The Martha Stewarts of hip hop

"They've beaten it to a bloody pulp." With that, a South African investor walked away in from the mess that is The Source, at one time the preeminent hip-hop music magazine (and one which has several Canadian imitators).

The "they" is the investment group Black Enterprises/Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Partners that took over the magazine last January, ousting the founder, David May and his right-hand-man, Raymond "Benzino" Scott. Creditors are pushing for the magazine to be liquidated although there are some other cautious suitors.

"Whoever gets it, if me and Dave aren't involved, forget about it," says Benzino. "It's like Martha Stewart's mag without Martha. Me and Dave are the Martha Stewart of hip-hop."