today started listening to rap when "KRIS-KROSS" came out, so maybe their lack of a strong understanding of hip-hop roots, culture and identity isn't their fault. Do they know what b-boying is without watching a Missy Elliot video? Do they know what battling is besides 8-mile? Graf? DJing with records and making beats out of cuts and spins?
They don't. They just get it from MTV and BET. Both could give a SHIT about hip-hop. Everyone seems to be in on this jump-on-the-flavor-of-the-month-bandwagon, either willing or unwillingly.
The pop sensation of the mid 90's brought to us a culture of selling out. And selling out isn't when you get paid to endorse a product, but to willfully manipulate what you are and what you stand for.... just for a few bucks....
So here we are with the GREAT WHITE HYPE who gets airplay on black radio stations only because of DRE and his PAYOLLA backing.
Oh... and it used to be that an MC would breakthrough on his own skills and merits. Not just for signing with a big, shiny new, EMINEM label. 50 cent should still be competing for 5 mics... not for street supremacy with JA RULE....
(It doesn't make you a big man to whoop up on a lil pussy like Ja anyway...)
Remember TRUE hip-hop...cyphers, battles, making beats, graff & blackbooks....

or else be prepared for DaBAND #1, #2, #3, #4, etc., etc.............

Posted by: vek-one at January 6, 2004 12:07 AM

OH YEAH, FUCK 2-PAC!!!! BIGGIE STILL RUNS SHIT!!!!!!
aND FUCK EMINEM FOR PUTTING THEM ON THE SAME TRACK. NIGGA PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THEM NIGGAZ HATED EACH OTHER!!!!
ALL THAT BULLSHIT INTERVIEW EXCERPTS AINT SHIT!!!!
EMINEM TRYING TO PUT SOME BULLSHIT CRACKER SPIN ON THANGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

BITCH ASS WHOTE BOY

Posted by: vek-one at January 6, 2004 12:45 AM

You dumbass. Biggie and Tupac made "Runnin'" practically before Eminem was even born. Looks like you can cop the original mix (with Grand Puba) here. Your antiquated East/West, Tupac vs. Biggie bluster is almost as comical as your ALL CAPS INTERNET THUGGERY.

Regardless, amazingly on point stuff from . . . Time? What?

Posted by: David at January 6, 2004 12:38 PM

Vek, r u Ray Benzino himself? Does anybody give a shit about five mics anymore? Haven't u heard the original 'Runnin' with Thug Life and B.I.G.? C'mon man...Eminem is really overrated, but you attack him for all the wrong reasons. And Dre???!! And who the fuck respects Suge like that? I'm laughing at this shit.

Posted by: mic at January 6, 2004 03:32 PM

All I'm saying is this: you can start your stopwatches to figure out when The Source will be no more, at least not under the publishing hands of Mays and Scott. They've already all but squandered all their relevency (which XXL has nicely swiped up), lost almost all their best editorial talent and sales are dropping down faster than bras at Mardi Gras. It's really only a matter of time when everything finally implodes at the mag and The Source's era is officially over (even though, from where I see it now, it's already there.)

Oliver Wang
http://www.o-dub.com/weblog (Pop Life Blog)

Posted by: Oliver Wang at January 6, 2004 05:13 PM

Bringing up the Biggie Tupac thing wasn't an attempt to restart any east/west shit. I think there was a lot of good hip hop from the west, however the point was that when Big and Pac (OVERATED...any true hip hop fan will tell you...), when they died, HATED each other...Of course Big was trying to downplay the beef on an interview...HE WAS TRYING TO BROADEN HIS BUYING AUDIENCE....that being said, here comes Em and Shitty-Aftermath to sugarcoat the whole mess. It's like Prez Bush telling us we're at war for Weapons of Mass Destruction and then saying Osam Bin Laden in the same sentence. It's carefully manipulated bullshit!!!! I might think Pac is OVERATED, however I am fully aware that he was loved by millions, just like Big. So now enter Em and shitty again.... hey, let's put out some mushy, bullshit song with interview excerpts so all of us hip-hop "FANS" can dream nice dreams of Pac and Big sitting in a tree singing songs together....
PLEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
Big had Pac set up when he got hit in NY. It was one of his boys who just got out the clink. Biggie knew this man. Let him know PAC's schedule and the rest is history.
As far as Ray BitchZino is concerned, please....
It's obvious that we have political posturing and attempted manipulation of the facts (MAYBE HE SHOULD RUN FOR PRESIDENT???)...
He sucks, just like most of the "rappers" that get radio and videoplay now....
He just happens to be in David Mays panties, so they're you have it. I don't agree with his "HITLER of rap" bullshit. I do believe, though that Em wasn't good enough to make it. He just happen to be that "white" hype that DRE could make $$$$ with. But most of you "FOLLOWERS OF FLUFF" won't get this cuz your first exposure to hip-hop was KRIS-KROSS so ......

Posted by: vek-one at January 6, 2004 08:44 PM

j- I believe that the reference to benzino's racial makeup is tainted by the times he lives in now. Translation, he confessed to being part-white way back before he became the self-proclaimed "rap-hitler"-slayer.

