Hip Hop Industry Figure Benzino Hospitalised After Funeral Shooting

Renowned hip hop figure Benzino is in stable condition in a Massachusetts hospital after being shot by his nephew Gai Scott during a funeral procession for Benzino's mother at the weekend.

Benzino, real name Raymond Scott, is a rapper, producer, former executive at influential hip hop magazine The Source and current CEO of Hip Hop Weekly and star of VH1 reality TV series Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta.

His current magazine Hip Hop Weekly posted the following statement about the shooting on their website.

“We all know that Benzino was in Boston to bury his mother and during the funeral procession, he was shot in his arm and grazed by a bullet on his back when his nephew, Gai Scott,(36) opened fire on him from his car, into the car Benzino was driving. Right now, he's in stable condition now at South Shore hospital in Weymouth MA.

“His fiance Thi Thi, Stevie J, his partner and long-time friend Dave Mays are all by his side. More details about this unfortunate incident will be reported here as it develops.”

A highly influential figure in the world of hip hop for many years, Benzino's notoriety hit new heights when he dissed Eminem in the 2003 track Pull Your Skirt Up.

This track ignited a lengthy beef between the two, prompting one of Eminem's most famous diss tracks, The Sauce.

The issue with Benzino is one of the conflicts that Eminem addresses, and tries to end, in his 2005 hit Like Toy Soldiers.