Benjamin Bear
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Benjamin Bear

Orlando, Florida, United States | SELF

Orlando, Florida, United States | SELF
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"Benjamin Bear Gets Personal With Tuesday"

There are a lot of unique voices in music today, even at the mainstream level—not just the subject matter, but their actual sound and tone of delivering lyrics. Slide down below the mainstream, and there are even more unique voices waiting to be heard, or being heard by a select few. Since I’ve been a fan of underground and “nerdcore” rap and hip-hop, one of my favorites and the most interesting voice is Benjamin Bear.

With a slate of albums ranging from the contemplative emotional to straight up hip-hop, Benjamin Bear has created his own niche in independent music with his vocal creativity. This (and some other drama) caused him to go truly independent, leaving the Scrubclub Records label late last year to head out on his own. One of the most listened-to albums on my mp3 player is Bear Necessities, his last full length hip-hop album. In between that and his latest release Tuesday he released a compilation aptly called Everything Left which I previously reviewed.

Tuesday returns Benjamin Bear to what I think he does best: rap with frenzied intensity and quick wit. There is a sense of mirth and humor in his music that makes it that much more enjoyable to listen to. Unlike Bear Necessities, Benjamin Bear seems to be shooting a bit more from the heart with Tuesday rather than from the hip. Bear Necessities was a fun album, and a good album; it just didn’t feel as connected emotionally as Tuesday is. There are the fun tracks—actually, they are all fun tracks save for a few—but there seems to be something deeper at work. Perhaps a certain maturity that comes with getting older seeped into the writing. No matter the cause, Tuesday is a much more mature, concentrated effort from Benjamin Bear.


That’s not to say that he’s previously been immature. Though if one was to listen to a couple tracks on Bear Necessities and consider the appearance of MC Skeletor, then one might not consider maturity as a factor. Tuesday runs down familiar paths, without being a stale copy. Not in the least. In fact, with a minimalist approach to the musical production (a lot of samples and loops without too much complication) the vocals are brought to the immediate forefront. This actually adds a bit of depth to the album, even on “Special Delivery” where the music from the classic video game Paperboy is heavily sampled.

The maturity (again, musical maturity and growth, not like puberty or anything) truly shows on tracks such as “About This Whole Nerd Music Thing” in which Benjamin Bear shuns being labeled as a “nerdcore” artist, apparent in the chorus line “labels are for shirts.” Frankly, I’d have to agree to a point. While the whole “nerdcore” music scene has been good to me and I love the artists and the music, when you break it down, they are just artists and it’s all music. No matter the label, good music is good music no matter which way you split it. Do what you love to do, how you love to do it without sticking to or feeling you have to conform to a label. This makes sense. Thankfully, “nerdcore” has a wide range of styles and creativity, so it’s my impression that the artists under that label are operating and creating as such.

Benjamin Bear is not left to his own devices on Tuesday as the collaborations are aplenty. I’ve expressed before how enjoyable the collaboration tracks tend to be, and that holds true on Tuesday. I’ll run it down from the top. “Crack That Whip” features a delightfully weird verse from Rappy McRapperson, “Special Delivery” gets a package of words from the Wordburglar and “How to Die in the Middle of Florida” features lyrics from fellow Emergency Pizza Party member MC Wreckshin. This song is clearly from personal experience, as Benjamin Bear resides in the Orlando, Florida, area. The song delves into the general malaise of living in such an area, and some of the troubles that Benjamin Bear has experienced over the past couple years.

“Fatal Fight” features lyrics and words by MC Gigahertz as well as fully sampling “Eye of the Tiger” from Survivor. You can’t lose when you go full Survivor. My favorite track on the album “Here, You Can Have This Back” also pulls from personal experience as it deals directly with bad break-ups and features another Emergency Pizza Party member Betty Rebel, as well as the Dark Lord himself, Mark Schaffer. A note about Betty Rebel: there aren’t many female voices in the world of “nerdcore” and underground hip-hop, but she is certainly one of the best. She’s got a contradictory gentle yet aggressive edge that you just don’t hear all the time.

“Everyday Science You Can Do At Home” samples the 1980’s classic “”She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby with some extra rhymes from YTCracker. “Detonator” features Scrubclub artist Deafinition, and finally, “Broken Windows” gets a visit from fellow Floridian Marc With a C. This is also one of the better tracks on the album, and takes a darker turn than most of them, something that fans of Marc With a C might not be used to.

The thing about Benjamin Bear, what I find the most intriguing about his music, is that even if you don’t like rap or hip-hop you’ll most likely enjoy this. While it is rap, I’d liken it more to speed rhyming with a sardonic kick. Benjamin Bear has a sense of humor, as you’d know if you follow him on Twitter, but he delivers it with seriousness and a clear voice. Tuesday is an excellent example of an independent artist doing what he does best, and doing it without constraints, restraints or any outside pressures.

