Benzino has revealed he would like to have a sit-down conversation with Eminem despite their bitter feud that started in the early 2000s.
During his visit to the No Jumper Podcast, the Boston native reflected on his long-simmering beef with Slim Shady. According to the 54-year-old, he's never met Em, 51, but would like to one day just to have an open conversation on their beef, careers, and hip-hop in general.
"Our situation polarized because of the beef, because of us going back and forth, but that's what hip-hop was anyways," he said. "I made a few songs, he made a few songs, so what? I've never even met Eminem. I would love one day, I mean before I go and before he go, for us to sit down and just have a conversation about hip-hop and have a conversation. I mean, that would be so epic to me because it's big with us. It's bigger than hip-hop."
Benzino also spoke on the tapes that The Source put out which allegedly featured a teenage Slim Shady spitting some questionable bars. According to Benzino, there's an original tape with much worse lyrics, and he explained how the tapes were found.
Three of Eminem's associates who allegedly made the tapes with him called Benzino to sell them. The trio asked for $50,000, but Benzino gave them $15,000. "At the end of the day, Eminem made those tapes, he knows what he said, no one should cover for him," said Benzino.
He also admitted that he let his personal issues with Em get in the way of business, and using The Source to promote the beef didn't help either. "I was wrong, that's not good business," he said.
Benzino's comments come after he dropped a track titled "Vulturius," where he took shots at Em, who recently dissed him.
"Candy-ass Eminem, bitch-ass feminine/Mad he lack melanin, all Valium'd up again/Aw shit, here we go, Benzino vs. Jim Crow/Know a custy when I see one, how many times you overdose?" he rapped.
He added, "You a punk, plan my funeral? Please, you shoot who?/Square ain't even go circle the block for Proof/And the truth, my daughter had a life that I never had/I'm probably more Boston George than America's Dad/But I provide it, food, clothes, gifts kept you excited/Now you let the industry really lynch, keep us divided."
Benzino and Eminem's beef began in 2002 when The Source gave Marshall Mathers' record The Eminem Show four mics out of five. Em took offense, and Benzino refused to promote his work while releasing diss tracks aimed at the 8 Mile actor.
Just last week, Em dissed Benzino and mentioned his daughter, Coi Leray, on "Doomsday Pt. 2" from Lyrical Lemonade's All Is Yellow compilation project.
"Go at his neck, how the fuck is that?/How can I go at something he doesn't have/Arms so short he can't even touch his hands/ When they're above his head doing jumping jacks/ Sorry, I don't mean to upset you Ben/When I talk about all the debt you in/ I hear that you been creeping on the low/In them cheap hotels that they catch you in," he rapped.
