Just when the public thought Benzino’s longstanding disdain for Eminem was over, the decades-long feud is right back on and more heated than ever. On February 17, Benzino appeared on the Drink Champs podcast. After hours of enjoying the adult beverages on set, Benzino somewhat drunkenly confessed that he didn’t have anything “against Eminem” and that he actually believes “[Eminem] can rap.”
Ultimately, he vowed not to address the tension anymore as he felt that it impacted his daughter, Uproxx cover star Coi Leray’s career. But that promise has since been spoiled. During a sit down with The Art of Dialogue on February 21, Benzino, a.k.a. “The Eminem Slayer,” shared that he still thinks his arch-emeny sucks.
“‘Rap Elvis’ already destroyed him,” he said. “I already killed him with ‘Rap Elvis.’ Where’s he at? Where’s the response? I want to battle him face-to-face. I think he’s overrated. I think he sucks as a rapper. And it’s f*ck anybody that’s with him. I bombed on him. I’m going to continue to bomb on him. I’m going to continue to expose him.”
Drunk mouths are supposed to speak a sober mind. But in Benzino’s case, it appears to have been the exact opposite.
Benzino is back talking about Eminem. Appearing on The Art of Dialogue, Benzino claims he “destroyed” Eminem, referring to his “Rap Elvis” single.
“‘Rap Elvis’ already destroyed him,” Benzino said. “I already killed him with ‘Rap Elvis.’ Where’s he at? Where’s the response? I want to battle him face-to-face. I think he’s overrated and sucks as a rapper.”
Last week, in the same Drink Champs episode where Benzino called out Eminem, he also cried and said he doesn’t hate Eminem.
In the opening part of Benzino’s episode, he is brazen in his opinion toward Slim Shady.
“F**k Eminem and fuck everybody down with Eminem,” Benzino opened. “My thing is, that n**a won’t face me. When we was in Puerto Rico I was with west with a gun on the dashboard and we caught Green Lantern outside the DJ convention. Don’t f**k around with me.
“We come from a whole different trenches. That n***a ain’t us.”
Benzino challenges Eminem to a three round rap battle and goes off on Eminem for dissing his daughter Coi Leray.
But once the liquor set in, Benzino had a softer response, even crying.
“I don’t hate Eminem. I don’t know him to hate him,” Benzino said. “I don’t hate white people tired of this shit, man. It’s just too much. I don’t want to be the bad guy.
“Eminem ain’t no bad person. He belongs in Hip Hop. It’s a big racist problem in America right now and Eminem could probably stop half of it.”
In the same episode that Benzino called out Eminem, he also cried and said he doesn’t hate Eminem.
In the opening part of Benzino’s Drink Champs episode, he is brazen in his opinion toward Slim Shady.
“F**k Eminem and fuck everybody down with Eminem,” Benzino opened. “My thing is, that n**a won’t face me. When we was in Puerto Rico I was with west with a gun on the dashboard and we caught Green Lantern outside the DJ convention. Don’t f**k around with me.
“We come from a whole different trenches. That n***a ain’t us.”
Benzino challenges Eminem to a three round rap battle and goes off on Eminem for dissing his daughter Coi Leray.
But once the liquor set in, Benzino had a softer response, even crying.
“I don’t hate Eminem. I don’t know him to hate him,” Benzino said. “I don’t hate white people tired of this shit, man. It’s just too much. I don’t want to be the bad guy.
“Eminem ain’t no bad person. He belongs in Hip Hop. It’s a big racist problem in America right now and Eminem could probably stop half of it.”
We will never live in a world where Eminem and Benzino have stopped talking about each other. Benzino pulled up to Drink Champs and once again spoke about his former foe.
“F**k Eminem and fuck everybody down with Eminem,” Benzino opened. “My thing is, that n**a won’t face me. When we was in Puerto Rico I was with west with a gun on the dashboard and we caught Green Lantern outside the DJ convention. Don’t f**k around with me.
“We come from a whole different trenches. That n***a ain’t us.”
You can hear Benzino’s rant and ask “What the f**k can he do to me?” below.