Tuesday is a full effort and a prime piece of hip-hop real estate. It still astounds me that with music and lyrical styling as good as this flying under the radar, that there is still so much absolute crap being played in the mainstream. That being said, you can download Tuesday for free at Benjamin Bear.net. If you like it, share with your friends and please donate to help support independent musicians. - Wired


"Music Review: Everything Left by Benjamin Bear"

Traditionally a hip-hop artist, independent rapper Benjamin Bear doesn't really fit in any pigeon holed definition of a rapper. Teetering gingerly on the precipice of the nerdcore genre of hip-hop, Benjamin has an eclectic collection of music that is neither hip-hop nor rock, instead it's something in between electronic and folk.

Over time he has amassed a lot of produced and nearly produced tracks, as an independent artist would. So, like an independent artist would he gathered a bunch of them up and compiled an album out of them. Everything Left is that aptly named album, and it's not to be shed aside as some lame collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks. As Benjamin Bear states,

"Basically I've been writing a crapload of songs over the years, and a lot of them get lost along the way. In an effort to kind of preserve them somewhat, I touched them up as good as I could and shipped them out."

First off, Benjamin Bear pours his heart into his music. This is evident by the emotional feel in a lot of his tracks. He is a member of the Orlando based Emergency Pizza Party, a group that embodies the fun side of nerdcore hip-hop by producing tracks that emote that they love what they are doing.

Benjamin Bear has a unique talent of taking a tongue in cheek or fictional subject and turning it into a heartfelt ballad. Take the first track on Everything Left, "The Ballad of Colonel Vampire." It speaks of vampires and battles with werewolves, but the emotional output and seriousness in his voice makes you almost believe he's telling a tale of truth. Or perhaps he believes.

Continuing on that vein, a contemplative song "Where is the Future?" (which sounds like an early cut of "Spiral" as far as musically,) wonders where the flying cars and robotic hordes are. Again though, it's not presented as a humorous song, but rather as a deep ballad.

Meanwhile some songs that you would think would have a more serious tone, have a jaunty one. Such as "Mirrors and Solutions" which is carried by piano and kazoo, with some video game sounds thrown in for good measure. The piano is a welcome addition to the album, and truly shows that Benjamin Bear has a full range of musical ability outside of creating backbeats and rapping over them. Accentuating the fact that this is not a rap album.

From time to time, the post-production work - or lack thereof cuts into the music quality. While it being a free album and a collection of previously unreleased tracks could be an excuse, it's must simpler than that. As Benjamin Bear puts it in the linear notes, "Because quite a few of these songs were recorded before I knew what I was doing, they may be inconsistent in quality and fidelity. Some of them I had to find on the internet because I no longer have the wave files. So deal with it. I promise my next album will at the very least be engineered better."

There are a couple of interesting covers on the album as well. The only cover of a Lady Gaga song that I can stand, "Bad Romance" as well as a love ballad from Orlando based artist Marc With a C, "You're My Princess." Rounding out the cover songs is "Linoleum" from the band NOFX.

The album as a whole is a lighthearted distraction from reality. Veering from electronic tracks, to the cover songs, to folksy ballads, Benjamin Bear makes sure you know that he can construct a song that you won't skip. It also helps that the album is available for free download. Benjamin Bear is back in the studio working on a brand new hip-hop album, which should see yet another genre shift. - Technorati


"Interview with MC Skeletor"

Original page located at:
http://interhiphop.blog.tiscali.it//Interview_with_Mc_Skeletor_1897046.shtml


C: A little history of you. Where do you live, in which way have you been touched by hiphop etc etc
BB: I currently reside in the Florida Keys, surrounded by the beautiful
waters of the Caribbean. I grew up in rural America, so I probably have a
strange perspective on hip-hop...I probably don't see it in the same way
that most do, I just see it as a genre of music. I grew up making music,
and that's really all I know how to do.


C: A little discography
BB: I self-released a CD called Netiquette in 2007, it was just about
stuff I was into at the time, mostly video games and the internet. After
that, I was working on just random projects, I made some songs, but I
never officially released them until around the beginning of this year,
when I joined up with Scrub Club Records. They put together a collection
of some of their favorite songs that weren't attached to any projects and
released that through their website.

C: Tell me something about hip-hop and black music in your city.
BB: Honestly? I don't get out much. :) I know there's a big scene just
to the north of us in Miami, but I'm kind of introverted so I don't
frequent the clubs that often.

C: Do you know something about hip-hop and black music in Italy?
BB: (laughs) No, sorry. I just recently found out that there's a
hip-hop scene in Yugoslavia, which surprised me. I've often wondered what
other countries thought about hip-hop and if it was weird coming from an
outside perspective. In the States, hip-hop is segregated into regions,
so I always wondered how that translated into other countries.

