Benga

Already in his fifteenth year of making music, Benga is one of the first dubstep producers from the times when the style was emerging. He wandered into Big Apple record shop where they were amused and gave the cocky teenager a shot at spinning there. That's how it all got started.

After seeing his prodigious talents, they signed him to Big Apple Records. Over the next few years, Adegbenga and his friend Oliver Jones’s creations could be heard at the shop. Since his acclaimed album Diary Of An Afro Warrior, Benga has propelled club music in many directions. There’s always bass, but he refuses to be limited by a sound or scene. Benga has done big business with subterranean basslines, evocative instrumentation and undeniable choruses, placing him in the upper echelons of producer remixers working right now. “They can call it whatever they wanna call it, I'm not afraid to say that my music is dubstep. I've always made this mental music and I made it accessible. I love to use hooks because I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, real music. That's why I made music in the first place.” He insists.

There's a perceptible difference between the oldschool tracks and the new ones, his style changed, it got a bit more electro and less dubstep, he uses more drums, vocals and synths and less bass. It's up to you, which one you prefer. If I had to choose, it would be oldschool. Funny, bright, charismatic, and like all genius musicians, a bit mad, Benga’s enigmatic personality shines both behind the decks and within his music anyway. Give him your love on his website.

Since those early days of Big Apple, Benga has worked with great artists, remixed Example and The Prodigy and performed quite literally all over the world. It’s pretty much actual fact that you need to book a day off life after experiencing a Benga set. “Crowdsurfing in the London Eye, that was a good one.” He laughs of his exuberant, energetic approach. “It was nothing we ever planned to do. It was just natural for me and Skream to get smashed before a show. I was turning up to places and people were telling me I was more rock and roll than rock and rollers.” He says.

Alongside Artwork and Skream, Benga formed Magnetic Man and signed to Sony Columbia. Their self-titled debut featured an eclectic roster of vocalists including artists like Katy B and John Legend and won the trio fans from all around the world. Now signed as a solo artist to Sony Columbia, Benga is ready to take his sound even further with his new album, Chapter 2.

Smack Your Bitch Up by Benga Midnight by Benga I Will Never Change by Benga