Jarren Benton

Jarren Giovanni Benton (born October 26, 1981), is an American rapper from Decatur, Georgia.[2]

Jarren Benton
Benton performing in 2017
Benton performing in 2017
Background information
Birth nameJarren Giovanni Benton
Born (1981-10-26) October 26, 1981
Decatur, Georgia, U.S.[1]
OriginDecatur, Georgia, U.S.
GenresHip Hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2004–present
Labels
Websiteiamjarrenbenton.com

In early 2012, he signed to rapper Hopsin's independent record label Funk Volume and released a mixtape titled, Freebasing with Kevin Bacon in June 2012.[3] A year later, on June 11, 2013, he released his debut studio album, My Grandma's Basement, which received positive critical reviews and debuted at number 152 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4] After Funk Volume split up, Benton found himself between labels until 2018 when he was signed to Roc Nation, founded by Jay-Z in 2008.[5]

Early life

From his early youth, Benton aspired to be a rapper. He told XXL, "I started trying to rap pretty young and the shit was kind of whack and then I got a little older and I started going around Atlanta performing at certain showcases. I got a little name for myself, but it was kind of hard in Atlanta, just due to the type of music that comes from there, which is you know, typical down south shit."[6] He credits his musical influences as OutKast, Goodie Mob, Dr. Dre, Ludacris, EL-P, Busta Rhymes, Sean Price, Redman, Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, Ras Kass, Nine Inch Nails, Chino XL, Deftones, and Marilyn Manson.[7][8][9]

Musical career

2009–2012: Mixtapes and signing with Funk Volume

On August 5, 2009, Benton released his first official mixtape titled, Jarren Benton: The Mixtape, produced entirely by The Beatgods.[10] On January 25, 2011, Benton released a collaboration mixtape with producer SMKA.[11] The mixtape titled Huffing Glue With Hasselhoff was supported by the lead single "Get a Load of Me".[12] He soon begun to gain attention after the release of his song "Skitzo".[13] American underground rapper Hopsin would watch the music video, and passed it on to Funk Volume CEO Dame Ritter. Ritter would contact Benton a few months later and then in May 2012, Hopsin and Ritter signed Benton to their Funk Volume record label.

He had previously been courted by industry heavyweights such as Erick Sermon and No ID for major label record deals, with labels such as Def Jam Recordings and Interscope Records, however he chose to sign with the independent record label Funk Volume.[14] His first project on Funk Volume, a mixtape titled Freebasing with Kevin Bacon would be released on June 28, 2012. The mixtape featured guest appearances from Dizzy Wright, Rittz, Freeway, Gangsta Boo, Jon Connor, and Planet VI among others.[15]

2012–2015: My Grandma's Basement and Slow Motion
Main article: My Grandma's Basement

In late 2012 he toured internationally with Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, SwizZz and DJ Hoppa for two-months, which included 54 shows in 60 days in the United States, Europe, and Australia.[16] He explained his mindset going into his debut album saying, "This album has a different vibe. It's a lot more personal stuff so people can learn who Jarren is." He also said it will feature a more refined production sound that translates more to his ambitions of being a household name.[1] On June 11, 2013, Benton would release his debut studio album, My Grandma's Basement, on Funk Volume. The album featured guest appearances by Dizzy Wright, Hopsin, R.A. the Rugged Man, Vinnie Paz and SwizZz.[17] My Grandma's Basement debuted and peaked at number 152 on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.[4][18] He released music videos for multiple songs including "Go Off", "Life In the Jungle" and "We On (My Own Dick)" among others.[19]

On August 2, 2013, R.A. the Rugged Man released the remix to his song "Underground Hitz" featuring Hopsin and Benton.[20] From August 1–19, 2013, Benton toured the United States on the Grandma's Basement Tour, his first solo headlining tour.[21] Then, Benton went on "The Life And Times Tour" with Strange Music rapper Rittz and Atlantic Records rapper Snow Tha Product, the tour went from October 31 to December 8, 2013. Benton also featured on Hopsin's third studio album Knock Madness, on the song "Who's There" with Funk Volume label mate Dizzy Wright. Benton received the most fan-votes votes, earning a spot on the 2014 XXL freshman class and was named the "People's Champ".[22] He was the oldest rapper that had ever been selected to the list at 32.[23] From April 9 to June 28, 2014, Benton was touring with Tech N9ne, Freddie Gibbs and Krizz Kaliko on the Independent Grind Tour 2014.[24][25] On January 27, 2015, Benton released his debut extended play, "Slow Motion" named after an old friend and fellow rapper who had recently died at the time. The EP debuted and peaked at number 168 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4]