C: What do you think about mp3?
BB: I'm a big fan of the technology, it's enabled me to put my music out
there and get some feedback. Performing live is still the best way to
earn a living as a musician, but to have a way to get yourself out there
without printing up a bunch of demos, you can give people a website, they
can check you out. It's not a replacement for street promotion, but it
definitely helps. I make most of my beats and do all of my production
myself, and it helps to have a channel where you can put something out
there and find out what people think before you really commit to an idea.

C: And about women in hip-hop and black music?
BB: I think it's unfortunate that they get objectified as much as they
do. It's hard for a woman to get into performing hip-hop, a lot of them
go the shock route, they try to be as nasty as the guys. Even when they
don't, I don't think people are taking them seriously, and that's a
shame. A lot of women have real talent, but they get caught up in the
glamour and I think that stifles their creativity. My wife is a very
talented rapper, and she gets that kind of stuff a lot, people first
telling her that she's cute and sexy and hot, and then saying how talented
she is. I don't deal with that myself, I imagine it's very frustrating.

C: Have you performed live?
BB: I have, though not always in a traditional hip-hop venue. I
performed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you'll probably
have a hard time finding another rapper who can say that. I love
performing though, you get that instant feedback from the audience, you
form that connection, and that's what I love.

C: Who is the artist you like most and why?
BB: I always have a hard time answering this question, I don't really
have a clear favorite because my tastes vary so much. I really like
Queen, the way the crafted their songs has always been amazing to me. I
listen to a lot of different things, and I think that variety is what
helps me in my own music.

C: Do you think that hip-hop and black music videos represent the real hip-hop?
BB: No, I don't. Record companies pay for those videos, and they run a
business, and that business is there to make money. So they take what
sells and put it on TV in the most eye-catching way possible. That's a
big part of why hip-hop is the way it is: what they're advertising
sells. You show a bunch of impoverished kids that there's a way they can
have everything they want and they'll eat it up, they'll buy whatever you
tell them to. It may sound cold, but it works.

C: In which way you live hip-hop?
BB: Every day, I work on some aspect of my music, whether it's writing a
new song, working on new promotions, anything I can to get my name out
there, get people to listen to what I'm doing. It's a hustle, but I think
I'm doing it differently than a lot of people. I just can't say if I'm
doing it right. :)

C: Tell me something about clubs and radios in your city.
BB: There's not a lot of clubs or radio stations in the Keys...it's a
laid-back place, and there's really not a lot of room for things. In
Miami, you've got all kinds of places to go, but it's a bit of a drive. :)

C: Future projects
BB: Right now I'm working on a concept album, it's going to be
sci-fi/horror themed, which is something I haven't done before. When I
made songs as MC Skeletor, it really opened up different sides of me,
showed me different ways to flow and use my voice, and that exercise gave
me a whole bunch of inspiration for other concepts to emerge. I'm also
working on something with my wife that I'm really excited about, she has a
fantastic voice and we're working together to try and create something
unique.

C: Thanks and hello to
BB: I'd like to thank my wife Jaylyn for being so supportive and helping
me in so many ways, the people at Scrub Club Records, and anyone in the
world who is listening to and liking my music.

C: For contacts?
BB: My main website (http://www.coffinwood.com) is under construction,
but these always work:
email: benjaminbear@coffinwood.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/benjaminbearraps
myspace #2: http://www.myspace.com/emceeskeletor
my wife's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jaylyncoffinmusic
scrub club records: http://www.scrubclubrecords.com/ - Interhiphop


"Nerdcore feature on Ourstage.com"

Benjamin Bear was featured in this video along with fellow nerdcore artists Jaylyn Coffin, MC Frontalot, and Beefy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU6YiBbGznU - Ourstage.com


"Jaylyn Coffin goes to PLUG Miami"

Benjamin Bear was featured along with his wife Jaylyn Coffin for her appearance at PLUG Miami @ Studio A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr9TxST3ft4 - Ourstage.com


Discography

2008 - The Bear Necessities
2010 - Everything Left
2011 - Tuesday

Photos

Bio

Benjamin Bear, perhaps best known for his work with Florida nerdcore group Emergency Pizza Party, has never been afraid to blend music genres to his will.

His style is a result of an eclectic blend of influences, including 1970s era progressive rock, industrial metal, grunge, underground hip-hop, and folk music. The resulting production combined with his left-of-center perspective on life has garnered him a cult following and critical acclaim for not only his free-to-download albums, but also his energetic live shows.

In 2011, Benjamin released "Tuesday," which Wired.com described as "speed rhyming with a sardonic kick," stating that "even if you don't enjoy rap or hip-hop you'll most likely enjoy this."