Benny Bizzie took time out to have a chat with SingersRoom.
SR: Congratulations on your new EP 'Chrysalis', what does the title actually mean or signify?
BB: Chrysalis is about peeling off the layers of older parts of myself and my artistry, and embracing a new path. I have had quite an interesting journey as a music artist. It definitely hasn’t been linear or predictable.
SR: The EP sees you working with producer Cee Figz, what was the process of collaborating onthis project?
BB: We created some of the tracks during COVID so it wasn’t as we would have liked. There were many zoom sessions, digital file transfers. I prefer working in the studio with the super producer, Cee Figz, it is quite something if you can see him working in his element.
SR: How has your relationship with Cee Figz evolved over time?
BB: When I think of the last 5 music projects I have done, Cee Figz has a played his part tremendously on each of them. We are practically brothers in art, we learn so much from each other and have kept each other on our toes over the years. He produced ‘Full Grown and They’re coming’ which features Ghetts, Doller, and Dot Rotten. He also produced the GRM featured track ‘Someone’ which featured Joe Grind.
SR: Your EP is being backed by the MOBO Awards and Help Musicians, can you tell us a bit about their support?
BB: The MOBO help Musicians support is perfect as it is geared towards self-releasing, self-managing, self-promoting, self-funding artists and musicians building their careers independently. The support has allowed me to complete some activities towards the EP release.
SR: What's your favourite song on the EP and why?
BB: ‘On the Double’ is a vibe! I mean Cee Figz did his thing with that! It’s a summer vibe and I love how there is no intro, the vocals just come in straight away, and it’s such a feel-good track about a double serving of love, good vibes, and whatever you need to feel alive.
SR: 'Power In The Pain' seems to be one of the more personal songs on the EP, what was the inspiration behind this song?
BB: I am starting to see some of my struggles as lessons rather than defining moments, and rather than basing my identity on the things that happened to me, I am trying to take the lessons from them, which in turn can be quite powerful.
SR: You've said that the EP is about breaking free from your caterpillar stage, can you expand on this?
BB: I feel I have learned so much from my journey in music as a songwriter and artist and you get to a point where you start putting all the things you have learnt into practice and really being intentional about everything you are doing. They say when you know better, Do better. Well at the caterpillar stage, I was experimenting, I didn’t know better, but I had to go through that to learn and now I feel I am at a place where I am equipped enough to be intentional. Plus I have a team of great people around me, some new opportunities, and clarity on what I want things to look like in the future.
SR: Let's go back a bit to your background in grime music, can you talk to us about that and how you transitioned into R&B?
BB: I was always a singer, songwriter, it was something I did in the background. I was teaching some notable producers how to write melodies, and wrote songs for singers behind the scenes, even though at the forefront I was rapping at 140BPM, releasing mixtapes, and featuring on channel AKA. I later ran a studio in Ealing where I started doing more of the singing and melodic writing and thats where most of the collaborations and transition really began.
SR: You recently went viral on TikTok with 'Drunk N Naked', for an artist that has been in the game for a minute, how do you feel about these new ways of sharing music?
BB: To be honest, initially I was really resistant to all this short form content, short attention span, TikTok, NFT, Algorithmic B.S, but I had to remember that they are just tools, and things are evolving, and they don’t give a F about my feelings. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do, so I just need to adapt when change happens and be smarter about my own approach and business goals.
SR: For listeners that are finding about you now and want to go back into your catalogue, what one song should they start with and why?
BB: ‘Crying’ is a track that had a huge impact on my career. It was the track that confirmed for me that people connected with the singer, my writing style, and just my vibe. It’s produced by Skott Summers. It got me two nominations at the Urban Music Awards and was aired on Channel AKA and Flava TV, plus the music video was epic, directed by Akpe Ododoru.
SR: What else can we look forward to from Benny Bizzie for the rest of the year?
BB: I will be going content crazy with music videos, virtual and live performances, some short-form content, and I will be taking you behind the scenes of how I do what I do. I am also going to be writing some new music for sure.
SR: Thank You.
Chrysalis EP Playlist – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nvOBrdyU_xdfPY3MISqPyum4NMQ1V3gLc
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Website: https://www.bennybizzie.com
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