2016–2017: Slow Motion, Vol. 2 and The Mink Coat Killa
Main article: The Mink Coat Killa

On July 22, 2016, Benton released his second studio album, and his first one under his newfound independent record label Benton Enterprises, Slow Motion, Vol. 2, the sequel to his 2015 EP, Slow Motion.[26] On June 23, 2017, Benton released his third studio album titled, "The Mink Coat Killa", and supported by two singles from the album "C.R.E.A.M. 17" featuring Nick Grant being released on June 1, and "Again" featuring Aleon Craft being released on June 19, from the album. Initially, Benton stated that this project was intended to be a Wu-Tang Clan tribute project, the title of the project being a reference to his Wu-Tang name "The Mink Coat Killa."[27]

2018–present: One Week Notice and Yuck Fou

On January 5, 2018, Benton, with the record label StillMovin, released a collaboration project titled, One Week Notice. The album was created when StillMovin label owner Damian Ritter got Benton together with Dizzy Wright, Audio Push, Demrick, Emilio Rojas, Reezy, DJ Hoppa, and Kato to record an album in one week. On June 29, 2018, Benton and Kato released the single "Don't Need You" featuring Hopsin and announced a collaborative album. On July 25, Benton and Kato released the single "Money Bag" featuring Jay Park, and announced that their collaborative album, Yuck Fou, would be released under Roc Nation.[28]

In 2022 he released the satirical single "Nancy" about former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi with rapper Samson.

Personal life

Benton was married and has three children.[9]

Discography
Main article: Jarren Benton discography

Studio albums

  • Jarren Benton Meets Smka: Huffing Glue With Hasselhoff (2011)
  • Freebasing With Kevin Bacon (2012)
  • My Grandma's Basement (2013)
  • Slow Motion (2015)
  • Slow Motion, Vol. 2 (2016)
  • The Mink Coat Killa (2017)
  • Yuck Fou (2018)

References
  1. "Jarren Benton". Funk Volume. October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  2. "Happy Birthday, Jarren Benton!". XXL. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  3. "Freebasing With Kevin Bacon Mixtape by Jarren Benton". DatPiff. June 28, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  4. "Jarren Benton – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  5. "Jarren Benton – ROCNATION". Roc Nation. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  6. The Come Up: Jarren Benton – Page 2 of 7 – XXL
  7. "The Come Up: Jarren Benton". XXL.
  8. "Source Exclusive: Jarren Benton Speaks On His Funk Volume Family, Redman & His Latest Album". thesource.com. June 14, 2013.
  9. "Jarren Benton Conquers His Stage Fright – XXL". Xxlmag.com. August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  10. "Booth Favorite Jarren Benton Drops Self-Titled Mixtape [Download] | DJBooth.net". djbooth.net. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  11. "Amazon.com: Jarren Benton Meets Smka: Huffing Glue With Hasselhoff [Explicit]: Jarren Benton: MP3 Downloads". amazon.com.
  12. "Jarren Benton Meets SMKA: Huffing Glue With Hasslehoff". DJBooth.net. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  13. "The Come Up: Jarren Benton". XXL.
  14. "The Come Up: Jarren Benton". XXL.
  15. "Jarren Benton – Freebasing With Kevin Bacon". DJBooth.net. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  16. "Hopsin Announces Funk Volume 2012 Tour with Dizzy Wright, SwizZz & Jarren Benton [Video] | XXL". Xxlmag.com. August 16, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  17. "The Come Up: Jarren Benton". XXL.
  18. "Jarren Benton – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  19. Tyler Keyes. "Video: Jarren Benton f/ Hopsin & SwizZz "Go Off"". Complex.
  20. "Underground Hits (Remix) [feat. Hopsin, Jarren Benton] – Single by R.A. the Rugged Man". Apple Music. August 2, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  21. HipHopDX (June 24, 2013). "Jarren Benton Announces "Grandma's Basement Tour" Dates". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  22. "XXL Freshmen 2014 Cover Revealed – XXL". xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  23. "XXL Freshmen Class: By The Numbers". xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  24. "Tech N9ne, Freddie Gibbs Are Hitting 70 Cities For New Tour – XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  25. "What We Learned: Jarren Benton's 'Ask Me Anything' Session On Reddit – Page 2 of 2 – XXL". xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  26. "Slow Motion, Vol. 2 by Jarren Benton". Apple Music. July 22, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  27. "Jarren Benton talks Mink Coat Killa LP, "Fuck" Atlanta, Post Funk Volume Life w/ Adrian Hernandez". The Beat 101.1. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  28. "Yuck Fou by Jarren Benton". Apple Music. July 27, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2020.


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