Benzino Blasts Fat Joe Over BET Awards Ratings and “Gentrification” Comments
Benzino has taken aim at Fat Joe after the Bronx rapper blamed “gentrification” for BET’s decision to cancel the Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards. The former Source editor-in-chief accused Joe of ignoring his own role in the shows’ ratings decline.
Speaking on Instagram Live, Benzino questioned Joe’s credibility on the matter. “Why Fat Joe said it’s gentrification, after they let his ass host the awards two years earlier?” Benzino said. “The ratings were the worst ever after he hosted it. Was it gentrification when you was hosting it, Joey? Stop, man. Joe, you’re putting out too much misinformation on the internet, bro. You gotta do better, man.”
Fat Joe recently addressed the cancellations on his Joe and Jada podcast with Jadakiss. He said BET’s struggles are tied to its move away from Black ownership and culture. He also pointed to budget cuts and staff layoffs as factors. “Little by little over the years, quietly, they’ve been firing a lot of people behind the scenes in BET and everybody who has something to say, they’ve been firing them,” Joe said. “The budget, not for me, but the budget just kept getting chopped and chopped and chopped.”
The ratings data tell a stark story. In 2022, the BET Hip-Hop Awards, hosted by Fat Joe, drew around 708,000 viewers. In 2023, that number dropped to 657,000. By 2024, viewership plummeted to just 333,000, less than half of what it was two years earlier. While it would be unfair to blame Joe alone for the decline, Benzino argued that his presence did nothing to help reverse the trend.
The BET Hip-Hop Awards were once a key fixture in hip-hop culture, showcasing cyphers, performances, and moments that fueled conversation for weeks. However, critics say the network’s leadership has lost touch with what resonates in the culture. Changes to BET’s business strategy, including reduced investment in its flagship events, have also contributed to the decline.
BET has said it plans to “reimagine” both the Hip-Hop Awards and the Soul Train Awards, with the possibility of bringing them back in 2026. Whether that revival will restore their cultural relevance remains to be seen.
