From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Them ’n’ Em

Benzino wishes he lived in the day when he could challenge Eminem to a duel. With The Source, he can.

by T. M. Shine

October 6 2004

At least one famous hip-hop star won't be attending this weekend's Source Awards, and that's because, as far as Eminem is concerned, the owners of The Source magazine have spit in his face. Various hip-hop artists put up monster sales numbers and create evocative work, but Eminem is still the juggernaut of the business. The Source needs him more than he needs them. But perhaps both sides just crave the controversy. With the lack of gunplay surrounding the awards in recent years, the feud with Eminem is as good as it gets. Here's a recap of what went down between Slim Shady and the self-described "Bible" of hip-hop:
• Ancient tapes of the Motor City rapper freestyling that "black girls are dumb and white girls are good" are discovered. (Em's come a long way, hasn't he?)
• The Source, notably co-owner and fringe rapper Ray "Benzino" Scott, decides to label "whitey" rapper Marshall Mathers as a racist and call him out for manipulating and corrupting a black art form.
• Benzino releases a rap song that goes as far as to compare Em to Vanilla Ice. It's the ultimate dis but happens to be completely unfounded. If anything, critics declare, he has always been Detroit's answer to Elvis, having immersed himself in the music and the black culture of the streets he grew up on.
• To promote Benzino's music, The Source runs a photo of him holding up the severed head of Eminem.
• Eminem questions The Source's motives but releases an official statement apologizing for the tapes, saying the remarks were made as a teenager after a fight with a black girlfriend. "I did and said a lot of stupid shit when I was a kid, but that's part of growing up," he argued. Hip-hop patriarch Russell Simmons defends Eminem, saying his apology is "sincere and forthright."
• The Source claims Eminem was way into his 20s when the recordings were made.
• Eminem retaliates by releasing his own rap on the Internet titled "Bully." He takes aim at Benzino with lines such as, "I'm withholding my anger/Though I'd like to be the strangler/Of this punk-ass little pussy's puny neck."
• The Source devotes almost an entire issue to dissing Eminem.
• Eminem wins a lawsuit against The Source after the magazine violated a court order barring it from publishing the complete lyrics to Em's unreleased songs.
• The Source begins to lose some of its credibility within the industry.
• Eminem turns his anger toward President Bush on his forthcoming album Encore.