Published: Tuesday - July 10, 2007
Words by Willow
Benzino (Photo: Danger Zone Ent.)
There are some old adages that apply to Boston bad boy, Raymond Benzino: one, "Sticks and stones...," two, "What doesn't kill you, only makes stronger" and the one that is best suited for Benzino is "Success is the sweetest revenge." Since being ousted from his post as co-owner of the most legendary print medium to ever document hip-hop, The Source magazine, Benzino has had his fair share of celebrity pitfalls. Ridiculed by his peers for using The Source for his own personal gain (i.e. his career as a rapper and public attacks on musical rivals), coupled with numerous court battles that range in misappropriated handling of monies to a multi-million dollar sexual harassment suit, it's a wonder how Benzino stays upbeat and on his grizzy.
Never neglecting the fact he is still that same dude from the block, his monetary gain has been nothing more then his own rendition of "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" by Jay-Z. "It's not like all this stuff doesn't affect me, but I know the foundation I laid in hip-hop speaks for itself," Zino says. Going against the grain in teaming up with a white Jewish Harvard Univeristy graduate by the name of Dave Mays is a prime example of Benzino, the philantropist that lies beneath the designer jeans and Timberlands. Despite losing control at the since failed magazine, Benzino and Mays bounced back in the same way they did before, hitting the streets with a new supermarket style tabloid magazine called Hip Hop Weekly.
Maintaining a love for the music and utilizing his skills on the mic is one of the ways Benzino is able to hold his head high. Contrary to what many believe, being vilified in the media and presented as unruly is not the man Ballerstatus.com had the privilege to speak with. Promoting his new album, The Antidote, Benzino show resilience, sets things straight and answers some of the question onlookers have with an intelligence that may surprise those who criticize without merit.
Ballerstatus.com: Do you feel a sense of vindication because The Source is still not as viable to the hip-hop community as it once was?
Benzino: No not at all, I've been through a lot and I have a tough skin. On a whole, it really isn't about me, Dave or the people criticizing, it's about hip-hop. The Source was created to be an institution and what it can give to hip-hop. Now with things the way they are now, I think everyone is a loser. The Source has been around for a long time chronicling hip-hop and really helping out people to advertise their businesses. Again I mention it being an institution and where it is now, is just not good.
I don't find any happiness in the magazine still doing bad, because I feel the same way a parent would when their child goes down the wrong path. No matter what has went down, I still and will always have love for the brand and still wish there was something Dave and I could do to revitalize it.
Ballerstatus.com: You have parlayed your love for the print media into the grocery store style tabloid magazine Hip Hop Weekly; are you falling back from the politics involved in hip-hop and having fun now?
Benzino: You know what? I am having fun. We have come up with something new to hip-hop. With the Internet, the monthly format got a little old because the information is coming to the people so much faster now. The weekly tabloid style has proven to work, with the success of magazines like People and US Magazine. US happens to be owned by Rolling Stone, so it was only a matter of time before hip-hop got involved. While we were still at The Source, Dave and I were looking to how we could scale things down into something like Hip Hop Weekly. Not tabloid style, but quicker reads and bigger images like what Hip Hop Weekly is. Even though we are having fun, we are not taking it for granted. Hop Hop Weekly is a bi-weekly and it is clearly our second chance. Dave and I have been doing this for a long time and we can't let this be an opportunity to be arrogant about its success.
Ballerstatus.com: Though there is a very thin line between hip-hop and what is known as pop culture, are you all trying to be direct competitor with the US(s) out there or is this something along that same vain that is really just for us (the hip-hop culture)? (Laughing) You know Life & Style don't care anything about if Keyshia Cole and Young Jeezy are a couple.
Benzino: In a lot of ways, yes it is for us, even though hip-hop is for everybody. It's still very much an urban thing that came from black and Latino people. You are right they are not servicing the fans of hip-hop that want that kind of information. Hip-hop has been great for merging different creeds of people, but I just think it was time for a magazine to rep our culture. Those magazines may mention Jay-Z, but a lot of people get forgot about. Hip-hop is not just music anymore; it's acting, fashions, and political figures; in a lot of ways, it circumvents everything. There are definitely enough things happening in our culture that warranted this kind of publication and Hip Hop Weekly was long overdue.
Ballerstatus.com: Who is this guy Raymond Benzino? Benzino has clearly made his mark as an icon in hip-hop, he has somewhat of a notorious reputation as a no nonsense street cat from Boston, but he doesn't seem to be the person that is boardroom ready to be wielding deals in the name of hip-hop. Where does the split come in, if there be any at all?
Benzino: I've been blessed; I made it out the streets of Boston and live a pretty healthy and happy life. Granted being Benzino I've been through a lot, not much different from a lot of the other black and Latino men growing up in America. It really comes from the relationship I have with Dave. Despite what people think we have a real partnership. I am the one who is in the streets being a hands-on creative force, listening to what the people want, keeping my finger on the pulse of what's going on in the hood, but don't be dismayed. I can communicate that to other people. My partnership with Dave has a lot to do with my success in those areas outside of being hands-on with the people because he handles a lot of the administrative things.
