Coi Leray has just started to make a name for herself and she plans on retaining control over her artistic identity.
The 26-year-old rapper and singer has faced some challenges, considering she is the daughter of Hip Hop and media mogul Benzino, best known as the co-founder of The Source magazine. Recently, however, her songs have been gaining more traction and she is set on keeping her business separate from her father’s, as far as music goes.
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On Wednesday (June 21), Math Hoffa posted an interview with the rising spitter and asked her about her defense of Eminem when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022. Her father took issue with his nomination stating “they have no respect for our culture, Black or Hip Hop and if you don’t agree, you’re racist, period point blank.”
However, Coi took the high road and countered that “I’m about love, equality, respect and forgiveness… I have nothing against Eminem, 25 years of my life all I know is he a very talented artist and actor ! (8 Mile was great). Let’s build bridges and get over them before you burn the bridge and burn with it.”
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When she was asked about her defense of Eminem Coi had this to say:
“I know that anything that has to do with Eminem, I don’t have nothing to do with those times,” she said regarding her position on the matter. “So don’t involve me in them. I’m my own person, you feel me? Don’t do that.”
The contention, which has now gone on for two decades, began when Benzino leaked audio of a then-teenage Eminem repeatedly using the N-word in his rhymes after a bad break-up with an African-American woman. The tension escalated when both sides began dropping diss tracks directed at each other, resulting in bad blood between Benzino, his magazine The Source, Eminem and his label, Interscope Records.
“Imma ride for my father regardless, ’cause he’s my father,” Leray clarified. “I don’t give a fuck what anybody says.”
However, she did proceed to add the following to explain how she feels about rivalries in Hip Hop: “I wasn’t there to understand, but what I do know now is all that rap beef shit, even just today, is just fucking noise to me … I just think it’s just so corny and I don’t pay no mind to it.”
Following the initial drama, the two MCs went back and forth on record. Benzino took aim at Em on the tracks “Pull Your Skirt Up” and “Die Another Day,” to which Slim Shady retaliated on “The Sauce” and “Nail in the Coffin.” Still, Leray has made it a point to detach herself from the ordeal because she “just wasn’t old enough to understand those times.”
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Funnily enough, though, she still has the clarity to appreciate Eminem’s artistry.
“I watched 8 Mile and I thought it was a great movie, you feel me?” she said. “I’m not an Eminem fan—I don’t listen to Eminem—but I do know [Cleanin’ Out My Closet].”
