Joe Budden praises Eminem for dissing Benzino in new song

Eminem and Benzino have been trading shots at each other in their recent songs, reigniting their old feud that dates back to the early 2000s. While many fans and critics have weighed in on the rap battle, one surprising voice has emerged as an unlikely ally for Eminem: Joe Budden.

Budden, who used to be signed to Eminem’s Shady Records as part of the rap group Slaughterhouse, had a falling out with the Detroit legend in 2018. He criticized Eminem’s album Revival and accused him of being out of touch with the culture. Eminem responded by dissing Budden on his Kamikaze album and calling him a traitor.

However, it seems that Budden has put aside his differences with Eminem and sided with him in his beef with Benzino. On the latest episode of his self-titled podcast, Budden praised Eminem’s “Doomsday Pt. 2” diss track and slammed Benzino for his antics.

"Em loves rapping so much yo. Nobody else is gonna rhyme Sandra Bullock’s nose with animal control. I like it,” Budden said. “Maybe punching down is back. I’m with anybody dissing Benzino. Y’all see that ni–a coming out the pool on some bodybuilder sh-t with the water glistening off his body trying to be like a seal or some sh-t?"

Budden also mocked Benzino for his alleged relationship with a transgender model and made fun of his age.

"Old ni–as shouldn’t do that. He do too much sh-t that old ni–as shouldn’t do. And I know he tried to bang that transgender. I don’t care what that ni–a say. I know he did. It’s been there. Now me and Em on the same side… look what you did, Benzino. I ain’t never had a problem with Benzino, but Benzino do make being 50 look corny. For real."

Benzino, who is best known as the former co-owner of The Source magazine, has not taken Eminem’s diss lightly. He fired back with two songs of his own: “Vulturious” and “Rap Elvis”. In the latter, he questioned Eminem’s loyalty to Detroit, criticized his career as a label owner and called him out for his treatment of Black women.

The feud between Eminem and Benzino started in 2002, when The Source gave Eminem’s The Eminem Show a four-mic rating, which Benzino deemed too high. He then accused Eminem of being a culture vulture and a racist, and released several diss tracks against him. Eminem responded with his own songs, such as “The Sauce”, “Nail in the Coffin” and “Bully”.

The beef has been dormant for years, until Eminem reignited it with his “Doomsday Pt. 2” song, which was released as part of his Music To Be Murdered By - Side B (Deluxe Edition) album in December 2020. In the song, Eminem raps:

"Benzino’s mad at me again, he’ll have to get in line / That shit is old, dog, he’s older than my mother / So he ain’t ever seen the day that I was born, dog / He’s just a baby, he’s a toddler, he’s a stroller / He’s a fossil, he’s a dinosaur, he’s a T-Rex / He’s a carnivore, he’s a herbivore, he’s a omnivore / He’s a carnivore, he’s a herbivore, he’s a omnivore / He’s a carnivore, he’s a herbivore, he’s a omnivore /"