Benzino Thinks Big, "If Me & Eminem Got Together, I

Benzino Thinks Big, "If Me & Eminem Got Together, It Would Be Big for Society"



Tuesday - May 22, 2007 by Carl Chery

In part two of this SOHH Exclusive with Raymond "Benzino" Scott, the rapper/magazine publisher touches on being in a "new zone," working with Eminem and his recent sexual harassment trial.

Benzino may not have been willing to speak with SOHH just six months ago, but after going through two draining trials, Zino swears he's done with the controversy. In fact, he says drama is just petty to him these days.

"I don't got no beef with nobody," he told SOHH. "I just wanna do music. I just wanna keep moving forward."

You've read right. Zino says he doesn't have beef with anyone, even his longtime nemesis Eminem.

"I think if me and Eminem ever got together, it would not only be big for hip-hop, it would just be big for society," Benzino said. "Hip-Hop is a bridge to white and black races. I think there's still a lot of youth out here confused about race in America and with him being as influential as he is, as far as who he represents and vice versa, I think it would do good for a lot of kids."

"I think we've made a lot of strides as far as race relations in America," he continued, "but I think we have a long way to go and I think he can be a very important voice to make that happen. If it was to ever happen, I'd be with it."

As previously reported, while Zino was acquitted of sexual harassment and gender discrimination during The Source trial this past October, he was found guilty of defamation. The plaintive, former Editor-In-Chief, Kim Osorio, was awarded $4 million for retaliation and $3.5 million for defamation to be paid by Zino.

He's presently appealing the verdict. And despite the judges ruling, Zino says he has yet to pay.

"Kim hasn't received a dollar yet," he said. "I was reading somewhere when the trial was over where she said she was getting $15 million," he offered. "But that's so far of a lie that you can't even believe it."

During the trial, rumors spread that Zino was intimidating opposing attorneys. Yet, in perhaps an even more eye-opening gesture, the rapper wore t-shirts and hoodies throughout the trial.

"I felt that the jury should see me for who I am, especially in this incident," he explained. "It was just a situation where I felt like this trial was totally ridiculous in the first place. I mean, she's suing us for gender discrimination when she's making more than any woman out there. It's just ridiculous that she was making over $150 thousand a year, that I'm the one who actually gave her the job in the first place. To this day, to me, the charges were ridiculous. It was no disrespect to the court, I just felt like I'm gonna be who I am. I'm gonna dress the way I dress. This is hip-hop."

"Don't get me wrong. When I was in Boston [during my Federal Tax trial] I did wear a suit. I felt that them people up there, being in Massachusetts, an all white jury, I felt like they might not understand that," he continued. "But in New York, in this type of trial, I felt that it was a different type of environment. If I felt that it was gonna hurt me, I would have put on a suit."