Posted by: misso at January 6, 2004 09:17 PM

VEK ONE WATEVA UR FUCKING NAME IS U CHAT PURE UTTER BULLSHIT U THINK WHITE PEOPLE CANT RAP! bet u avent even listen to 1 of eminems songs jus coz hes white ur a racist idiot who needs to look past colour there are loads of different races that can rap ever heard of jin he is chinese he can rap so grimey so u need to straighten up and realize rapping jus aint for blac ppl u herad!!PEACE!

Posted by: dnt_eva at January 7, 2004 12:37 PM

Everybody say hello to the Google crowd.

Vek, I obviously didn't give you enough credit - interesting point about the re-release of "Runnin'" sugarcoating the Tupac/Biggie thing. But, even if it's true, what do we gain by emphasizing their hatred for one another? I'm not saying that we should rewrite history (although, that's really all you ever do when you talk about history). I just think that the more interesting question is why things went down the way they did. My own understanding of the situation is pretty limited, but my impression is that Suge Knight's transformation of 'Pac from the rose that bloomed in Harlem into a T.H.U.G. is a tragedy of almost Shakespearian proportions -A man who could've shown the downtrodden an optimistic path ended up using his huge talent to glorify some of the darkest aspects of inner-city life.

Regardless, the production on "Runnin'" is fucking terrible; Worse than Kenny G.

Posted by: David at January 7, 2004 04:32 PM

My point about Pac & Big's annimosity toward each other was not, by any means an attempt to emphasize their hate... It was to emphasize the stupidity of bringing them together posthumously.
Sugarcoating, if you will.
As far as me being racist to Em cuz he's white...
PLLLLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
Have any of you Em-fans ever heard of Necro, Ill-Bill or Goretex?
Propbably not, since most of you guys are Top-40 Hip-Hop listeners.....
Necro, Ill-Bill and Goretex are all WHITE!!!!
But, unlike Em, they have REAL skills....
These cats'll rip Em in his ass before he can say vicodin!!! Them "niggaz" is fo REAL.
They just got looked over for the EMINEM IDOL.
Just like a whole shit load of black emcees get looked over for Fabulous, Nelly and all those other toy as wannabe-emcees......
STOP LISTENING TO COMMERCIAL RADIO FOR HIP-HOP!!!
Any hip-hop head will tell you.....
Me racist...no.
Oppinionated about an art form I hate to see stepped on, exploited and fluffed? YES!!!!
Call me a hater, cuz I HATE WACK BULLSHIT!!!!
There is no color in Hip-Hop. Just REAL & FAKE.
Just like most of the hip-hop audience. You have serious heads who know what tight flowin' is. And then you have wanna-be thugs who'll sweat anything BET or MTV tells them to.
And on top of all that I say
PEACE!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: vek-one at January 7, 2004 08:10 PM

As I said before - from what I understand, Big and 'Pac were NOT brought together posthumously for Runnin' - it was a song they recorded together before their beef started. Eminem just remixed it.

Posted by: David at January 8, 2004 12:39 PM

Vek, none of those white dudes u mentioned could rip Eminem. I won't even lie, cos I personally feel like Em is kinda real wack right now. You gotta give dude credit for what he's capable of tho. He used to battle/freestyle his ass off, and I'm sayin this as someone who's been doin my own thing for over 15 years...I know skills. I probably started spitting before Em, and I know that there's a BIG difference in your shit when u are either hungry or challenged. Eminem is neither right now. He goes after easy targets (Ja, Jermaine, Nsync, Britney, Benzino etc) and avoids any real comp. Likewise, he's a crossover success, so there's no hunger in him.
Don't get me wrong tho, I think he's capable of a lot better...he's just doin nothin to prove it. But I agree, these dickriders so quick to defend Em for every little thing really need to get a fuckin identity. Y'all sound like a bunch of his bitches. Eminem is not a god, nor is he the greatest producer in the world. He's a human being with faults as well as talent.

Posted by: mic at January 8, 2004 01:10 PM

vek one your saying eminem cant rap and these other white rappers u mention if there so "great" why arent they as big as eminem then. if they were that gd surely som1 wud have noticed ur jus a hater if u dnt like hip hop top 40 then the ppl u listen to are appsolutley useless.PEACE!

Posted by: dnt_eva at January 8, 2004 03:28 PM

KRS one is the GREATEST, but he don't got $$$$$ like Em. Why??? Because Em was fabricated into success. He was placed there.
Look at American Idol. A few phone calls and TV appearances is all it takes for someone to be a star now. Fuck talent. Em is probably a good "Entertainer", To 40 Ram artist or what have you. But I can say that he is a WACK emcee.
And every breakthrough song he writes now is just a remixed "Stan" over and over again.
Hip-Hop Top 40 is BULLSHIT!!!!!
Call it what it is..."POP"
Please......

