Benzino was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a Cape Verdean mother and a Puerto Rican father. Along with his long time friend, David Mays, Benzino is known for being a principal of the hip hop magazine The Source, which was launched in 1988 as a single-sheet newsletter out of Mays' Harvard University dorm room.Benzino was a founding member of rap group Made Men, before finally becoming a solo artist. He has appeared on the reality television show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, since 2012. He has also datedKarlie Redd.[2]Benzino was shot on March 29, 2014, allegedly by his nephew, in the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts at his mother's funeral.[3]Feud with Eminem[edit]Benzino is known for being involved, since 2002, in a widely publicized feud with rapper Eminem as Benzino called him "2003 Vanilla Ice".[4] Since then the pair have been creating diss tracks about each other, including Benzino's "Pull Your Skirt Up" and "Die Another Day" or Eminem's "The Sauce" and "Nail in the Coffin."[5] As a continuation of this animosity between the two, Benzino released a diss mixtape Benzino Presents: Die Another Day: Flawless Victory, disparaging Eminem and his record label.