In January, Eminem had time. Dropping off “Doomsday Pt. 2,” Slim Shady launches a full-on assault on Benzino, harkening back to the days when Benzino once owned The Source.
Now I got a riddle, one condition, you mustn’t laugh What is the opposite of Benzino? A giraffe “Go at his neck,” how the fuck is that? How can I go at somethin’ he doesn’t have? Arm so short he can’t even touch his hands When they’re above his head doin’ jumpin’ jacks Sorry, I don’t mean to upset you, Ben’ When I talk about all the debt you in I hear that you been creepin’ on the low In them cheap hotels, that they catch you in Jesus Christ, dawg, when you said two-ten Never guessed you meant at the Red Roof Inn In a room with one single bed, two men Shady, man, you can’t—, yes, you can Well, I guess then I regret to inform you, hate to spoil the day But this doesn’t bring me no joy to say Guess that Coi Leray feat’s in the toilet, ayy? Damage due to flows, collateral, I s’pose Gat-pointed like mine and Sandra Bullock’s nose Yeah, them bullet holes, have you full of those You’ll catch a stray like animal control, plan a funeral I’ma probably have to plan a few neurological exams Once again, it is off into that damn padded room I go
In April 2023, Benzino reflected on his beef with Eminem. According to the rapper, the late Michael Jackson thanked him for dissing Slim Shady back in the day.
Popping up on The Gauds Show podcast, Benzino claims MJ praised him for the diss after Eminem made light of the situation where Michael Jackson once caught on fire. That moment was in the “Just Lose It” video.
“I met Mike through Teddy [Riley]. He called me and he thanked me. Because when Eminem dissed him with the fire situation, in the video, Mike called and I remember his assistant put him on the phone and I sat there and listened to him. And he thanked me.”
Beef is a permanent dish on hip-hop’s menu; anyone can be served a heaping helping. While time can sometimes aid in relationship mending, that’s not always the cause for rappers. Benzino and Eminem’slongstanding feud is a prime example of this. In the past few weeks alone, they’ve each dropped disses toward the other. So, during Benzino’s recent appearance on Drink Champs, the host couldn’t help but ask about it.
Throughout the episode uploaded on February 17, Benzino took several jabs at Eminem. At one point, he even implied that Eminem’s rise to fame in rap was due to him being white. However, near the end of the sit down (the 2-hour 34-minute mark), Benzino, overwhelmed with emotion and alcohol, reflected on how his issue with Eminem has impacted his daughter Uproxx cover star Coi Leray.
“I don’t have nothing against Eminem,” he said. “He can rap, but I care about us more. I don’t want to talk about it no more,” he said. “My daughter came to industry figuring ‘I gotta be cool with Eminem because everybody is against my dad. I don’t hate Eminem. I don’t know him to hate him. I don’t hate white people tired of this sh*t, man. It’s just too much. I don’t want to be the bad guy.”
Leray previously spoke about how Benzino’s past mix-ups could have derailed her career, including her guest verse from Nicki Minaj on “Blick Blick.”
Watch Benzino’s full interview on the Drink Champs podcast above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
While Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion took up most of the headlines about rap beef so far this year, they aren’t the only ones taking shots. The same weekend that Megan dropped “HISS,” Lyrical Lemonade dropped their new album All Is Yellow which featured many of the biggest stars in rap. One Of those was Eminem, who jumped on the track “Doomsday Pt. 2.” He used his verse on the song as an opportunity to dig up some old beef with Benzino and even brought his daughter Coi Leray into the flow.
While Coi tried to take the high road and respond by staying above it all, Benz hit back. He dropped a pair of diss tracks pretty much solely aimed at attacking Em. On one of them, he accuses Em of being the “Rap Elvis.“ Included in the song is a reference to Conway The Machine, who was once signed to Shady Records. “Con’ left ya label” the lyric reads implying that the rapper wanted to get away from the label. But not the Griselda rapper is breaking his silence on the matter. He clarified that the story isn’t anywhere near as scandalous as it’s made out to be.
