At age 14 the afro-haired producer went to his first club, Forward>> at London’s now defunct Velvet Rooms, the nightclub widely acknowledged for founding the bassy UK garage hybrid, dubstep. Having put in years of graft, Benga, now age 21, is a leading light in the rising global dubstep movement alongside his childhood friend, Skream. In 2008 he dropped his debut album proper for Tempa, entitled “Diary of an Afro Warrior,” after the mighty mane that sprouts from his head.
Aside from the best haircut in dubstep, Benga has a lot to be happy about. At 15 he released his debut 12” “Skank/Dose” on one of dubstep’s founding imprints, Big Apple. After early mentoring by Arthur from Artwork, Benga refined his trade working for a professional studio, linked to the biggest labels in the world. He produced for grime MCs such as Crazy Titch and Ghetto, before concentrating his output on dubstep in 2005. Since then he’s had releases on electronic stables Planet Mu and Hotflush, self-released his own CD and has become a highly respected DJ in his own right, playing throughout Europe, Australasia and America.