Posted by: vek-one at January 8, 2004 11:27 PM

ok i have a question 4 u vek-one okay u listen 2 rap yea? well who r ur top rappers? jus wonderin

Posted by: Alicia at January 9, 2004 12:57 PM

1st off dam niggaz doing the same shit like the rest of dem niggaz is out here everbody seem to have beef but the thing that make it different is that they are rapper and the ones out here are street nigga and da rapper feel like ok well dis nigga just said some shit about me and i dont want my fans to think im a bitch so then they end up writen songs about each other cuz no body wants to look like a fool. thats just the way i see it if i wrong let me know cuz i could be wrong so shit hit me up.

realest 1

Posted by: realest 1 at January 9, 2004 05:22 PM

first of all the whole benzino and source vs shady/aftermath/g-unit is pointless right now because regardless of what people think of eminem,dude is an ill mc probably one of the best ever.i think is a very bitter man because he's been in the business for well over a decade and he didn't a make a dent in rap and now he sees a white guy who rhymes better than him.i also think he and dave mays are mad at em and 50 because let's face their faces sell issues and when they declared a boycott from the source,their sales suffered.mays and benzino thought rolling with murder inc was the answer but they were so wrong,ja rule is beefing with so many people by himself and nobody from murder inc is even backing him up.benzino then tried to start up a kiddie rap group with his son and pun's son and it tanked so maybe em was on something when he said benzino missed the boat and now he's trying to make money off his son's "rap career".xxl is a much better magazine than the source anyway

Posted by: svenom718 at January 9, 2004 10:13 PM

someone please kill vek-one or i will

Posted by: dnt_eva at January 12, 2004 12:48 PM

shit, vek-one is the only fuckin reasonable person here.. word up, ill bill could rip eminem apart any day. em's not even overrated, he's just plain WACK.

oh yea, dnt_eva, you're one stupid mofo.. I mean your comments cracked me up, but when I give it a thought... please kill yourself.

Posted by: crapophobic at January 13, 2004 06:54 PM

oh btw, KRS-1's wack too. stupid preachy mofo...

yall probably aint heard a single dope rapper in your life..

go listen to some sage francis, aesop rock or brother ali, you stupid fucks.

Posted by: crapophobic at January 13, 2004 06:58 PM

ok, first i'd like say whattup to everybody....
now, i've gone through all the posts so i can give my opinion knowing i've heard everyone out.

i have to address the Em issue first...true, there may be white mc's out there who flow better than Em, BUT to make a great mc you have to be well rounded, meaning that all your shit can't just be battle rap and using big words and not saying shit(that was meant for RZA. if you can decipher what the fuck half of the wu is talking about, espically cappadona, please reply quickly). You gotta have a concept. personally, J-Live is the baddest underground rapper right now if you wanna know the truth. nobody want it wit him. Em has spit some of the weirdest shit i've ever heard, but he's also said some very thought provoking things as well(sing for the moment, the way i am, cleaning out my closet...just to name a couple). Em is different because he's one of the first rappers in a long time to not base most of his lyrics on selling drugs, killing niggaz, some cheesy ass love song, and let's not forget the mandatory club song. he may not be the best, but let's stop kidding ourselves acting like he doesn't have skill and hasn't put out some hill shit(marshall mathers LP is a classic album that breaks all color lines). Anybody who is a REAL lover of hip hop has their opinion and still respects everybody's hustle. i'm a fan of rakim, krs, tribe, as well as jay-z(my fav), em, and even nelly. if it wasn't for nelly, all those chicks in the club wouldn't be grindin ya dick the way you like, you know i'm right(hot in herre!). nelly had to have some skill to get a deal and sell all those copies. remember, people don't buy shit that they think is wack. and i guarantee you that those underground artists would love to sell like Em. I know that you probably dream of an mc that really puts up his own money to make cd's and not get anything purley for the LOVE of his music. bullshit. everybody has love for the music, nobody and i mean nobody wants to keep doin this shit for free unless your an absolute retard. your probably gonna be a broke retard too......oh yeah, as far as em and dre go. of course em wouldn't be big without dre, do you think dude wants to rhyme over some wack ass bedroom beats, please....i gotta set the alarm clock over here, niggaz need to wake up already.

Biggie and Pac....Pac was an ill lyricst, probably the most diverse, not a hypocrit, diverse. Big was an ill dude too, but how much longer are we gonna act like the nigga didn't put out only 2 albums and the second should have been a single disk. apologies to the biggie lovers who believe he is the greatest because puff said so and didn't pay attention to him talkin about the same shit over and over...and over, drugs, ho's and murder, with the occasional sky is the limit. prove me wrong, i dare you. oh, anything you have to say about Big and jay being my favorite rapper just save your breath, heard it all, and i will reply with hard facts. i can't forge this though: Pac was NOT a prophet people! ooooh, he knew he was goona die. so what, i do to, and so do all of you. ok, here it is, i'm gonnna die one day. if it happens tomorrow, please get me on the cover of XXL and find me a crew of dick riders(go outlawz!) Em doing that song was only an extension of what most of the industry has been trying to do, mend the wounds of Pac's beef with Big. Pac dragged that shit along and you all know it. Question, if i know a guy and he robs you, does that mean i set you up, especially if we're supposed be friends. i know plenty of cats that robbed niggaz but that doesn't mean i had anything to do with it. try to seperate your hearts from your mind for a minute will you? Plus, both of them are dead now, so i'm pretty sure the hate is over. Pac got what he wanted, Big is dead. and to add some credibility to my goin off, here are my favorite albums of all time in no particular order. fair warning, master p is in there, so talk shit if you want.

reasonable doubt
illmatic
paid in full(that's rakim for the young people, not the ROC)
ATLiens
blackstar
the chronic
the blueprint
ghetto D(hooray for P, even though he fell off extremely hard)
enter the wu-tang
the best part(that's j-live, go cop that)

Posted by: NOVA at January 16, 2004 09:35 PM

I'm a big fan of 2pac, i don't like the way the interscope and his mother did to 2pac by putting him w-a wack and racist rapper like Eminem. 2pac was original and then people are trying to put 50 cent on the same level as him that fucks up.
Benzino did a good job by putting his racist tape out.

