Coi Leray attends A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop on November 08, 2023 in Inglewood, California. ; Benzino attends the 47th NAACP Image Awards on February 5, 2016 in Pasadena, California.Photo:Monica Schipper/Getty ; Jesse Grant/Getty
Monica Schipper/Getty ; Jesse Grant/Getty
Coi Leraylooks back on her childhood fondly.
As the only girl in a family of six children, she grew up feeling like “one of the boys,” she told PEOPLE. “It was lit,”she said to DJ Vladof her childhood. “It was tough, but it was lit at the same time.”
Coi and her father, the former co-owner of hip-hop magazineThe Source, have gone through their share of public ups and downs throughout her career, with the pair alternately expressing love for one another and trading barbs on social media.
The two have recently appeared to patch things up, with Benzino showing support for Coi during her set at Rolling Loud Miami 2023.
From her upbringing with her mom to following in her dad’s musical footsteps, here’s everything to know about Coi Leray’s parents.
Benzino rose to fame as a rapper in the 1980s
Benzino performs at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois in March 2003.Raymond Boyd/Getty
Raymond Boyd/Getty
He and a few former Almighty RSO members later created another rap group called Made Men. In 2001, he released his debut solo album,The Benzino Project,with Motown and ZNO Records.
Benzino co-ownedThe Source
Benzion opened up about the magazine’s reputation on theDrink Champspodcast in 2020, saying, “Dysfunctional as it may have seemed, the relationship between me and Dave and how it was kind of madeThe Sourcewhat it was. Dave being from college, I’m being from the streets, it just came from two perspectives, and that’s how we ran the magazine.”
Most recently, in 2023, he reflected on his actions as a boss during a conversation on theMy Expert Opinionpodcast. “I had to learn and grow,” he said. “I wasn’t right. And that’s not the way to be.”
Benzino and Coi’s mother were together for 9 years
Benzino attends “The Next 15” Atlanta screening on February 10, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia.Paras Griffin/Getty
Paras Griffin/Getty
The former couple were together for about a decade before splitting in the mid-2000s, on the heels of Benzino’s forced exit fromThe Source. They welcomed two children together, Coi and her brother Taj. Coi’s mother already had two sons from a previous relationship, while Benzino also had one son (and later welcomed another in 2015 with Althea Heart).
After their separation, the pair worked hard to co-parent their kids, Benzino said on Hollywood Unlocked’sGagging with Jason Leepodcast.
“I think me and Coi’s mother might have been together for about 9, 10 years, and after we broke up [Coi] still flew to me every Christmas, every summer, every spring, every birthday, I didn’t miss it,” he said, adding that he always strived to be there for his family.
Coi’s mother worked as a bartender to support her kids
After her parents split, Coi’s mom primarily raised her and her brothers on her own in New Jersey. While the family had previously enjoyed a more lavish lifestyle, they had to adjust to a new normal after Benzino’s exit fromThe Source.
“When I was nine [I] really started understanding things. Money wasn’t flowing how it was [before], so when I moved in with my mom things were different,” she told DJ Vlad.
The “Self Love” singer revealed her family relied on food stamps, and she ultimately dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to pursue work full-time. “It also humbled me,” she shared.
The family’s financial status change was a major shift for everyone, Coi told DJ Vlad, admitting that her mother struggled.
“She was a bartender, she started bartending,” she said. “To adapt from that lifestyle to the new one, everybody had to get uncomfortable. It was about building back up,” she explained, adding that the entire family worked hard to support themselves.
“We wasn’t close to where we started, but everybody was working," she said. “My mom was working, my brothers were hustling, I got a job as soon as I could. I worked at any job – A&P supermarket, Dunkin’ Donuts, Palermo’s Bakery, pizza shops.”
Coi’s mother has always been supportive of her career
Coi Leray performs onstage during Day 2 of the Afro Nation Detroit Festival on August 20, 2023.Aaron J. Thornton/Getty
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty
Coi’s path to stardom has been unique, with the rapper first dropping out of high school at age 16 to pursue a sales job.
When the singer approached her mother with the idea, she was immediately supportive, Coi told DJ Vlad, explaining that she started making enough money to support herself.
”That decision “made me the person I am today, and it helped me become a young woman,” said the Grammy-nominated artist, who got her own apartment and car as a teenager and worked for Yellowstone Capital.
Her father is a reality star
Benzino attends the Atlanta private screening of “Mixed Girl” on May 04, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.Paras Griffin/Getty
He continued his time on the small screen withMarriage Boot Camp: Reality Starsin 2015, joining the season 4 cast. While on the show, he proposed to singer Althea Heart, with whom he later welcomed a son, Zino, in 2016.
Coi’s mother stays out of the spotlight
Coi Leray’s mother and nephew.Coi Leray X
Coi Leray X
While Coi and her father have pursued careers in the spotlight, Coi’s mother has opted to keep the details of her life private. Neither Coi nor Benzino have publicly shared her name, and she’s only made rare appearances on the “Bops” singer’s social media.
Coi and her dad have had a turbulent relationship
Coi and her dad have had several public spats that have played out on social media, starting in 2021.
At the time, she shaded him in the lyrics of her song, “No More Parties,” rapping, “My daddy let me down, but I promise you, I won’t let up / I wanna say f— that man but the s— won’t make me better.”
It sparked a back-and-forth between them online, which both parties have since admitted they aren’t proud of.
“I’ve been called all kinds of s—, but a deadbeat dad? Come on, man,” Benzino said. “I love my daughter. … I don’t want to be known as that. I don’t care what people think, but that hurt me. That’s my daughter, I raised her."
He continued, “When people say I hate on Coi’s career and jealous and all this, that s— is like, evil. Because my love is huge for that little girl.That’s my little girl.”
Benzino said seeing Coi perform live for the first time was “surreal”
Coi Leray performs onstage during day 2 at Rolling Loud Miami 2021 on July 24, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida.Jason Koerner/Getty
Jason Koerner/Getty
Benzino showed his support for Coi at her Rolling Loud Miami 2023 set, and afterward, she revealed inan interviewthat it was the first time he’d ever seen her perform.
Benzio said it was a “surreal" moment. “I love her. Seeing her like that … You can say I’m biased, but honestly, like, I don’t see nobody else doing that. She’s amazing, man," he added.
When asked what it meant to him to see her perform, Coi jumped in and shared that she was following in his footsteps. “It means that I’m carrying this hip hop s—, this legacy s—,” she explained.
She hopes to patch things up with her dad
In a wide-ranging interview with PEOPLE, Coi opened up about some of her biggest inspirations, noting thatRihanna’s public struggles with her father have encouraged her to address her relationship with Benzino.
“I’ll tell you something personal, right? And this is probably the first time I’ve ever said this, but one thing Rihanna had said wasshe had forgave her father. And when she forgave her father, it changed her life. And ever since she did that, it helped their relationship,” she said, adding that she hopes to reach the same place with her father one day.
Coi continued, “And me being younger, me being the one that looks up to her,being able to see that motivates meto one day, hopefully … on a personal level with me and my people, we come to those circumstances.”
source: people.com
