What do you want people to hear when they listen to your music?
“Basically, my pain. My struggles, the stuff I go through. Respect me. Respect what I’m saying. You don’t have to like it, just respect it.”
Just what his pain and struggles are, can be a bit hard to get out of him. Ben is very low-key. At 20 years old, Ben is still discovering his voice and style. One thing that’s remained with him has been his love for rapping. The first time he remembers expressing a desire to rap was around 5 years old at Church. The children were invited on stage and were asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” He remembers saying “I want to be a rapper.”
“The way I rap? I don’t hear too many people out here rapping like that. I hear everyone talking about the same thing. I ain’t saying I’m gunna be the one who makes a change. I just feel like if everyone is talking about the same thing? They’re gunna get the same results.”
What is everyone talking about?
“Guns, popping pills. I’m not saying any of that is bad. I’m not talking down on them, because that’s the way they live.”
He’s a young, refreshing voice in the world of New Orleans Hip-Hop. His marketing strategy is focused on grassroots, word of mouth spread. He has business cards he keeps with him at all times, “I keep some with me, you never know. I keep them on me and pass them out to as many people as I can.” His music videos are relaxingly simple – they feature him by himself walking down the block, rapping. No cars, girls, or guns.
In his own words, his music is about “grinding, hustling, and trying to get moms out the struggle.”
Ben released his first song on Soundcloud at 15. His beat choice has remained a slower, melodic old school sound – forgoing the typical trap sounds. What’s changed in his 5 years of music is his music has become lighter and more relatable lyrically which is better suited for casual listening. The beats are crisper, there’s higher-quality production, and the subject matter is condensed. He strikes a good balance between emotional revealing and listenability. While his newer music doesn’t mention as explicitly his struggles growing up – “worry about myself fuck those other guys / wasn’t nobody around when we didn’t have no lights / no family to check if we good … no more days in my room all alone I cry” (“Where I Been” 2017), he still drops references to a troubled upbringing.
“I’m still talking about the same stuff, I just matured a little bit.” Common themes in his music include an emphasis on self-reliance, making money, and getting through the “crab-in-a-bucket type shit.” He’s young, but his music shows an impressive maturity, allowing the listener into his world and his worries – providing for his mom, getting enough money to relocate. In his own words, “don’t care too much about partying / I’d rather spit the heat” (“Let Me Vent.”) This sincerity has allowed him to begin building a fanbase. His song “Let Me Vent” has racked up a little over 8,000 streams on Spotify.
Where would you like to be five years from now?
“That’s a hard question. Financially stable. You never know how life works, that’s a hard question.” With a little more prodding, he expands on this: “I wanna be out the hood, from around here.”
“And with your music?”
“I’m trying to be on tour somewhere, or getting to it,” he laughs. “I ain’t gunna lie.”
Highlights from his catalogue include:
“Where I Been,” an emotional narrative over a minimal beat. The first part lamenting his lack of close family and friends. His second verse brings up his dreams of buying his mom a house or moving overseas. “Always wonder will it come true? / Asking myself will it come true / I just gotta believe.”
“Can’t Let Up,” a good showcase of his rapping ability. “Put my soul inside these raps I hope it makes me a killing … with my raps I hope it take me across the coast.”
Ben Blunt – Dollar$$$ – Catchy hook
Follow Ben on Instagram, he’ll be releasing some more music videos soon. Follow me as well.
No Chauvinists 