“I don’t want to imitate anyone; I just want to do me. That’s why my key aim in my career is to be as successful as I can be.” – Benny Banks

Growing up in Islington (North London) Benny Banks, was your typical teenager; in that he didn’t enjoy school and would much rather do other things with his time. One of these things was listening to music. It wasn’t until age twenty however, that his love of music really began to develop. It was after a night out with his friends that Benny Banks began to rap and his talent first got noticed. From this point on, his interest in music grew, as did his popularity and with that came opportunity.

In 2010, Benny took part in 1Xtra’s ‘Fire in The Booth’ with artist Charlie Sloth and was stunned by the audience reaction. Not only did his undeniable talent amaze listeners but he was then requested to take part in more interviews and videos with various other respected urban channels. His ‘Warm Up Session’ with the massive urban online channel SBTV, blew people away and one might say that this was when he was truly recognised as a force to be reckoned with within the UK urban industry. Aside from his success with 1Xtra and SBTV, Benny has also worked with the likes of ‘Grime Daily’ , he debuted on sites 'ZEETVD' and ‘UK Overstood’ and in Jan 2011 he started his own youtube channel. His solo Videos on YouTube have accumulated well over 2 million views, thus the numbers alone are enough to reflect the mass recognition of this young star’s talent and demonstrate the love by fans of his powerful music and his meaningful yet relatable lyrics.

Benny Banks’ talent was also spotted by MTV and RWD Magazine, hence why both MTV Wrap Up and RWD requested and published interviews with the artist. Not only has he accrued an impressive amount of views online and worked with several urban publications but his music has also been requested for play on some of the most noted UK urban radio shows such as the prestigious BBC Radio and the respected Choice FM. The artist has also been blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with various other artists such as gifted UK female rapper Roxanne and rappers Joe Black and Squeeks as well as singer Hipman Junky (who has supported popular UK group N-Dubz on their 2011 arena tour by special request of dappy).

Aside from his work in music, Benny has also teamed up with the award winning designer Simon Parchment, to create his own clothing line ‘Benny Banks’ as part of Simon’s B-Original range. This demonstrates not only Benny’s creative prowess but also his ambition and determination to succeed in everything he does.

Benny’s long awaited first single will be released late 2011 but in the mean time he has created a mixtape entitled ‘Patiently Waiting vol.1’ (released June 5th 2011) especially for his fans, whom he loves and respects as he states “they are what keep him going” with over 25,000 downloads to date it has proved his status as a credible artist. Music however, is not Benny’s first love but second. His heart belongs to his four year old daughter, who he says plays a key role in his drive to succeed.

Not only is he a doting Dad but twenty three year old Benny Banks is undeniably one of the most gifted unsigned artists in the UK at present. Apart from his irrefutable innate talent, his success to date is also down to the fact he happens to be one of the most humble and determined rappers in the UK urban industry. With every day that passes, his fan base grows more and more as his natural music abilities become even more recognised. Without a doubt, Benny is going to be one of the biggest artists of 2011/2012, so let’s hope the industry is prepared for what is, the talent of Mr. Benny Banks.

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