Posted by: x_2faces at January 20, 2004 12:23 PM

First off I'd like to say that I agree with Nova whole-heartedly (Although I'd never go public and admit to being a Master P fan-and I'm DEFINENTLY NOT!). This whole "white corporate wanna-be emcee" shit is bullshit. The plain fact is Eminem got on because of Dre. He also got on because of his amazing, back-packing battle rap style that stems far from a Canibus mindstate. Believe it or not..Eminem is a dope emcee. Are there emcees as dope or better? Of course. Will every emcee that is dope get a record deal? HELL NO. That's just the way it is and the way the industry will continue to be. Accusing Dre of being a fraud is just evidence of stupidity. Gangsta rap originated on the West Coast, so it would only be evident that his style would reflect that. He has also grown as an artist and a producer to give Hip-hop a bigger and better voice. Don't we always shout about versatility in the Hip-hop industry and how it should play a part in cultivating up and coming artists? Then why would we only consider New-york based, back-packing-cypher battling emceeing "real hip-hop." I'll admit I don't like alot of artists from the West. But I also don't like alot of East coast artists as well. I'm not going to even speak on the Pac issue because Nova pretty much put that issue to rest.

Posted by: Lfactor at January 20, 2004 05:52 PM

hah you cats are sad. it's peeps like you who killed hiphop. well, not killed it, just turned it into the glam-rock of the new millenium. good job. try readin a book.

Posted by: crapophobic at January 23, 2004 07:03 AM

....and let us know how we killed hip hop?

Posted by: NOVA at January 23, 2004 05:23 PM

Okay Benzino plans to shut Em down cause Ben is just fucking jealous.If she does shut em down which she wont what will Ben do she is still wack.
She still wont sell.And any real hip hop artist knows that its not about what color you are its about skills

Posted by: Slim Loc at January 29, 2004 07:40 PM

Posted by: Slim Loc at January 29, 2004 07:41 PM

Posted by: Slim Loc at January 29, 2004 07:42 PM

Posted by: Slim Loc at January 29, 2004 07:43 PM

you all say eminem sux... but how many awards and albums he sell? yeah he got put in the spotlight by Dre.. but it takes skill to stay there, if dre brought him in and em truly did suck, he still wouldnt be makin cds now, and he would be livin back on 8 mile road with his mom. Next time you say someone sucks, stop being rasit... a hater... or whatever it is that you do and look at what he did and what he is STILL doing, and that is selling records.. n that takes skill wheather you like it or not. So stfu to any haters of music cuz your bitter your fav rapper didnt make it big, or that your still home wit ur mom tryin to promote YOUR own music and cant get there, and think your better just cuz your black or rican(no rasist pun there) but Music is fukin music, rap is fukin rap, it dont matter what fukin race you are if you can do it you can do it. it just so happens black people are more notorious of it because they like it more, like white people and heavy metal, they like it more so they practice it more. Rarely do u see someone whos not white playin the gutar and drums in a band screamin ther voice out, but hey if they were good im not gona criticize them. History tell that no matter who brought you in, if you suck you wont make it big. BENZINO for example had the Nations most popular magazine promiting his shit,(i give him props for never giving up but he still sux and his albums sold prove it) and how many albums he sell? how popular is he? i didnt even know who he was till em and him started shit. so if thats not putting someone in the spot light what is? Think about what you say b4 you say it, your opinion is yours and i wont argue that, you may think he Em sux, but most people in this country dont think so, thats why they are buying his cds. I personally think "ill bill" sux, but thats my opinion and im entitled to it. But fame backs it all up. all of it. PEACE

Posted by: rap_skill at January 31, 2004 06:00 PM

Dang I see alot of haters here....first all to begin in my opinion is that Eminem the illest rapper alive right now. He seems to be getting better and better and he doesn't try to put on this played out hardcore, bling bling image. Eminem is just revitalizing hip-hop. And why do some insist on talking shit just cuz he's white. If he was black would you praise him then? Black, white whatever his lyrics are fluid and normally has a real message. Lets put the race shit behind us and take him for whate he really is. If you want to be ignorant and talk shit just cuz he's white, then you're no better than those white skinheads. Thats just my two cents...

