Producer and songwriter Benny Blanco revealed some of his GOAT choices to Complex, awith Eminem making the shortlist.
Hard choice
GOAT Talk is a Complex YouTube show where two celebrities answer cards, choosing their top picks in any given category. This time, the pairing was unexpected. One of the most decorated and prolific songwriters, Benny Blanco, shared the table with comedian/rapper Lil Dicky. Lil Dicky took the question seriously, proclaiming, when asked about the GOAT rapper, “the child in me says Kanye, the man in me says Drake”.
Benny listened for that answer with a straight face before giving his choice: “The answer is Lil Wayne, or maybe Eminem, or maybe André. Or 2Pac”. Even if indecisive, Benny knows his hip hop.
Long path to collaboration
Benny also knows what it takes to work with Eminem. Recently, he received a production credit on “Somebody Save Me” feat. Jelly Roll from The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce). Benny worked on the track together with a veteran producer Emile Haynie, whose range from Kanye West to Lana del Ray and who has previously worked on songs for Revival (2017), The Marshall Mathers LP (2012), Kamikaze (2019), and Recovery (2010).
However, he has been circling Marshall for years. The first time their paths crossed was when Eminem recorded a song to a beat Benny passed to Paul Rosenberg. It never came out, though, because nobody let Benny’s team know that Em was considering the beat. Eventually, Rihanna recorded it as “Diamonds”.
After that, Benny’s credit appeared on “Lace It” feat. Eminem, the 2023 lead single from Juice WRLD’s posthumous album The Party Never Ends. On the day of its release, Benny left a heartfelt letter to Juice WRLD, with whom he worked from his very first album. He also included a message for Eminem:
Marshall i dont even know where to start… i remember exactly where i was the first time i saw the video for “my name is” it stopped me in tracks… i knew in that very moment that i had to make music and that i was gonna dedicate my entire life to it… u paved the way for people to b different and not feel weird about being an outcast.
Considering the influence Eminem had on him, choosing him as GOAT rapper makes perfect sense.