Eminem Racist? KXNG CROOKED Blasts Benzino's 'Black Girls Diss' Manipulation, Rap Career Not 'Dead' Amid FAKE Rock Band Hype [WATCH]

Back in 2003, "Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta" star Benzino deemed fellow rapper Eminem a "racist." But former Death Row Records emcee KXNG CROOKED begs to differ - the renowned music producer simply maniputated the entire situation.

UPDATE: Lana Del Rey Still 'Loves' Stoner Eminem After Ray Rice Punch Threat?

Several years ago, Benzino teamed-up with The Source to release this shocking audio before Slim Shady's breakthrough fame:

But Crooked actually experienced the awkward situation firsthand, and he insists that the entire ordeal was rather shady.

In a recent interview with VladTV, the "This is the Life" emcee explains:

"When I was on Death Row Records, I was a fan of 'Em and I was rolling through [New York]... I was with Benzino and [former 'The Source' owner] Dave Mays. We made a step into this big-a$$ banquet room. Lot of media, lot of press. It was when Benzino decided to say Eminem is a racist. I stepped back like I didn't know that was going on. I was just a young guy... this sh*t was dope to me. I walked into this sh*t, didn't know what to expect. He made his announcement. He played the tape. Em said what he said on the tape. The room got quiet... It was the spearhead of that 'Eminem is a racist' sh*t, and I was a Death Row artist. Look at me now. I'm a Shady artist."

The Slaughterhouse hypeman wasn't angry, just confused and somewhat turned-off:

"I wasn't mad because I always stand for something," Crooked explains. "I felt sideswiped because I didn't know what we were doing. I started to feel manipulated. I was with a label with so much historical significance in hip-hop and you feel like these guys are even stamping what I'm saying. That was the problem. A very crucial time in hip-hop because it shows that corporations are powerful because shortly after that 'The Source' started going down."

So - would he actually consider the infamous "Rap God" a blatent racist?

"I don't think enough people that have the same voice that you have would even admit that," the 36-year-old West Coast rapper muses. "They just gonna be politically correct, but there was a lot of Black people who were like, 'No. Uh uh. I ain't doing this. Eminem, uh uh.' And then Benzino came in with the f*ckin' 'Eminem is a racist' sh*t, people ran with it. Even people in my community ran with it. I've had black men tell me, 'No Eminem.' Em was pissed... He was in a relationship with someone and he was pissed off. We might not agree with ourselves the next day, but you know what, we say things when we're pissed off. As musicians, we go into the booth and spew what's on our minds. I think the public doesn't give us the opportunity to change our minds. They say, 'You said it. It's gonna stick to you like glue.' And it's like, 'Really, that's not even too serious, man.'"

Do MstarsNews readers agree? Watch the full interview here (via HipHopDX.com):

Meanwhile, rumors surrounding Em's up-and-coming career as a rock 'n' roll enthusiast have since simmered-down on the web. The MMLP2 superstar's alleged heavy metal band "project" Detroit Riot is fake.