Posted by: Darrell at February 5, 2004 05:26 PM

*******REALITY CHECK*********
Check the Cencus report (For you dumb asses thats the count of folks in the USA)
Africa-American count for 13% of the population...4th fuckin place high spanix and Asians got ya'll beat out....interscope aint in beenis 4 the purity of hip hop there in it 4 the ceddar just like all the rappers are. When a Huge majority of your purchasing public are "Crackers" you must....anyone,....anyone....Thats right make them happy so they buy your shit. I know I know..... ("respect that it is an african american / latino art")...this just in latinos are just as new to hip hop as whites in fact I rememeber 3rd bass and the beasty boys, and vanillas weak ass out when the only latino was kid frost. I've been listening to hip hop all the way back to the suga hill gang. I've been runnin with blacks and high spanix my whole life I live in H-town. Here is another news flash all races bump there gums about other races when there with there own. My black friends talk about us "Crackers" as being cassarole eating, no rythem havin,pussy whipped, scared fuckers. and whites talk about blacks and mexicans about everybody else. SO WHAT! 2 pac rapped about killin whites we didn't whine we bought his shit, he had skillz. If ya'll think this tape is going to hurt Em your out of your chiken lovin minds...(we like cassaroles ya'll like chiken and high spanix love tacos..so what) Em is just loadin up with alot of rant material for his next LP
Ems got skillz we all know that. If you will not admit that your a dumb ass (P is better) 50 is good 2. so lets stop all the bullshit and realize it all comes down to the all mighty dollar and no single race owns hip hop..hell don't even get me started on the origins of this stuff it is tooooo multi racial. This is America and everyones culture gets mixed. my wife is biracial so that makes my kids biracial and about a quarter of the folks I know got alittle high spanix in em...If you know a fine latina and she wants alittle white in her let me know...But shhhhhhh don't tell my wife....Like Rodney king said "Can't we all...damn shit stop oh fuck pleasssse stop.....Just kidding 4 real lets all realize this is america and we are all americans. pease out

Posted by: Rob at February 9, 2004 10:16 PM

I think that Ja Rule is Just Hating on 50 cent.Because 50 is fine and got more fans.And 50 always gon be on top Ja Rule because Ja Rule is a fake wanta be.

Posted by: Jemere' Blount at February 27, 2004 01:38 PM

You MORONS! MORONS!

You're saying that by EMINEM saying that BLACK GIRLS ARE DUMB and I DON'T LIKE BLACK GIRLS at the age of 16 means he's a racist? OR DOES IT FUCKING MEAN THAT HE JUST DOESN'T LIKE BLACK GIRLS?

IGNORAMUS! MORONS! FOOLS!

Bringing a white guy down because he raps better than 95% of the current "rap artists" out there? Because he brought 50 cent to the top while everyone ignored 50cent for YEARS AND YEARS? Because he gave DRE credibility again when Dre discovered him? HATERS

HATERS AND RACISTS, ALL y'ALL HATIN ON A WHITE BOY CUZ HE DON'T DATE BLACK GIRLS?? THAT'S MORE BLACK GIRLS FOR US YOU FOOLS!

Posted by: Tyrone at March 1, 2004 09:04 PM

ITS FUNNY HOW PEOPLE FEEL SPECIAL CUZ THEY KNOW AND LISTEN TO UNDERGROND HEADZ, THEN TRY TO DISS PEOPLE WHO ENJOY SOME MAINSTREAM SHIT, THINKING THERE KNOW IT ALLS. ITS ALSO FUNNY HOW BENZINO SAYZ EMINEM IS DESTROYING HIP HOP, WHEN ITS REALLY JUST MONEY THATS DESTROYING IT. MONEY SUCKS THE SOUL OUT OF EVERYTHING REAL...WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW SHOWS ON TV WITH GOOD VALUES. THE FACT IS, THE RICHER AMERICA BECOMES, THE LESS SOUL IT WILL HAVE AND THE MORE SUPERFICIAL IT WILL BECOME. IN THE END THIS WILL AFFECT ALL MEDIA AND INFLUENCE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE. SO EMINEM IS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF HIP HOP, MONEY IS...CAPATALISM OR THE AMERICAN DREAM.

Posted by: Dru at March 6, 2004 03:03 PM

I personally dont give a fuck who or what is destroying rap or whos a capatalist this and that blah blah blah..most of the muthafuckas going on with that shit have never brought a fucking thing to the game...i just know ive just bought the last fucking issue of the source i will ever buy...benzino is trying to paint himself as some sort of saviour man that dude will never see another cent from me thank god i never bought one of his fucken albums i think its bad enough reading his 'self promotion' bullshit let alone having to listen to it..they should print the source on clear plastic man the muthafucka is that transparent..

Posted by: ace at March 19, 2004 12:13 AM

yo niggaz and latinos shood be the onli ones listenin to rap wat do yall witebreeds sai wena rapper sais nigga .....dass wat ti thought!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: el latino at March 23, 2004 09:24 PM

Whoever's supportin Benzino is whacked, have u taken the time to hear him? He's the worst rappa out there! aND vEK onE, FUCK YOU!!!!! I can't believe you had the fucken nerve to say Fuck 2Pac, you little mothafucken cocksucka! How could you diss 2Pac, punk? Shit, you're gonna get yourself killed. Fuck YOU VEK ONE! Yeah, you heard me, bitch! It's D12 and Eminem, that's what you oughta be listenin to.

Posted by: Swytchblade at March 28, 2004 07:10 PM

Crapophobic get gunned up and clapped quick. Vek One get gunned up and clapped quick...In case you two cocksuckas dunno, thats a Nas classic Ether. Y'all been hatin the greats too much cuz y'all are busy suckin each other's cocks. FAGGOTS! Y'all got the nerve to diss Dre, EM, and most importantly, 2Pac????? Homos. Bitch-ass wiggaz. Do yourselves a favor and go annoy another site. ANd leave 2Pac out of yo posts, bitchasses.

