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First Look Friday: Arrow Benjamin Interview
First Look Friday: Arrow Benjamin Interview

First Look Friday: Experience Love, Faith And Soul With Arrow Benjamin

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

It's no secret that the music industry is a competitive arena, full of talented souls all fighting to be heard. How does one stand out amongst all the voices and personalities that grace stages, iWhatevers and television sets around the globe? How can you prove to the uninitiated that you belong alongside the other stars in music's constellation?

Simply put, you start off winning and never stop.

For Arrow Benjamin, his run began white hot much like Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The South London singer-songwriter with chops presented himself to the public by shining brightly on the stellar cut "Runnin' (Lose It All)" by Naughty Boy, which featured none other than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter on the record. As the two traded verses and engaged in a duet, Arrow Benjamin proved his greatness with a flair and ease that is unparalleled in today's music scene.

A genuine soul who believes in the power of love, purpose and light, Arrow Benjamin is the type of artist who leads by example and never follows the dark grain of mediocrity. With an inspired story rooted in the heart and in faith, Arrow Benjamin proves to be a force to take notice, especially on a song like "Look At Me," which is imbued with an honesty and ferocity that would make anyone appreciate his passion.

With a sound that is ready to be shared with the world, Arrow Benjamin is our choice for this week's First Look Friday. As he sits down with us, he vows to go to the world beyond and back for those he loves, why his message is the same as it was when he was 9-years-old and explains when he lost his songwriting virginity. Enjoy this exclusive interview with him and get ready for more to come from this wonderful act.

>>>Read more about the South London singer Arrow Benjamin on Pg. 2...

First Look Friday: Arrow Benjamin Interview

Okayplayer: Welcome to our humble abode here in Brooklyn, Arrow. Let's start by having you tell us a bit about your origins, how you became inspired to do music and mention some of your musical influences.

Arrow Benjamin: It's a pleasure to be here, too, I must say. I can tell you that I grew up in a household where there was no dominant style of music. It just had to be music. We would have country playing downstairs, Sade's "Lover's Rock" would be playing in another room and in another part of the house you had Donna Summers rocking out. I came from a musical house and not because people played the instruments, but because they loved it so much they expressed their love for music by playing it freely. Nobody complained about playing songs, certain type of melodies or that yours is louder than mine. Everybody just invested in getting more powerful systems.

OKP: You're primarily featured as the other chef on Naughty Boy's "Runnin' (Lose It All)" alongside Beyoncé. So, we wanted to know how did you get down with the song and in a related question, does Beyoncé's hands smell like brown sugar and crips $100 bills?

AB: [Laughs] I think that everything about Beyoncé smells great. I really don't know about the sugar, but she was a lovely person and she is fully music. There is no composed state. It's like when the music is on, she's fully engaged and she picks up on every nuance. Every note that's happening in the space, she is able to run with it, make it hers and embody it as a legend.

I had been working on my own album EP and I created this song in collaboration with some writers back home in the UK, which was "Lose It All". The format was slightly different, as it was very emotive and not as upbeat as the version everyone's heard now. I then met up with Naughty Boy and he just had a plan and a vision for where the record could be taken to. Beyoncé also heard the record and was just like, "You know what I'm in," as I think she felt something in the record that spoke to her.

She said that we needed to collaborate, complete this record and we just all went for it.

OKP: Were there any lessons that you took away from your collaboration with such a force like Beyoncé that you've applied to your own upcoming project?

AB: I think personally, as long as everyone is being honest in the work and in the collaboration, then there's no rules to it. I believe that as long as one is being true to themselves and people are into you being true to yourself, the result of any such collaborative work will be honest no matter what happens in the process.

OKP: In that process, what would you say is the message within your music that you want the audience to learn and takeaway?

AB: My position is the same all the time, no matter the weather, as it is all about love. A love that surpasses between intimate moments between human beings. For me, I think that everybody would be excited to profess that they know the secrets to having a perfect love or giving it. But I say that one man's perfect is another man's imperfect, so I look to a higher love that it goes beyond mere opinion.

OKP: You bring up love and it's a topic that is instantly relatable to music lovers. With some of the newer artists coming out and expressing their own heartbreaks and losses, what lessons in love do you glean that you could offer to the Okayplayer audience as advice that could help them during the Cuffing Season?

AB: Love is definitely not a season. I would honestly say that if you're looking to enjoy the "Cuffing Season" period, one should really think about where the relationship is going before you go in it.

>>>Read about how Arrow Benjamin explains his soul's age on Pg. 3...

