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The Source's credibility took a hit, but Mays persevered, hiring new writers, and at least financially, the magazine recovered and even thrived. Meanwhile, Benzino re-formed the Almighty RSO into Made Men and continued getting favorable coverage from The Source--despite being dropped by several record labels. In 2001 Benzino was added to The Source's masthead as a co-owner, though he admits he has never invested in the magazine. Last January, Benzino released an album, Redemption, in which he threatened to kill Eminem's daughter and accused Eminem of ripping off black culture, calling him "the rap Hitler, the culture stealer." At the same time, The Source published an essay titled "The Unbearable Whiteness of Emceeing: What the Eminence of Eminem Says About Race" and ran a pullout poster of Benzino holding up Eminem's severed head. Eminem took the bait and responded with The Sauce, rhyming, "No more Source for street cred/Them days is dead/Ray's got AKs to Dave Mays' head."
A Source staffer says, "It's insane for a rap magazine to antagonize the No. 1 rapper the way we have. I can't believe Dave would be doing this if Benzino wasn't in his ear all the time." Mays says, "We're in a no-win situation with conflict of interest, but what do you want me to do about it? Benzino is like a brother, and I'm not going to stop being with him." The war with Eminem has had real costs. Interscope Records--home of Eminem, 50 Cent and Dr. Dre--has pulled its ads from the magazine, and Mays concedes that the past year has been "very tough financially." But The Source's long-term problem is not money but credibility. Unearthing the Eminem "black girls" tape required journalistic initiative, and Eminem's rise has had real consequences for hip-hop. "This is a huge story," says Mays. But David Mays is probably the wrong man to tell it.