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Benzino Criticizes Rock and Roll Hall Fame Over Eminem Induction

Eminem
Eminem

Benzino isn’t happy with Eminem being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as he feels that there are hundreds of Black rappers who deserve the recognition before Eminem, like Nas, Outkast, and Lauryn Hill.

Benzino has been trying to start his rap career, and he has been in the spotlight, trying to get attention to himself. It seems that today his one-sided beef with Eminem was the perfect opportunity to not only get attention but also take a dig at the Marshall Mathers LP rapper.

On Wednesday morning, Benzino registered his displeasure after it was announced that Eminem was leading the 2022 class of Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductees. The rapper has received commendations from many notable rappers in the business, but Benzino thinks that a black rap or hip hop act should have gotten that induction.

“Rock and roll hall of fame is just like the Grammy’s, they have no respect for our culture, Black or Hip Hop and if you don’t agree, you’re racist, period point blank,” he said in a tweet.

Benzino further shared in a now-deleted retweet of a Rolling Stone article that criticized the organization’s choice without honoring rappers who paved the way for Eminem.

“Eminem has now been inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame before countless Black hip-hop pioneers who paved the way for his success. What message does that send?” The tweet read.”

He added another tweet where he asked, “So where’s Nas, Eric B and RAKIM, Kool Moe D, Epmd, Fearless Four, Fat Boyz, Lauren Hill, Little Kim, OutKast and 100s other Black rappers?? GTFOH.”

Several hip-hop acts have been inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were the first to make history in being the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Since then, less than ten hip-hop acts have been inducted into the Hall Of Fame, including Run DMC (2009), the Beastie Boys (2012), Public Enemy (2013), and NWA (2016), all groups were inducted.

Rapper Tupac (2017) was the first solo act to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall after his first album, 2Pacalypse Now turned 26 years old, followed by Biggie Smalls, whose first album turned 26 in 2020.

Jay-Z was also inducted last year into the Class of 2021. According to the Rock N Roll website, the rapper’s nomination was accepted in the first year of his eligibility, as his debut album, ‘Reasonable Doubt’, turned 25-years-old in 2021.

Although it is not an award for hip-hop artists, the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame has been known to induct artists from across all genres of music. According to the organization’s website, the main criteria for induction are the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

Despite not being Rock artists, quite a few hip hop legends like Jay-Z are inducted. Jay-Z, for example, is widely regarded as the greatest rapper alive since 1996.

Still, Jay-Z and Eminem seem to have the same wide influence and comparative effect, although Eminem slightly edges out Jay-Z in numbers.

When it comes to Grammys, Eminem to Jay-Z is 11-10. Slim Shady is, however, untouchable when it comes to his worldwide sales numbers, which are approximated to be around 230 million units worldwide, and he leads the hip hop world when it comes to record sales.

Still, some might have an issue that Slim Shady is being honored before others longer in the game or with more impact, but the rapper’s legendary status in hip hop is undeniable, even if someone like Benzino might disagree.