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

OKP: Your voice is husky with range and you sing like an old soul. Approximately how old is your soul in your own estimation?

AB: [Laughs] That is such a beautiful question. I think my soul would have to be over a trillion-years-old because if I'm talking about love, for me love is the beginning and nobody has a date for that.

OKP: Do you listen to or love the newer styles of music that are out today?

AB: I think there are some really cool stuff out there to hear and feel because everything is derivative of something. I think in reference to authenticity... again I don't back that down to just a genre, but I just back that down to truth. Though one man's truth, again, is his own or her own, but I believe that when love is real, it will permeate through the times and the genres.

OKP: Your old soul voice over a moody soul track like "Look At Me" seems like a winning formula that's already prompted comparisons to Gnarls Barkley. Are you, yourself, a fan or do you see yourself influenced by the sounds of Gnarls Barkley?

AB: I am a fan of Cee-Lo. Whenever he opens his mouth, I believe that the truth and essence of his being comes out. From "Forget You," which is a very kind of simple song to "Crazy," he is able to speak about it so much more deeply than on the surface level. There is an intimacy within in his melodies, an honesty in his voice that you can't duplicate or press one button on the computer and achieve.

OKP: How would describe your own songwriting style in terms of formatting ideas or coming up with concepts?

AB: We live in an audio-visual world, y'know? First of all, let me give all of my language out of the way... I wait, yes, first I wait. It doesn't matter who's in the room. If it's a 12-hour session or an eight-hour session, whatever the amount of time, we may spend a third of that time actually talking and learning about each other as humans. The goal would be to awaken that human connection, so that the spiritual connection can be stronger than where I've come from.

We are trying to take music beyond where it is at, so we can all go to together where it's beneficial for everybody. I would say that being in an audio-visual world I like to make sure that things that I am involved in writing provoke and evoke images. What you won't find me writing about is "I love her and she loves me back, baby," that's not my style. I just think that there's so much brokenness and so many people having to live their lives behind masks that I think the world is crying out for people to help them take it off.

OKP: Were there any relationships that might have inspired any of your work that was previously unheard by the public?

AB: "Broken House" is one that comes to mind. It spoke on the battle for inner peace, the battle against low self-esteem and rejection. It detailed what it was like to have it all and lose it. These are things, which again, for me I learn everyday are universal conditions.

OKP: Speaking of "Lose It," the song has quite a jungle feel and vibe. Did that come from your experience writing demos in South London or no?

AB: I definitely feel that there's a UK undertone to the sound of the record. In reference to how it was achieved, I think that that's more due to Naughty Boy. He has a sound that is derived from within that's helped him to achieve acclaim for that sound. I just think that it's amazing that he's been able to translate internationally because historically some sounds are limited to just being geographical.

>>>Read about when Arrow Benjamin lost his songwriting virginity on Pg. 4...

First Look Friday: Arrow Benjamin Interview

OKP: Now that you are out in front of your own music has the approach to songwriting changed?

AB: No. It's still the same approach. One definitive trait that I have in my songwriting that people can see, hear and feel in my lyrics is fear. They're going to experience vulnerability. They're going to witness victory. All of these emotions and more in a relational context of love, life, lost and faith.

OKP: Do you feel more comfortable writing for yourself or others?

AB: I love it anyhow I can get it. Like I say to people all of the time, I feel like in my job I have a blank canvas and I get the opportunity to create a masterpiece every single moment of the day. So, just to be a part of the creation of one, I have no complaints.

OKP: When did you lose your songwriting virginity?

AB: [Laughs] That's a good one! I like the way that you put that, Kev. Virginity, eh? I think I lost it when I was 9-years-old. The song was called, "Romance and Love," but I've moved on from that part of my life.

OKP: In the future, are there any other A-listers that we should expect to see you in the studio with?

AB: Wow, yeah, in the future I can tell you that I stay in the studio. I'm just going to say that I have been working with some great people, but I don't put them on any list. I've been in the studio with Major Lazer; I've been in the studio with a guy name Plan B; I was recently in the studio with a guy called Arrow [laughs], he's a ginger that I've been a fan of for a minute.

OKP: Can you let the people know the latest and greatest about your upcoming projects?

AB: I would love for the people to petition and take to the streets for it to come out right now [laughs]. In the new year, as in a couple of weeks, you all will see lots of new music and powerful visuals to go with that music as opposed to creating traditional music videos that are just backdrops to melodies.

Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for more from Arrow Benjamin (and us!) by following him on Twitter @ArrowBenjamin.