Coi Leray's Parents Are in a Decade-Long Feud – All We Know about the Rapper's Scandalous Father Benzino

In her rise to stardom, Coi Leray has been candid about her upbringing, speaking about her parents' influence on her career. However, as recent years have shown, the young hip-hop artist appears to share a loving bond only with her mother. Her father is a different story.

Coi Leray grew up in New Jersey, surrounded by a family that loved music. Her mom was especially into Caribbean and Jamaican music. She would sometimes sit in her car and tune into a radio station that played the genre every Sunday "just to listen," as Leray recalled.

However, she also enjoyed trap music, which became one of Leray's specialties. Leray broke into the industry in 2017 with her single "G.A.N." She released her E.P., "Now or Never," with features including Fetty Wap three years later. Little about her mother's life is known, but she wasn't the singer's only influence; Leray's father was in the music business too.

In a short film for the "Artist on the Rise" program, Leray described her mom as an "alpha female," declaring that she herself inherited that trait. "What I admire is that she's strong, she's confident, she don't let nobody tell her nothing; she's dominant, she's an alpha female," Leray gushed.

Her father is a hip-hop entrepreneur and reality T.V. star, Benzino. Benzino is best known as a former rapper and co-owner of the hip-hop magazine The Source. He acquired the business after meeting with its founder, Dave Mahys, while he studied at Harvard University in 1988.

Benzino Was an Unsuccessful Rapper but Had a Successful Hip-Hop Resource

Despite a "relatively unsuccessful career" as an artist, Benzino throve as The Source's co-owner. The magazine's success catapulted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, launching its own Awards show in 1999. Benzino joined the company in 1988 but was called to resign amid his feud with the father of three and longtime rapper Eminem.

He returned shortly after it dissipated, but The Source went bankrupt in 2006. Two years later, an entertainment lawyer, L. Londell McMillan, sought to revive and revamp it. It's unclear when Benzino left for good, but it's likely before McMillan entered the picture.

Due to the Divorce of Her Parents, Coi Went Through Difficult Times

Leray's parents separated when she was nine, and the "Twinnem" songstress grew up raised by her mother. After her dad left The Source, and she stayed with her mom, things changed drastically as "money wasn't flowing like how it was."

Getting by became difficult, as she and her family relied on food stamps. She also dropped out of school in 10th grade and had to find work by age 16. Yet, despite those challenges, Leray's relationship with her mom only grew stronger. The artist frequently posts sweet tributes to her, including a TikTok video where she wrote:

"I love my mom. She really is one of my biggest supporters. [...]"

Benzino's Interference and Threats toward Coi and Her Mom

In April 2022, Leray posted an exasperated tweet expressing her frustrations at Benzino, who was allegedly threatening her and her mom. She had appeared in an interview the previous day where she talked about her dad going broke following his exit from The Source. In her tweet, she said:

Seemingly in response, Benzino wrote, "I'm learning that the best response to an idiot is no response at all. #zinovstheplanet" Leray's tweet garnered a string of replies in support, with fans saying they were rooting for her and encouraging her to pay no mind to the drama.