Posted by: Swytchblade at March 28, 2004 07:17 PM

Well well well.

Shit said about Em, bullshit said about Em. It don't go to diss hiz styles completely. First album was a dope curiosity, with Em showing capabilities to flow. If all y'all hiphop puritans are for real, respect that. Fact that the whole album rieked of the predictable Dre-beats fucking sucked. Should have gone his own way (and perhaps fail, so what? Could enrole in Anonymous Failures together with Benzino!) instead of permanently becoming Dre's lil' bitch. $$$$$ (w-up Vek)! Now he's just a check receiver. Tryin' to be tough and fucking failing at this FAKE ASS attitude. Marshall Mathers LP? Eminem Show? DOn't get me started. Fucking lazy ass mofo just out of puberty starting to rap about hauling AK's. Waste of time and (must admit) talent. Kinda gives me the Wu-Tang feeling where all new shit (since 4ever) coming out SUCKS. Stupid ass RZA coming up with sorrier beats every fucking day. Spoiled rich wannabes, jus' like Em. Too bad, but truth fucking hurts. Don't it, Swytchblade? Potato-pealin' dumb ass. And the beef with Benzino is just fucking funny. Stupid ass Ray trying to dis Em, but not even capable of flowing with the beat (sorry old man) and Em suddenly packed with Uzis instead of Clearasil and bubble gum. Al least he's backed up by D12 - hmmpffff! Fucking retards!
Let's not confuse hiphop and top 40 rap!

Peace out from Amsterdam. Home of the hasjeeeeeez!

Posted by: piRK at March 30, 2004 08:32 AM

What the flying FUCK is the Blueprint doin' on your lil' best-of list NOVA?!

Just trying to piss me off I hope...

Posted by: piRK at March 30, 2004 08:36 AM

NOVA: http://www.ohhla.com/YFA_wutang.html

Enjoy the 9 states of mind and 12 energy meridians and all that bullcrap by Wu.

Posted by: piRK at March 30, 2004 10:05 AM

Holy shit, 95 percent of these posts are ignorant and not well thought out at all. Typing in caps locks doesn't make you sound more thugged out. Holy shit, you must be really fucking ignorant to think only your own opinions in music is the only right way to go. Even though it is not your taste, you still need to respect the other aspects outside that little box you live in. Hip Hop is a big world escpecially in the emceeing department. Theres so many styles of emceeing that you need to respect thier work. And also, just because someone is underground doesn't make them super amazing and better than the mainstream artists. Even though I mostly listen to underground artists, I still respect what some of the well known artists are doing. Listening to only underground and hating ANYTHING mainstream is stupid and makes you ignorant. Anyways, i'm going to name a few of my prefered rappers and this way, SOME MORE THUGGED OUT CAP LOCKS GANGSTAS CAN CALL ME A COCKSUCKER AND BE IGNORANT TO DIFFERENT TASTES.

- Brother Ali
- Talib Kweli
- Mos Def
- Nas
- Jay Z
- Sage Francis
- Aesop Rock
- J Live
- Eyedea
- Illogic
- Eminem (someone please threaten my life...)
- Kanye West
- Blackalicious
- Atmosphere
- Canibal Ox
- K-os
- Sweat Shop Union
and the Orginal T'Cha of rap, Krs-one

Posted by: tyrome at April 8, 2004 07:27 PM

You guys are some stupid people. Big and Pac never came together to record the song "Runnin". Eminem took 2 verses from 2 seperate songs that were unreleased--one from Big and one from Pac. Interscope titled the song, "Runnin".

Posted by: Brianna at April 14, 2004 06:55 PM

christian rappers are gay!! kj52 sucks dick, if new school rap sucks then answer me this, how come church people steal gangster rap beats that have already been used to get people to come to church events? , anyways... alot of black girls have HIV i'm not sayin they dont look good but if eminem doesn't like them he doesn't like them, and thats that!! that My Band music video was kind of corny but its still eminem being eminem. People gotta respect that about him, if you watch the My Band video you'll see that a black girl is in the video so obviously whatever benzino is tryin to say is false, i've never even heard of benzino before till now, i think of him the same way i think of my brother in-law, i just say to myself, who are you?, you're nobody!!

Posted by: jim at April 15, 2004 08:53 PM

2pac is still running things fuck biggie his fat ass
and his ugly ass cant hardly breathe hs stupid ass he couldnt see with his crossed eyed ass.

Posted by: DA MAN at April 27, 2004 08:27 AM

biggie biggie can u see hell no

Posted by: daman at April 27, 2004 08:29 AM

well i think everybody should stop hating on them and each other because thats how they ended up how they are-dead!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: shunda at April 27, 2004 08:34 AM

