* En anglais uniquement
One of the major names in the world of dubstep, producer
Benga was born
Beni Uthman in East London. His parents eventually moved to the suburb of Croydon, where a young
Benga would fiddle with his radio every night, looking for pirate radio stations and taking in all sorts of fringe music. He first began making tracks on his PlayStation game system, then graduated to digital audio workstation Fruity Loops when his parents bought him a computer. Hearing the dark work of 2-step producer
Wookie inspired him to join part of the grime/garage scene that would eventually evolve into dubstep. Hanging out at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon introduced him to fellow dubstep producer
Skream. When the store began its own label,
Benga released his debut 12", "Skank," in late 2002. A co-production with
Skream called "The Judgement" appeared on Big Apple in early 2003, and then
Benga began his own label -- Benga Beats -- and released the three-track 12" Benga Beats, Vol. 1 in 2004. A couple 12"s for the
Planet Mu label landed before Benga Beats released his full-length debut, Newstep, in 2006. By now radio DJs and tastemakers like Mary Anne Hobbs and
François K were singing his praises, putting
Benga in the company of dubstep's favorite,
Burial. In 2007 he moved to the Tempa label and issued the singles "Crunked Up" and "Night," the latter a collaboration with
Coki. Both tracks ended up on his 2008 album,
Diary of an Afro Warrior. While he issued several 12" releases and mixtapes and played live for the next five years,
Benga's next album didn't appear until the winter of 2013; it was appropriately titled Chapter II. ~ David Jeffries