We support each other in what we both bring to the boardroom. We don't try and do each other's job. We have a partnership that epitomizes the word "partnership" and though people may get it misconstrued, it works for us and has proven to be a success because we have a genuine love and belief in each other. When you have that in business and it is apart of your life... we've been working with each other since '87 and there is not much that can shake that.
Ballerstatus.com: You have been afforded the opportunity to still be that guy who made it out the streets of Boston, and in a lot of ways still carry that imagery. Has the fame and fortune been worth the beefs, lawsuits, Fed indictments?
Benzino: I have never been the one to do things to get a pat on the back. There is most definitely a price to the fame and it has cost me a lot. All the things you mentioned, the beefs, lawsuits, Fed indictments have been dark times in my life. But it is not dark forever and it has been worth it. I have weathered many storms and had faith. It's an old saying, but if you don't believe in you, then no one else will?
I would also say that it's been worth it because I believe I am on the side of what's right. Whether or not someone sees it a different way, I've grown a lot, I matured a lot and I have made a lot of mistakes. But at the end of the day, I could be worse off. I don't deny myself the privilege of being human. It's not about the life you lead; it's about the legacy you leave.
Ballerstatus.com: There are going to be a lot of people who read this and ask, "Why is he still doing music, nobody cares," what is your response to them?
Benzino: I make music because I am an artist and I love it. A painter paints because he/she loves it. I am a big fan of the arts. There is a big difference in what I rap about and what I talk about. Music is one thing, it's entertainment and I know that I am a voice for a lot of people who may never get heard. Hip-hop is still a movement and a voice/cry of the people. Yes corporations have come in and in a lot of ways made it seem white-washed, but once people get the chance to hear what I have to offer... in many cases it opens their minds up to my music and they care.
With the Internet, it breeds rumors and naysayers; I choose to deal with the people. Because I am a real world person, I have a fan base and my fan base is not interested in trends. They don't move on to the next because I am not a platinum artist getting major radio spins. My fans make their own choices.
Ballerstatus.com: You mentioned being a real world person, but for all intents and purposes you are a man of affluence. Do you feel as though you have a right to be a voice for the chasm going on in the underserved urban America?
Benzino: Of course I do! I am doing what hip-hop set out to do since its conception. Because I can make people laugh and dance in the midst of their problems or while giving a voice to their issues is what hip-hop has always been about. Again I mention the corporations and radio muting a lot of what needs to be said to the masses, but being hands-on in the streets, to me it makes me more vital to the issues of the underserved urban America. I am using my affluence to get out there to the people and when people see me, they know that their local radio station did not bring me to town or sponsor my show.
I'm an artist/entertainer and like any other artist, I want what I do to be seen as such, but I shouldn't be discounted because I am not on your favorite video channel. Yes I have made money, but I don't judge money as what's being in your heart and music is in my heart. With my money, I have helped a lot of people. At the end of the day, what's going on with music has nothing to do with that mother or father trying to feed their kids and with our judicial system being broke, my lack of album sales or someone's choice in music is not as important.
Ballerstatus.com: What direction are you taking this new album?
Benzino: I've been through a lot, so this album is a way of escape, and I am answering and responding to a lot of people who have had something to say about me. People say, "Benzino can't flow, he can't rap" because they judge me based on other things. I've been with the Hangmen 3 for over fifteen years; I was making music before there was a Source... before people really knew who I was and I am showing my growth. I produce; I am very involved in my music. I have stepped my lyrical flow up a lot, I've definitely gotten a lot better on the mic. Music wise, I have been living in Miami for a couple of years, so the whole down South vibe has been fused into my sound, and I used this album to showcase how I have grown as an artist, a person and as a man. This is the best work I've done in my life.
Ballerstatus.com: Are there any reflective songs on the album or are we just going to the club?
Benzino: There are some reflective songs on there. If there was a comparative album I would say Dr. Dre's Chronic album, in that I surrounded myself with some young cats that are real hungry, real dope on the mic and on the production. I stayed away from working with more named artists because I needed to silence some people. I do have a song with Ja Rule on there, we have both been through a lot and this is our first collaboration, the song is titled "Game Face." I'm a very well rounded person, so this album is just as well rounded, but I do have some club joints on there.
With this album I stayed in the streets and I have a great group of guys I got to work with on it. I have my group, the First 48 -- One, Monzta, Lil Dev, Picalo, Ballgrum, Cognito, Young LO, Young Hardy and 8Bus Columni. They are really going to make it happen. I am real confident about the success of this album.
Ballerstatus.com: Who else is on this album?
Benzino: Production from Scott Storch, Hangmen 3, Stevie J, Cognito, Guerilla Tek, Track Kings and Nacho Typical, by Stevie J and like I mentioned Ja Rule.
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