Thug Life Army

The beef in Hip Hop just keeps on going. Rapper Eminem and the co owner of The Source Benzino apparently haven’t had enough. A truce isn’t a truce if both sides don’t agree is the phrase being kicked around. Well just which side isn’t ready to hang up the towel? Some may believe that it is Eminem and other may believe that it is Benzino.

Benzino took the first shot and it seems that he won’t settle unless he’s got the last. The first attack came in a track called Pull your skirt up in which he went at Eminem and his group D12. Benzino has claimed in reports that he wasn’t so much going at Eminem in that track but he was more frustrated with the whole game which he called “the machine” or “Vehicle” that Hip Hop has become. The point he was getting at that the industry has gone way to commercial is one that many people can’t or won’t argue. But, the point is if you listen to the track it is definitely a diss track aimed at one person not a whole music genre.

The war of the words, records or tracks whatever you want to call it went on for quite a while. The tracks on mix tapes went back and forth. Too many to even count and the whole thing really just got tiring in the long run. After Benzino had been beaten up and down the block many times he took his fight against Eminem to the front page of The Source. The magazine had gotten its hands on a tape of the rapper at a young age making racist comments about black women on a track called Foolish Pride. This is when Benzino and The Source started the crusade to clean up & save Hip Hop.

Later that same day there was a press conference held by the Source to expose Eminem as a racist and a thief of Hip Hop culture. The track was up on their website for everyone to listen to and not long after copies of the song were promised to be in the next issue of the magazine. Attorneys for Eminem were quick to get that stopped and filed charges of copyright infringement against The Source.  In which a judge granted Eminem an injunction that blocked the Source from distributing the CD in the magazine. But, less than a week later the judge lifted that decision and gave The Source the right to release small portions of the tape. And now a judge has given the trial a green light and the two sides will settle this dispute in court.

So Eminem's album Encore hit the shelves and he addressed the race issue. He released a track on the album titled Yellow Brick Road in which he lays out the story for the song Foolish Pride. He apologizes and admits that there was no reason to take it as far as he did. He says “But I''ve heard people say they heard the tape and it ain''t that bad But, it was I singled out a whole race and for that apologize.” So that was the second time Eminem did exactly what The Source and many other people asked for. The big I’m sorry.

Another track titled Toy Soldiers addresses the beefs Eminem and the people around him are involved in. Eminem spoke with Sway from MTV and said "Toy Soldiers" is about walking away from the beef. Just like, "Look, I''m done. This is the last thing I''ve got to say, let me get this off my chest, and from our side, we''re walking away from it. You guys can keep saying what you want to say and keep attacking us. Do your thing. If that's what you feel, if you want to spend all your energy and place it into one person instead of focusing on yourself, then do that. But that's my way of saying I''m turning my back on it.”

So the case is set to hit the courts and just as quick as that news is released Benzino has a new track for Eminem titled Look into My Eyes with a video ready to go. So just because he wont have a “sit down” with Benzino he isn’t willing to stop? Well according to Benzino that is exactly the reason. Benzino said, "These guys are all about spin, "He never wanted to squash the beef. He said in another publication that he would never sit down with me. If he did want to come forth and address these issues, that would be a great thing because of his influence. But he's never had the desire to sit down with me."

Since when has the sit down become such an important part of Hip-Hop? The truth is that it shouldn’t even be a topic. 50 Cent didn’t want to squash his beef with Ja Rule cause he wouldn’t be part of a sit down with Ja and the Minister. Now Benzino is using this as an excuse to get a little more shine.

"These guys are all about spin," Benzino said? Well really who is all about the spin? Let’s face it Benzino hasn’t done anything worth paying attention except for his beef with Eminem. And its not even like he got fans out of the deal. The only people that pay his music any attention are the people that want to hear what he’s got to say before Eminem retaliates and makes a clown of him once again. If this video makes it TV will it actually get play on airwaves that matter? The only time I have ever seen a Benzino video has been around two in the morning on BET. Anybody that watches BET knows exactly what videos get play on shows that late. They are either videos from people you may never have heard of or they are videos that are such a disgrace to Hip Hop they wont play them when people are paying attention.

Benzino has stressed that Eminem has influence “If he did want to come forth and address these issues, that would be a great thing because of his influence.” How much more influence do you need then being the co owner of the largest Hip-Hop publication out there? Instead of filling issue after issue taking shots at people and their music career how about using it as the vehicle to make a change.

Many people would like to argue the state of Hip-Hop these days even some of its artists. But, people that truly care about this way of life will step up to the plate and try to make a change. Others will continue to rap about the women, cars, bling-bling and drag out the long overdue death of certain beefs. My only hope is that Eminem sticks to his statement that he is turning his back on this. If he doesn’t retaliate he gives Benzino nothing to keep going on about.

Let it go! It’s over! Can we get on with the music? Cause that what Hip-Hop is about right, the music?

*Keith is the Assistant Editor and a staff writer for ThugLifeArmy.com. The views stated here are solely Keith's and do not necessarily reflect the views of ThugLifeArmy.com ; it’s owners or it’s other staff members.