Benzino Claims Fat Joe Played a Role in Lowering the BET Hip-Hop Awards Ratings

Benzino recently aimed at Fat Joe after the Bronx rapper blamed “gentrification” for BET canceling both the Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards. Benzino, however, believes Joe is ignoring what he sees as the rapper’s role in the shows’ declining ratings.

The former Source editor-in-chief didn’t hold back while criticizing Joe for speaking on BET’s internal decisions. According to Benzino, Joe’s run as host did nothing to boost viewership.

“Why did Fat Joe say it’s gentrification, after they let his ass host the awards two years earlier?” Benzino said during an Instagram Live session. “The ratings were the worst ever after he hosted it. Was it gentrification when you were hosting it, Joey? Stop, man. Joe, you’re putting out too much misinformation on the internet, bro. You gotta do better, man.”

Fat Joe, for his part, has claimed that BET’s struggles are linked to the network’s move away from Black ownership and culture. He’s described the cancellation of the award shows as “a form of gentrification,” while also alleging that the network has been cutting budgets and quietly letting staff go.

“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 explained on his Joe and Jada podcast with  Jadakiss. “The budget, not for me, but the budget just kept getting chopped and chopped and chopped.”

Benzino, Fat Joe, BET Awards

The BET Hip-Hop Awards have been experiencing a steady decline in ratings over the last three years. Interestingly, Fat Joe has hosted all three broadcasts during that time. In 2022, the ceremony drew about 708,000 viewers.

By 2023, that number fell to 657,000, and in 2024, it dropped to just 333,000 — less than half of what it was two years prior. While it would be a stretch to say Joe alone is responsible for such a drop, Benzino argues that his hosting stint certainly didn’t help the situation.

For more than a decade, the BET Hip-Hop Awards served as an important cultural event. But in recent years, a lack of awareness about what’s current and relevant, along with changes in the network’s business strategy, has hurt the show’s appeal. BET has announced plans to “reimagine” both the Hip-Hop Awards and the Soul Train Awards, with the possibility of bringing them back in 2026.