First, since this is the shortest response to one of these incorrect posts, Pac and Big made runnin WAY BACK IN THE DAY! Eminem did not conspire to rekindle any past feuds between the east and the west by PRODUCING a song with Big and Pac on it. Em was merely creating a beat and mixed the vocals, adding the samples was more less expressing his take on the situation. As much as I dislike Em as a person and artist, I will give him credit for having skill, although that is merely my opinion and obviously subject to debate. However, I do believe that the IMAGE that is Eminem is bad for hip-hop, for young impressionable minds and for race relations in America. Not because Eminem is white, but because Eminem is a product of "White America." Unfortunatly, Americans have not yet learned to see past race in our centuries of existance, we've only learned to mask our fears and prejudusts enough to eat in the same restaurant and attend the same schools. Obviously we are not SOCIALLY ready for a Black President, or even a white rapper. Tragically there are people that believe truely great rap began with eminem, and have no idea about the culture that is hip-hop. They may be children that just see this pale man on TV, or they may be young white teens that can relate to Em's messages and outlashes on his childhood. But they have no concept of the roots, maybe even no respect for blacks period. That is what infuriates the likes of Benzino, whom is just another victim of American society, As socially degenerate as it may be. The IMAGE that is Eminem is unfortunatly a victim himself of a monster known as the media being exploited to supply their oxygen: Money. Eminem is not the "Enemy," he is merely a pawn in the never ending quest for wealth and power. Who has this type of power? some supreme secret society or illuminati? All propaganda aside, we all have the power to change this and make it okay for Em to be Em by opening our eyes and understanding the truth: The problem is Us, not them. Is Eminem a bad person for making music exposing the problems he views in White America? Is 50 wrong for making a track about selling crack and killing? Or is it that you can't understand that reality because you never lived it? We, as blacks may not understand munchausen syndrome because we didn't experienced it. Whites may not understand selling drugs because they never had to. How can we condem Eminem and say he's bad for hip-hop and let Jay-z say he wants to deliver a positive message but knows he wont get paid if he does? At least Kanye West was real enough to stand by his beliefs no matter the consequences. We need more Brother Ali's, Kanye Wests, Commons, Mos Def's And Talibs in the rap game. We need to stop saying what we see and start saying what we can do, offer some hope to the youth, instead of painting such grim and morbid pictures of life. How can we be taken seriously if we act crazy? If we promote everything that is wrong, and blame it on our environment? We can't, and things will never change until we do. Until them there will never be any room for Eminems.......

Posted by: Intellisource at May 3, 2004 11:42 PM

you guys wack... jeeezuz christ half you people ain't eveen know how the fucking story goes... and 30 percent of ya'll just fuckin lunchin... I think Benzino is aight... cause I like they way he's doin his shit, he's NICE!! My taste.. idiots.. and if you pick eminem then thats ur taste...... Eminem... nah I would say he's just for publicity... fuck him... That white wannabe "nigga" (I' mean how many times he hunger to shout out NIGGA)... just look over to the concert in 2001 in London... He called out NIGGA 100 times... eat a dick for those that don't understand......
I ain't even a Benzino fan, not a eminem fan... nun of them... you guys pop up negative shit like that... fuck ya'll and don't B a hater... you don't even know whatchu talkin 'bout AND THAT MEANS HALF OF YOU GUYS POSTIN IN HERE!!!

Posted by: mademen3 at May 4, 2004 06:38 AM

So, you're not a Benzino fan, but you just happen to call yourself "mademen3?" Come on man, if you're gonna BS us at least put a little effort into it.

Posted by: Jay Smooth at May 4, 2004 01:20 PM

Eminem is jus a lil punk who's takin advantage of Hip Hop by using the "shock culture" of the 80's to make sales.
Yeah one more thing
EMINEM IS NOT THE GREATEST RAPPER EVER. THA SPOT BELONGS TO ***RAKIM***.
Eminem is jus a sick li'l faggot who's takin advantage of hip hop to earn a living.

Posted by: ZiG at May 21, 2004 05:25 AM

MAN FUCK BIGGIE BITCH YOU DOWN With PIGGIE DAN FUCK YOU 2 Bitch ass fag

Posted by: Paco at August 3, 2004 11:11 PM

i just love it how black people can call white peoples cracka's and stupid white boys and all that shit, but thats not racial at all, but the second a white dude says something about someone black there the biggest racist in the world. big deal if eminem said nigga or whatever, cause everyone in this fuckin forum has said something racial during there life, so fuckin get over it.

Posted by: Scott at September 10, 2004 03:40 PM

EMINEM IS THE BEST
and he'll always be the best so uz can all go get fucked except 4 the ppl who love eminem
HE IS HOT
2pac is kool 2

Posted by: jenny at September 29, 2004 01:58 AM

I AM FUCKING TIRED OF NIGGERS

Posted by: nigger killer at October 14, 2004 10:39 PM

choke on a horse cock u pale ass bitch...u jest jelous cos we steal all ya bitchez...am i correct....u bet i am.....So roll ova u eminem cock suckin ass wigga...FUCK YOU

Posted by: Wigga fucker at October 18, 2004 01:52 PM

"Not because Eminem is white, but because Eminem is a product of "White America." "

How racist is this statement? Very. I think your PR man would have thrown up his hands and killed himself by this statement alone.

Basically you're saying that a white man should not be allowed to rap. Much less to rap about the same stupid stuff other pop rappers are rapping about. Want to see "degrading things" said about women? Listen to rap music. Listen to any POP RAP music. Eminem is doing nothing different. In fact, from some of the disgusting, hideous things I've heard coming from the mouths of pop-rap artists for years, Eminem is the tamest. One of the few to say "Ni--a" under 300,000 times on an album. Bill Cosby should pistol whip the lot of you for ignorance. But you wouldn't listen to a real hero from your generation, a genuine hero who had intelligence, education, and some class. Listen to Nelly. Listen to Benzino who more or less talks about how women lie, don't trust em. And "ni--as" steal and cheat, be a gangsta or you're not "real". I can't write into words how much I want to vomit reading over this trash.

