Not long ago, Fat Joe made claims that “gentrification” was behind the cancellation of the BET Hip Hop Awards; however, Benzino disagrees.

Benzino was enjoying some relaxation and was on Instagram Live, seemingly in a hot tub. He shared his thoughts on the situation there. According to the former Source magazine co-owner, there’s only one reason why the iconic live show was removed from the air: low ratings.

In fact, Benzino believes that Fat Joe’s stint as the award show’s host significantly contributed to the show’s low ratings in recent years. Benzino argues that if gentrification were the true cause, the “Lean Back” rapper would have been part of the gentrification he claims the network is responsible for.

“Why Fat Joe said it’s gentrification, after they let his a** host the awards two years earlier?” Benzino said in the IG Live video. “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 Calls BET Cuts ‘Gentrification’ Of Black Culture

On a recent episode of Joe and Jada, the two legends discussed the cancellation of the BET Hip-Hop Awards and the Soul Train Awards. They also questioned what it means for Black culture in entertainment.

Fat Joe described the situation bluntly, “This is a form of gentrification, what’s going on. I don’t know if you really want to ask me about this s**t,” he said. Reflecting on BET’s history, he noted that it began as a space dedicated to Black audiences. It was later sold by founder Bob Johnson to Viacom Paramount.

According to him, the shift in ownership brought quiet but consistent staff cuts, especially targeting those who voiced concerns. The Bronx rapper recalled working on the BET Hip-Hop Awards for three years and watching the event’s resources dwindle. “S**t was like the budget, not for me, but the budget just kept getting chopped and chopped and chopped.”