NEWS
Benzino knows how to drum up controversy. The former editor of The Source Magazine has made a career out of it. Few people would know he was a rapper were it not for his highly-publicized beef with Eminem during the 2000s. Unfortunately, Benzino's knack for making bold statements has come back to bite him. He recently went on the We In Miami podcast, where he declared that R Kelly should be given a second chance despite his heinous crimes. This proved to be the last straw for Benzino's daughter, Coi Leray, who publicly denounced their relationship.
Leray posted an X (formerly Twitter) thread on May 1 to clarify her stance on Benzino's comments. She did not mention R. Kelly by name, but it was obvious she did not agree with her father. "I want everybody to know I want nothing to do with anything my father has going on," she wrote. "I haven’t spoken to him in over a year and I don’t condone or respect any of them interviews he got going on." The rapper went on to explain that she does even want to be associated with Benzino in the future. "I don’t respect his decisions," she added. "I want nothing to do with him please don't even think of me when you see him."
Coi Leray doubled down on her feelings towards her father in a second tweet. "Sharing the same DNA and blood doesn't make us family," she noted. "Loyalty, boundaries, respect, teaching, guidance, love, patience, encouragement makes us family... Keep me away from people who try to 'get their lick back' please." The rapper then told followers that she looks forward to having a child of her own so that she could put what she's learned into practice. "I can’t wait to have a kid one day," she concluded. "I can’t wait to look her/him in the eye and tell them how much I love them."
As sad as this exchange is, Benzino and Coi Leray's estrangement is not surprising. The father and daughter have gone through a very public cycle of beefing and then making up over the years. Leray criticized Benzino for harassing her mother back in 2022, and went against her father when he tried to revive his beef with Eminem the same year. "Let’s build bridges and get over them before you burn the bridge and burn with it," she said at the time. Unfortunately, the time for building bridges with Benzino seems to have come to an end.
Ghostface Killah is a legend in any time period. He's dominated other artists for over three decades, and he's gone head-to-head with the likes of Biggie and Nas. Ghost's reputation is bulletproof (insert wallets joke here), which would probably intimidate any rapper who attempted to collaborate with him. Kendrick Lamar is the exception to the rule, apparently. Ghostface Killah talked about his 2022 song with Lamar, "Purple Hearts," and how impressed he was with the latter's work ethic. He was so impressed, in fact, that he upped his game.
Ghostface recounted the collab during a recent appearance on the Juan Epstein podcast. He was asked about the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar (because everybody is these days), and he redirected the convo to "Purple Hearts." The Wu-Tang rapper was "honored" to contribute to Lamar's double album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. "He put his call in and it was like, 'Yo, okay. This is one of them names,'" he recalled. "I ain’t take him lightly because his wordplay, his style, y’know what I mean? Now, I just gotta do what I feel."
Ghostface knew that he couldn't phone in a verse, however. He put down his bars for "Purple Hearts," then decided to write and record a second verse just in case. He wanted to make sure Lamar was happy with the final product, so he gave him multiple options. "[These young guys] can really, really rhyme," he explained. "That’s why when I did the record with Kendrick, it was like, 'Okay… I sat with it and was like — I sent him two verses. I sent him a 'just in case' one. Like, 'N**ga, if that don’t go, this one [will].'"
This isn't the first time Ghostface Killah has praised the Compton rapper. During a 2022 interview with Billboard, Ghost gave Kendrick Lamar his flowers and singled him out as one of the best of his generation along with J. Cole. "For a lot these [fans] in the younger generation, [their favorite], it’s either Kendrick or J. Cole," he noted. "I gave him his praises, and he boomeranged that sh*t back." This was well before the Big Three battle, but it's safe to assume Ghost's high opinion of Lamar is even higher now. The rapper's victory has even led to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers re-entering the Billboard 200.