Conway took to Instagram to clear up a few things. “1. I didn’t LEAVE shady records. Also I never wanted to leave the label, My contracts were simply fulfilled,” his response begins. “2. And most importantly, I F*CK WIT @eminem @rosenberg @mikaelheron @shadyrecords @50cent And I could never feel any Ill feelings towards Em and them n*ggas,” his Instagram post continued.
“They gave some 35 year old street n*ggas from Buffalo that’s been shot in the head and did jail sentences a chance and a opportunity to make it out the hood and take care of my family,” Conway explains. What do you think of Conway The Machine clarifying that he has no beef with Eminem or Shady records after Benzino’s claims? Let us know in the comment section below.
If you went into a 20-year coma in 2004 and woke up today, you might be forgiven for thinking that no time at all had passed. The economy is still all topsy-turvy, the US is still embroiled in controversial conflict in the Middle East, and for some reason, Eminem is still beefing with Benzino, despite both men being well into their fifties.
The first salvo in their latest skirmish was fired by Eminem on his song “Doomsday Pt. 2” from Lyrical Lemonade’s new album All Is Yellow.
Benzino responded on Wednesday (January 31) with his new single “Rap Elvis.”
Em has yet to respond, but at this point, you kind of have to expect that he will. The real question you might have is… Why? Why do Eminem and Benzino have beef in the first place, and why haven’t they let it go after nearly 30 years?
The answer to the second question is only known to the two rivals, but as to when their feud began and what started it, here’s a short summary. In 2002, The Source was still largely considered “hip-hop’s Bible,” and then-publisher Benzino refused to allow the magazine to give Eminem’s album The Eminem Show a five-mic rating — at least, according to Eminem and widely accepted hip-hop lore. Em criticized the magazine for what he felt was an unfair rating of his best album (to this day), prompting Benzino to respond with the diss song “Pull Your Skirt Up.”
Benzino’s campaign to undermine Eminem also unearthed old recordings using slurs against Black people that the Detroit rapper made when he was a teenager. Eminem apologized for those recordings, but not the scathing diss tracks he unleashed against Benzino, which included “The Sauce” and “Nail In The Coffin.” Since then, you could say the both men’s paths divereged a bit; while Eminem’s legacy as a “Rap God” has grown over the course of seven more albums (arguably a little too much), Benzino has been known in recent years largely for his role as a cast member on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and his fraught relationshp with daughter Coi Leray.
Until this year, the beef was mostly one-sided, with Benzino shading Eminem in interviews and on Twitter throughout the past half-decade or so, and Eminem mostly just ignoring him. That changed with “Doomsday, Pt. 2,” which could mean that 2024 looks like 2004 all over again. Maybe this time, Em and Ben can make sure that the coffin stays closed.
This past week, Eminem re-ignited his 22-year beef with Benzino on “Doomsday Pt. 2” from Lyrical Lemonade’s All Is Yellow. He also mentioned the former Source Magazine co-owner’s daughter, Coi Leray on the track, who later responded to Em’s lyrics on Twitter. Coi wrote, “There’s no way I’m about to entertain these grown ass men and the beef they been having for over 20 years. Lmao it’s so stupid, all I can do is laugh.” Throughout his career, Eminem has been notorious for engaging in beef, sending fiery diss tracks and stray shots at anyone who slights him. His competitive spirit contributed to his ascent as a rapper and still permeates his music today. Today, we are looking into the history of Eminem’s most vicious disses, including particular lines and entire songs. Take a look at the list below.
Eminem’s debut single saw the birth of his Slim Shady alter ego, as well as numerous rap beefs. His second verse on “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” targets multiple white rappers, dissing them in just a few bars. He raps, “I’m nicer than Pete, but I’m on a search to crush a milkbone / I’m everlastin’, I melt vanilla ice like silicone/ I’m ill enough to just straight up diss you for no reason/ I’m colder than snow season when it’s twenty below freezin’.” Eminem cleverly incorporated the names of Miilkbone and Vanilla Ice into cold-blooded punchlines while praising Pete Nice, MC Serch, and Everlast. Before he would beef with the latter, his jabs at Miilkbone and Vanilla Ice on this song led to exchanges of multiple diss tracks.
