Benzino – "Arch Nemesis" Review: The Source Owner Who Couldn't Rap
- Jay Jewels
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Quick Verdict
Benzino is the co-owner of The Source magazine who spent three years in a public beef with Eminem — trying to weaponise his position as the most authoritative voice in hip-hop criticism to destroy one of its most commercially successful artists. Eminem destroyed him instead. Arch Nemesis was released independently on February 22, 2005, after Benzino had been dropped from Elektra Records following the failure of Redemption — an album that sold 14,000 copies in its first week against Eminem's concurrent The Eminem Show at four million. DJ personality Angie Martinez allowed Eminem to air his grievances on Hot 97, after which Eminem branded Benzino the worst rapper in the world. Album of the Year users called Arch Nemesis complete garbage. The album sold approximately 10,000 copies in the United States. When the man whose own publication was the arbiter of rap greatness can only sell 10,000 copies, something has failed at a profound level. Rating: 1/10.
At a Glance
Album Details
Context: The Source Owner Who Tried to Be a Rapper
The Source magazine was, through the 1990s, the undisputed Bible of Hip-Hop — the publication whose five-mic rating was the most coveted endorsement in rap, and whose one-mic rating was the harshest condemnation. Benzino, born Raymond Scott in Boston, was the co-founder and co-owner of the magazine alongside David Mays. He used that ownership to promote his own rap career throughout the early 2000s, placing his singles on Source compilation CDs, giving himself favourable coverage, and using the publication's credibility to manufacture a music career that the marketplace had definitively refused to sanction. When Eminem — whose debut album Slim Shady LP had been reviewed alongside an unprecedented call to boycott it from The Source — became the most commercially dominant rapper in the world, Benzino used the magazine to attack him. The feud produced some of Eminem's most viciously funny diss tracks, branded Benzino the worst rapper in the world on Hot 97, and ultimately destroyed The Source's credibility and Benzino's career simultaneously. Arch Nemesis was the final chapter.
Benzino as a Rapper: The Core Problem
RapReviews described Benzino as a rappers who cannot rap — one of the more precise and accurate assessments in the publication's history. His flow on Arch Nemesis is consistently behind the beat, his lyrics are generic and hackneyed, and his vocal delivery is grating in a way that makes listeners physically uncomfortable. An Amazon reviewer who claimed to have purchased the album called him behind the beat on every song and compared the experience to listening to someone who had been given a rap career because of who they knew rather than what they could do. That last part, of course, was precisely the situation. RapReviews acknowledged the production from Hangmen 3 was genuinely impressive — noting that all the vocals could have been stripped off the CD and they would have enjoyed it a lot. That summary is the most charitable case for Arch Nemesis: if only Benzino were not on it, it might have been decent.
The Eminem Beef: Benzino's Greatest Professional Mistake
The Eminem-Benzino feud remains one of the most unequal contests in rap history. Eminem, at his commercial and critical peak, produced Nail in the Coffin, Bully, and numerous other tracks specifically targeting Benzino. Eminem rapped that nobody wants to hear their grandfather rap — a line that accurately identified the fundamental absurdity of Benzino's position as a middle-aged rap industry executive who insisted on being taken seriously as an MC. Benzino's response on Arch Nemesis includes Look Into My Eyes — a response to Eminem's Like Toy Soldiers — that was widely ignored because Benzino's lyrical credibility was essentially zero by the time it arrived. The album's title track Arch Nemesis is the most competent track on the record, partly because the production is strong and partly because Benzino sounds momentarily engaged. It is the album's one point of genuine credit.
Final Verdict and Rating
Arch Nemesis earns its 1/10 not because it is technically the worst-sounding music on this list, but because it represents the most complete institutional failure. A man who co-owned the most powerful publication in hip-hop criticism, who used that platform to attack one of rap's most commercially successful artists, and who ultimately lost the fight, the magazine, the credibility, and the audience — all in one sustained, self-inflicted collapse. Eminem called him the worst rapper in the world. The 10,000 people who purchased Arch Nemesis represent every person who agreed with Benzino's vision of himself. Everyone else agreed with Eminem. Final Rating: 1/10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Benzino?
Raymond Scott, known as Benzino, is a Boston-based rapper and media executive who co-founded and co-owned The Source magazine — once the most authoritative publication in hip-hop — alongside David Mays. He is most known for his multi-year feud with Eminem, which ended with Benzino losing The Source's credibility, his label deal, and his public standing in the industry.
What is the rating for Arch Nemesis?
Our rating is 1/10. One point for the Hangmen 3 production, which multiple reviewers acknowledged was genuinely decent. Everything Benzino touches on the microphone earns the album its position on this list and its place as one of rap's most instructive cautionary tales.
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