00-benzino-the_antidote-2007.nfo
Benzino - The Antidote
ARTIST.....: Benzino
TITLE......: The Antidote
LABEL......: Seventh Floor Music
URL........: http://www.myspace.com/therealbenzino
RIP DATE...: Aug-16-2007
STORE DATE.: Aug-21-2007
GENRE......: Hip-Hop
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 104,9 MB
Track Listing:
01 - American Z 03:06
02 - On My Grizzy 04:25
03 - A Bad Year (Skit) 00:27
04 - Pocket Full Of Grizz 04:05
(feat. Ballgrum & One Monzta)
05 - Howuwannit (feat. Young Lo) 04:20
06 - Run Up 04:15
(feat. Young Lo, Xavier & Young Hardy)
07 - The Interview (Skit) 00:25
08 - Gameface (feat. Ja Rule & Lil Dev) 04:10
09 - Scarface (Skit) 00:16
10 - Return Of The Nemeziz 04:00
11 - Kilo & Nate (Bloodline Skit) 00:24
12 - Huztle All Day (feat. T-Drop) 03:35
13 - Rollin' (feat. Stevie J) 03:49
14 - Gotta Girl (feat. Kalena) 03:38
15 - Zexxxy 03:18
16 - Picalo (Skit) 00:12
17 - Re-Up (feat. Ballgrum, Lil Dev & Picalo) 03:46
18 - DJ Johnie B In Greece (Intro) 00:18
19 - Let It Bang 04:22
(feat. Price, Punchy & Banger)
20 - Gimme Dat (feat. Cognito & Lil Dev) 03:54
21 - If It'z About Game 04:59
(feat. Tycoon, Cognito, One Monzta & Picalo
22 - Tha Departed 03:59
(feat. Young Lo, Young Hardy & One Monzta)
23 - Armed & Dangerouz 03:20
(feat. Hennessi & Ballgrum)
24 - Ztill A Mystery 04:17
(feat. Young Lo & One Monzta)
25 - 48 Lawz Of Power (feat. Ugly & The 1st 48) 05:14
78:34 min
Release Notes:
It's been more than two years since the world has heard new music
from one of Hip Hop's most colorful and intriguing icon, Ray
Benzino. He returns this summer with The Antidote, a 19-track
album plus bonus DVD that industry insiders are comparing to The
Chronic, because of its near-flawless musical production, the way
Benzino has stepped up his lyrical flow to new levels, and the
stand-out feature performances from Benzino's new gang of young
wolves, collectively known as The 1st 48. "I believe that this is
album is just as good if not better than any of the most
anticipated albums of the year," says Benzino. Benzino's The
Antidote will hit stores August 21st.
Perhaps better known for his shady reputation than for his
accomplishments, Benzino worked in the rap industry for a decade
before going solo in 2001 with much hoopla. During the final
months of 2001, he became a regular fixture in The Source
magazine, even appearing on the cover despite being relatively
unaccomplished relative to the usual cover features. Moreover, his
album featured a spectacular array of big-name guests, everyone
from P. Diddy to producer Teddy Riley. But his album flopped,
selling less than 75,000 copies. Worse, his label, Motown, dropped
him less than four months after releasing his album. But Benzino
bounced back, but not without a tarnished reputation. Shortly
after the circus-ring hoopla surrounding his debut died down, it
came out that Benzino secretly co-owned The Source. This news
explained why the magazine endorsed him so much and perhaps why so
many rappers were quick to grant him favors (presumably in
exchange for favorable coverage in the influential publication).
Originally known as Raydog, the Boston rapper/producer (born Ray
Scott) joined the rap group Almighty RSO in the early '90s. The
group didn't attain much success, debuting on Virgin Records in
1996 with Doomsday: Forever RSO then quickly disappearing. But
Benzino remained busy as part of the production team Hangmen 3. He
also busied himself with Made Men, a trio that debuted in 1999 on
Restless. In addition to his work with Hangmen 3 and Made Men,
Benzino also befriended David Mays, the CEO of The Source, the rap
industry's leading magazine. The specifics are sketchy at best,
but somehow Benzino managed to secretly become co-owner of The
Source. Keeping this in mind, it's no coincidence that Benzino
embarked on his solo career in 2001 with much support from his
magazine: among other endorsements for his debut album, The
Benzino Project, he appeared on the cover as well as a fold-out
centerfold. However, even with the endorsements, The Benzino
Project flopped. Motown dropped the rapper after less than four
months of his album's release, citing poor sales (under 75,000
Soundscans) and requesting that the unrecouped balance (773,000
dollars) be compensated with advertising space in The Source.
Note, though, that an article published in the December 2001 issue
of GQ by Maximillian Potter may have had something to do with
Motown's decision. In the article, titled "Getting to the Source,"
Potter detailed the magazine's lack of editorial integrity,
drawing from accounts of former Source executives such as former
music editor Reginald Dennis and co-founder/CEO Mays' original
partner, John Shecter. In particular, Potter details Mays'
longtime relationship with Benzino, including brushes with the
law. The article presented a unfavorable view of both The Source
and Benzino, perhaps giving Motown yet more incentive beyond sales
to drop the troubled rapper. The master tapes to The Benzino
Project went to Surrender Records, who re-released the album as
The Benzino Remix Project in 2002. Though tagged as a "remix"
album, it differed only slightly from the original Motown release:
most notably, different versions of "Bang ta Dis," "Figadoh," and
"Boottee" that featured different guests but the same beats.
Benzino decided shortly afterward to launch a press assault on
Eminem, eventually releasing the "Pull Your Skirt Up" single,
which spouted off several insults toward the white rapper.
Targeting Eminem because of his skin color, Benzino's attack was
met with an indifferent media, although Eminem offered two strong
rebuttals in the form of underground singles. Not to be outdone,
Benzino began claiming that the track was a response to racism in
America, and started claiming it was the machine he was railing
against, not Eminem. But mere weeks after stepping away from these
claims, he released another single entitled "Die Another Day,"
where he called D-12 "house niggas," compares Eminem to David Duke
and Hitler; compared himself to Malcolm X; warned Eminem's
daughter that she might end up dead; and then chastised other
rappers for battling with one another.
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