Coi Leray's Candid Reflections on Childhood and Family Struggles

Coi Leray is one of the hot young rappers currently lighting up the hip-hop scene. However, in the recent past, family feuds with her father Benzino seem to have taken center stage, diverting attention from her music.

As the rapper’s father, Benzino introduced her to hip-hop — even giving her a platform (his YouTube channel) to make her first debut in the genre at the tender age of 14. But, a recent spat is threatening to tear down any progress that the two have made in their shaky relationship.

Leray is the daughter of Benzino – the former co-owner of The Source magazine. The “No More Parties” rapper is the only female child in her family. In a 2019 interview with Paper Magazine, Leray opened up about her early life. In the interview, she states, “I called myself Hannah Montana.” This was because she felt that she enjoyed the best of both worlds, having been born in the music industry. In the same sitting, she revealed that her parents split up as soon as Benzino exited the rap scene and ownership of The Source. She continued by stating, “I was raised by my brothers and my mom.”

Leray has five brothers. Four of them live public lives, while very little is known about the fifth brother. The siblings remain on good terms with each other as well as their mother.

According to a 2021 interview on VLADTV, the rapper said that even though life was good at the start, things got dicey when her parents split up. The young rapper paints a grim picture, stating that food stamps became the norm when she moved in with her mother. The “Players” rapper also adds that she had to drop out of school in the 10th grade and start working at the age of 16.

In another interview on the IRL podcast hosted by Angie Martinez, the popular artist said that her mother had to engage in the drug trade, “cooking up nickels and dimes” to feed her family. Leray also added that they had to sleep in cars on many occasions as a result of their dire financial situation.

Leray’s account of her past was met with a quick scathing response from her father. On his part, the “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” star disputed the claims on social media almost immediately. In an Instagram live session, the former rapper argued that he had never heard of his children spending the night in any cars. This initial exchange seems to have kicked off something more serious.

Appearing fed up with her father’s tendency to counter every claim she makes about her difficult childhood, Leray took to Instagram to issue her response. In the live session, she stated, “I don’t have to get on here and lie about struggle.” The rapper concluded by saying that she wished that her engagements with her father would be more respectful and kept out of social media because they were still family.