On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, veteran media tycoon and hip-hop star Benzino, along with Drake, were thrust into an unexpectedly complicated social media maelstrom after a viral post comparing a shirtless photo of the two surfaced on the Internet, sparking a flurry of tweets. The side-by-side was intended to showcase their similar appearances, but to Benzino, the version of himself was “photoshopped,” and he wasn’t about to stand for it.
“The next time you post a pic of me place me next to @drake make sure y’all don’t use a fake picture off the internet,” he exploded on social media. “I got a bunch of dope gym pics on here you can use. Keep in mind I’ll be 60 in 2 weeks so make it make sense you perverts.”
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Though some might’ve taken the comparison as a compliment, Benzino wasn’t having it, especially if it meant diminishing all the work he’s been putting in at the gym. Over the years, the former Source magazine publisher has made it clear: His fitness journey is real, and it’s personal. He frequently shares his workouts and body transformations with followers, remaining transparent about both the peaks and the valleys.
Drake, for his part, had posted a shirtless selfie to Instagram just days earlier, revealing a chiseled six-pack that fast entered the meme lexicon. While some fans accused the Toronto star of faking his abs, slamming the rapper for his alleged surgery, others seemed just to be sharing a good laugh at his photo in comparison to Benzino’s, and he didn’t take too kindly to that.
Benzino’s irritation isn’t just the result of his being compared in the first place, but, worse, his sense that his image–and his labor might be twisted and condensed. He has been vocal about a renewed commitment to fitness and that he took a six-month training sabbatical. In a 2024 interview, he discussed finding his groove in the gym again and how much it’s meant to him.
“These past few months, I’ve started going to the gym like I’ve never been before,” he said. “It feels amazing. There’s nothing that these young guys are doing that I can’t do, and that feels good.’
“Hip-Hop has been our fountain of youth, for real,” Benzino said. “We’d probably be a lot older than we present ourselves to be, without Hip-Hop.
So while the Internet may think it’s amusing to compare shirtless selfies, Benzino is, evidently, much more obsessed with being genuine, lasting, and doing it all without the filter or the imitation.
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