“Nail In The Coffin” (2002)
One of four diss tracks from Eminem’s feud with Benzino back in 2002, “Nail In The Coffin” was a vicious response to “Pull Your Skirt Up.” The entire song is quite cutthroat, but here are his most scathing bars: “You sit behind a fuckin’ desk at The Source butt-kissin’ / And beggin’ motherfuckers for guest appearances / And you can’t even get the clearances ’cause real lyricists don’t even respect you or take you serious/ It’s not that we don’t like you—we hate you, period.” Though Eminem recently took shots at Benzino, this song spoke true to its title during their beef back in the day.
“Bully” not only fires at Benzino but also at Ja Rule, with whom Eminem was also beefing during the early 2000s. Released during the peak of their feud, Em spits an aggressive diss towards Ja and Murder Inc. In his third verse, he raps, “If Irv really gave a fuck about Ja, like he claims he does / He’d wake him up and make his boy get off them drugs / But he just keeps feedin’ him pills, so if that E doesn’t kill him / Someone from G-Unit will, and I ain’t buzzed.” Eminem backs 50 Cent, who was also aiming disses at Ja Rule. As one of his meanest disses, he declares that he will not back down and “cower to no bully.”
“The Warning” (2009)
Eminem’s tension with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon is one of his most bizarre feuds, but we got a relentless diss track out of it. “The Warning” responds to Carey’s “Obsessed” song and video, which stems from lyrics on “Bagpipes From Baghdad” and The Eminem Show about the singer. He fires at both Cannon and Carey: “You’re gonna ruin my career, you better get one / Like I’ma sit and fight with you over some slut bitch cunt that made me put up with her psycho ass over six months / And only spread her legs to let me hit once.” A harsh diss, “The Warning” certainly contains some of Eminem’s most disrespectful diss bars.
“Fall” (2018)
Eminem’s 2018 album, Kamikaze took digs at his critics, mumble rappers, and others who have spoken ill of him. Songs like “Fall” respond to his critics, including Pitchfork, Akademiks, Charlamagne tha God, Tyler, The Creator, and Lord Jamar. Most notably, he disses his former Shady Records signee and Slaughterhouse member Joe Budden. “Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it or have his body bag get zipped/ The closest thing he’s had to hits is smackin’ bitches (Pump it up!),” he raps. Eminem makes light of Joe’s alleged domestic abuse after Budden heavily criticized Revival on Everyday Struggle. Joe Budden responded on his podcast, claiming to have been a better rapper than Eminem for “this entire decade.”
“Killshot” (2018)
Also on Kamikaze was “Not Alike” where Eminem directly attacked Machine Gun Kelly, which resulted in MGK’s “Rap Devil” diss. In response to the track came “Killshot.” The lethal diss track references the 2008 film in which a man named Colson, MGK’s government name, is targeted by a hitman. The song is riddled with vicious lyrics, including “Younger me? No, you the wack me, it’s funny but so true / I’d rather be 80-year-old me than 20-year-old you” and “as long as I’m Shady he’s gon’ have to live in my shadow.” Eminem also warns MGK: “Kelly, they’ll be putting your name next to Ja, next to Benzino—die, motherfucker! / Like the last motherfucker sayin’ Hailie in vain.” “Killshot” proved once again that one cannot mess with Eminem on a song without consequence.
“I Will” (2020)
“I Will” saw a mini Slaughterhouse reunion without Joe Budden. In the song, Eminem pays respects to his favorite rappers while also poking fun at Lord Jamar. The two have exchanged disses and words outside of music, but “I Will” was Eminem’s most brutal diss against him to date. He raps, “I’m more than you bargained for and I am far more worse than a forty-some bar Lord Jamar verse.”
Eminem responds to Lord Jamar calling him a “guest in the house of hip hop” and calls him the worst rapper in Brand Nubian: “If it was anyone’s house, G Rap and Rakim would be havin’ you mop floors / Run-DMC would be havin’ you cleanin’ sinks / Yeah, your group was off the chain, but you were the weakest link.” Over the span of his career, Eminem has come out victorious in his rap beefs by spitting lethal bars. With his latest verse against Benzino, it still holds true no matter how petty it might come across.
