Pascal is a huge fan of rapper/producer Benini and decided to share his passion for Benini’s music with you via HiphopKR’s Artist Spotlight. Read on and discover the surprisingly great number of famous artists Benini has worked with.
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Hello
My name is Pascal. I’m a 24-year-old guy who lives in France. I was originally a K-Pop listener but gradually became more and more interested in Khiphop. Tablo and Epik High were the principal cause of this interest at the beginning. But I quickly discovered many other artists.
The artist I want to introduce is
Benini
who began under the name of Chillin Monster and also carried the name of Urban Boy. I don’t remember how exactly I discovered him, but it was through his first full-length album ‘Flower‘. Maybe it was the artwork for the cover (created by Almond) or the impressive list of featured artists on the album. The thing that immediately caught my eyes was that he was a self-produced artist and that the quality of the album was really good nevertheless. ‘Flower‘ features G-Slow, Rico, B-Free, illinit, Nami, Jerry.k, Young Jay, Mr.Gordo (Dok2‘s brother), and A June & J Beat.
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His real name is DaeKwang Kim (김대광), he comes from Ulsan but currently lives in Seoul. He was born on September 12, 1988 and officially debuted as Chillin Monster on January 23, 2013 with the single ‘겨울을 느끼다’ (lit.: feeling winter). His first album ‘Flower’ was released one year later, in January 2014. After this album he changed his stage name to Urban Boy due to a shift in his music style. He released two mini albums and many singles under this name and changed his name again to Benini.
He released his second full-length album ‘Jaqen H’ghar‘ (name of a Game of Thrones character) in 2016.
Urban Boy was the supporting rapper for famous rocker Kim Kyung-ho during his nation-wide tour in 2012 and also raps for the indie band ‘Extra Garlic Sauce‘. Chillin Monster was part of nine-member crew Birthday Records who released the singles ‘I’m Not a Gay‘ (sad story about a man who’s never had a girlfriend) and ‘Dutch Pay‘ in 2012.
His songs are often based on his personal life. During his career, he tested different genres. He is also a producer, having produced songs for Crucial Star (‘The Youngest Son‘, ‘Earphone Boy‘) and Still PM (‘Blame On Me‘). From time to time he uploads instrumental tracks to his SoundCloud channel.
It’s this diversity that got me hooked. He is a versatile artist and I want to share some songs with you that show this.
Chillin Monster Era
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‘I Don’t Know You‘ is a breakup song with a prominent piano melody and features Mr.Gordo.
‘Body Ride‘ is a pop track about a man who pretends to love a woman but only wants her body.
Urban Boy Era
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‘Judy‘ was the first part of Urban Boy’s monthly single project ‘Urban Project’. This is the type of song where autotune doesn’t bother me, it suits the song pretty well. I’ve listened to it at least a hundred times.
[x_button shape=”square” size=”small” float=”none” href=”https://hiphopkr.com/translated_lyrics/urban-boy-judy/” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Translated Lyrics of “Urban Boy – Judy”[/x_button]
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I wanted to share other songs with you but I didn’t find them on YouTube/SoundCloud. Yet, I really like ‘Broken Down’ and strongly recommend you preview it on iTunes or a Korean music portal (like Mnet).
Benini Era
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‘You & You‘ off his second album ‘Jaqen H’ghar‘. The whole album deserve a listen, go check it out!
‘Mama‘, a really beautiful instrumental track, certainly dedicated to his mother. It was inspired by Chilly Gonzales’ piano playing.
Last but not least, if you’d like to see videos of Benini, check out the music video for Chillin Monster’s ‘패자들의 도시’ (The City of Losers) as well as a live performance of the track together with Spree-P.
Applause to Pascal who was very enthusiastic about writing this article and sincerely wishes for more people to become fans of Benini, just like him.
Do you feel the same about an artist of the Khiphop/R&B scene? No matter if producer, rapper, DJ, designer, active or inactive, 1st generation or rookie? And you think the artist is not getting the recognition and attention they deserve, or fans just don’t know much about them? This is your chance to support your favorite artist! Tell us about you and the artist you’d like to write about.
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It doesn’t matter if you haven’t written an article before or if you’re not confident of your English skills, we will do our very best to support you if necessary. It is up to you if Artist Spotlight continues as a series or not – don’t let anything hold you back from showing your love!
(Please note that more famous artists like Dok2 would not match this series’ concept as everyone already knows them. If you are unsure whether the artist you’d like to write about fits the concept, do send us an e-mail anyway!)