Ben FM – Q&A Interview
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get your stage name BenFM?
Born and raised in the backwards ass state of Virginia is for lovers, started recording and performing in like late nineties. The Ben comes from my paternal grandmother’s father. The FM is meant to invoke a sense of wide-reaching clarity. No static at all.
Give us your background info on how you got involved with Gritty City?
My rap/life mentor/example was a dude named Chadwick/Chadrach. He led a group called Divine Profitz which included Fan Ran. When Chad passed a few years back, I basically ended up following Ran over to Gritty City. On some legacy type shit. Jono’s work ethic, down to earth outlook, and grassroots strategy sealed the deal.
Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs?
Stylewise I embrace all forms of rap. I wanna sound like everything as much as possible. The main influence on my flow is whatever beat I’m writing to. That’s how the great ones do it haha. What makes me different is my heartfelt message of universal love and to some extent the level of content vs filler. My songs say something. They’re about something. Really listen to my shit and you might just grow as a person(LOL).
Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?
I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with Divine Profitz, Murk One/Deadlites, Hot Chicken, Swerve36, Poe Mack, Spark Vader, Devious Kanevil, SouthSideDidIt, Dank D, and of course everybody at GCR. My dream collabs would be with people like Biz Markee, Brother Ali, Beck, Janelle Monae, Andrew WK, Bobby McFerrin, Black Thought, Weird Al, Dej Loaf, and Prince.
Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Independent production and distribution. If a corporation even breathes on your shit, you’ve already crossed over… Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production? And who would you like to work with?
I still use a lot of Wick’s shit. I also get beats from Fan Ran, Profound79/AshFromClass, Boar Magneton, Bobby LaBeat, Ant The Symbol, Loop Merchant, Imagination Society, Lord Slugg, and Antagonist just to name a few. I’ll even loop up a lil sumthin myself every now and then. If I won the lottery I’d scoop beats from Timbaland, Pete Rock, Jel, Polow Da Don, Thundercat, The Bomb Squad, Kanye, Blockhead, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Madlib, Fat Jack, David Banner, and Rick Rubin.
Any current or future projects you are promoting?
The mixtape “WorldPeaceMotherfuckers” is still bubblin. Lots of features on that. My latest joint is “Ben FM Comes Alive!” That’s a LIVE album folks. Also got a yet-to-be-named EP with Imagination Society that should be out this fall. Been workin on a lot of posse cuts with them Gritty City boys too.
Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of COMES ALIVE!? Also/ tell us a little bit about the concept and idea behind your Album/Mixtape Cover Art.
I was blessed with an invitation to do a short tour with Gull around VA and up to NYC earlier this year. Wasn’t able to bring a DJ so I was gonna just play the beats out my 8 track. At some point it dawned on me that all I had to do was push the other button and I’d have a live recording of my shit. I did the same set at every show, so all I had to do was pick the best version of each song. Cover art is by Brad D. He on some wild shit. He’s for me what Pushead once was for Metallica. Shyore dood.
Where can we find your music and info?
grittycityrecords.bandcamp.com
Any shout outs?
Carla, Kayla, Mumma, Everett, all my friends and family, all my WorldPeaceMotherfuckers, everybody at GCR, all rap musicians everywhere, the Dalai Lama, Malala Yousafzai, Bill Nye, and Prince.