Benzino posted up with his partner on Instagram, declaring that they were “minding their business” amid the swirling beef with Eminem. However, fans were disappointed as Benzino had promised a scathing response to the Detroit emcee. “It’s been a full 24 hours. Your must be still be in the lab. For hiphop sake don’t release Melle Mel response,” one fan wrote.
The veteran hip hop had promised a response earlier in the weekend, even going as far as to include an iconic film reference to hype it. “NO JUMPER INTERVIEW DROPS AT 6 @adam22 RESPONSE TO DOOMSDAY IN 24 HOURS. ,” the industry veteran wrote on Instagram. However, to add a little bit of flair to the beef, Benzino also included a classic film reference to really sell how he was feeling. His Instagram post included an extended clip from The Godfather: Part III. As Michael Corleone laments his inability to leave the mafia life behind, he utters the classic line “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
Meanwhile, Eminem’s verbal attack took aim at not just Benzino, but his daughter Coi Leray as well. Benzino and Leray have been patching up their often tense relationship over the past year or so. Leray shone in a vibrant performance on the Sprite Stage at Rolling Live Miami on July 22. Amongst the hundreds of fans who showed out to see her perform was her father, Benzino. The founder of The Source, Benzino has been an influential figure in rap and music journalism since the late 90s. However, the pair have never had the best relationship, at least in the public eye. Leray has publicly spoke about how her family was at one time “broke” after Benzino reportedly lostcontrol of The Source. Meanwhile, Benzino’s tendency to put his foot in his mouth has often run the risk of hurting Leray’s career.
“That’s why I never mentioned his name coming into this industry cause he can’t get over his past and don’t even realize how much he damaging when he does this stuff.” tweeted Coi. On top of not wanting to be viewed as a “nepo baby”, there have been a few other times when distancing herself from Benzino has seemed like a good idea. Benzino nearly cost Leray her verse of Nicki Minaj‘s “Blick Blick” after leaking the news on Clubhouse.
Eminem really wishes it was 2004. That’s the only reason I can think of why he’s stillbothering with Benzino over 20 years later. Maybe he sees their old feud as a legendary, multi-generational saga like the Hatfields and McCoys, but it’s more like the plot of Grumpy Old Men. And it’s getting closer all the time (Em is now 51, while Benzino is 58), all while aging like the fish Max leaves in John’s car at the end. Spoilers for a 30-year-old movie, I guess.
Alas, here we are in 2024, with Eminem again dedicating several bars to his distaste for his age-old nemesis — arguably too many, although that’d be true of even one — on his new song “Doomsday Pt. 2” from Lyrical Lemonade’s new album All Is Yellow. “Now I got a riddle, one condition, you mustn’t laugh / What is the opposite of Benzino? A giraffe / Go at his neck,’ how the f*ck is that? How can I go at somethin’ he doesn’t have? / Arms so short he can’t even touch his hands / When they’re up above his head doin’ jumpin’ jacks.”
He goes on in this vein for another twelve bars (TWELVE!!), setting up an overly elaborate gay joke (booooo!) and a mildly witty reference to a 2023 Coi Leray interview where she was asked about collaborating with Eminem despite her dad.
Yes, Benzino lied about Michael Jackson praising him for dissing Eminem (sure, Ray) as recently as last April, but the only person still paying attention to that guy besides Coi is Eminem. Maybe just ignore him, Marshall, it’s not like either of you is getting anything out of this anymore. Today, we are all Coi Leray:
Rap beef is so washed and tired. Exhausting. Embarrassing. Just fucking over all corny as fuck.
must be still be in the lab. For hiphop sake don’t release Melle Mel response,” one fan wrote. 
,” the industry veteran wrote on Instagram. However, to add a little bit of flair to the beef, Benzino also included a classic film reference to really sell how he was feeling. His Instagram post included an extended clip from The Godfather: Part III. As Michael Corleone laments his inability to leave the mafia life behind, he utters the classic line “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
