Benga

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Benga, real name Adegbenga Otomayomi Adejumo, is a British musician from Croydon, born in 1986 and a pioneer of dubstep production. He has Yoruba ancestors from Nigeria. Inspired by the UK garage producer Wookie, as a teenager he made music on a PlayStation and later with FruityLoops. In the record shop Big Apple in Croydon he met Skream, and together they helped shape the sound of dubstep that emerged in the early 2000s. DJ Hatcha, who worked in the shop, heard his productions, and by the age of fifteen Benga had made his first record.

Music and breakthrough

His second record was The Judgement, with Skream. Releases on Big Apple Records, Hotflush Recordings and Planet Mu followed. In 2006 he released his debut album Newstep himself. With Coki of Digital Mystikz he made Night, which in 2008 reached number 98 in the British chart. In 2007 he formed the dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man with Skream and Artwork, which released an EP in 2009 and an album in 2010. He also produced Katy on a Mission by Katy B, which reached number five in 2010. From 2011 he presented a show on BBC Radio 1 with Skream. His third album Chapter II came out in 2013 on Sony Music, with the single Forefather featuring Kano.

Influence

Benga is one of the producers who turned dubstep from an underground style in South London into a worldwide genre. In 2012 he said he no longer wanted to call his music dubstep, in order to stay creative. His work shows how a teenager with a games console could help build a new club style.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2006Invasion
• 2006Newstep
• 2008Diary of an Afro Warrior
• 2013Chapter II