Then I come across this opinion that it's not time for a "white rapper" even though white rappers were around from the very early beginnings of hip-hop (Do some reading). Right from the beginning of "pop rap" there were white pop rappers... pioneers for the industry. Heck, Run-DMC didn't complain when Aerosmith lent a guitar or two. They seemed to appreciate it. Maybe back then it was more about the fun and togetherness and now it's more about race thanks to publications like The Source and doomed rappers like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice (Never forget they went together back then like hand and glove, the joke and the punchline...).

The Source, the Hip-hop bible is owned and operated by a Harvard College Graduate who sells everyone the line that he wants to take Hip-hop back from the suburbs. He better rip it back from himself.

Dave Mays grew up in a suburb and graduated from Harvard and that's why he's smart enough to trick just about any 15 year old kid into thinking Eminem is racist... It's money in the bank for Dave.

Where was the concern for women when Eminem rapped about... KILLING WOMEN? Or was everyone so racist they assumed the woman in the trunk was always WHITE? Or could it be that the concern here has nothing to do with "our" women, only with capitalizing on some petty hatred? Objects. Disrespect. It's all been said about the pop rap for years, yet no one listens until a white rapper says it?? And now you say that only the black race should be allowed to degrade itself? And apparently Eminem is the ONLY RAPPER in America who can't get away with ANYTHING. Either he's getting it from blacks for "trying to be black" or from whites for "being trash" Yeah, he gets away with EVERYTHING! Dre says he's going to drag a white guy through the streets of LA and kill that guy and no one even noticed, but Eminem parodies Michael Jackson and suddenly the source wants a race war. Too funny.

And when Eminem comes out and makes fun of Michael Jackson, practically an American institution for TWENTY YEARS, and it's suddenly "controversial" that's when it becomes painfully evident what the real message is:

Regardless of skill, don't rap if you're white. There couldn't be a more racist message on the planet. It's the racial equivalent of telling Tiger to get off the course, his suburb pass is revoked, golf is for the suburbs only! This would be stupid. Saying the reverse is equally stupid.

And this sends out the most distorted, messed up message in the entire world. As Bill Cosby would say, look at what entertainment is doing. It's making you forget- what did these black leaders fight and die for?! So that you could listen to Nelly talk about stupid trash? So Lil Jon could routinely reduce his vocabulary to two words and prove to the world that he's retarded? So that you can listen to stupid songs about killing women, doing drugs, and watching things bounce on the dance floor? Thank you Martin Luther, I'm sure you would be really proud today that "black entertainers" supposedly should have a monopoly on that sort of thing. Let freedom ring!

It's making a mockery of real instances of racism, which exist very much in this world, when you actually add fuel to the fire because of jealousy, as this man from The Source has obviously done. Nothing but jealousy. Not indignation, cause I didn't see Benzino rushing to defend Michael Jackson against any of the 3,000 people who made fun of him this year, until Eminem came into the picture, and now suddenly it's a hip-hop issue. I would think it was sad/hilarious if a few people weren't still buying into it.

I live around racist people. They don't listen to hip-hop. They spit upon it. They laugh at it. They HATE IT. To them, just like to YOU, it's "black culture" and a white RACIST kid wouldn't be caught dead trying to perfect it as a craft... UNLESS he wasn't racist. Was Dre racist when he sang about the white guy on his song? Racist lyrics are a part of hip-hop culture also. Anyone crying about it unless it's Eminem? Nope? Then shut up.

I don't defend anything but when I see a bunch of deluded 15 year old kids talking about how a Harvard College Graduate is trying to keep hip-hop from "the suburban" kids like eminem who grew up POOR and WITHOUT A FATHER (Two things Michael Jackson didn't face) I get ill to my stomach. I begin to see who is genuine, who is not, and just how much of a mockery this is making of real social/racial issues.

What, black people have a monopology on poverty? On stupidity? On being uneducated? IS THAT HONESTLY WHAT YOUR NON=RACIST MESSAGE IS?! That only blacks should be singing about these degrading, violent subjects because they're the only people who are poor or fatherless??

A word for all of you: Someone just showed you a mirror and you were pointing and screaming racist when it first said hello to you.

Posted by: L. Lewis at October 21, 2004 05:12 AM

u suck i hate your crap all most as much as ever last ad ice t same with eminem at time juggalos run every thing Skitzo icp & twisted & three6 they kik ass!!!!got beef bring it

Posted by: A Juggalo at November 6, 2004 06:57 PM

KJ-52 ROCKS!!!!

Posted by: joedog at February 17, 2005 09:36 PM

enuff is enuff. get off the race shit fellas and also let big and pac rest in peace. forget these hip-pop artists like fab and em. give me some real shit. i want gangstarr, mobb deep, nas, and krs.

speaking of some real shit, much love to canibus and crud luv on the truwarrior allstar mixtape, although it is more of a compilation than a mix. canibus is butter!! kool j and can-i-bus (yes he can) there's an example of real hip hop vs. rap/pop music.

peace from naptown

Posted by: trip at February 27, 2005 11:49 PM