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The show snatcher
All
roads lead to the Grammy’s for Chicago-based Reggie Benjamin, who’s
carved out a niche in the dance-club scene in mid-west America. This
extremely enterprising singer and musician, billed to be the first
Indian-American pop star, has cleverly used his Indian connection to
market himself. Positioned as a solo artist, Reggie’s music can be
described as hip-hop with an Indian rhythm. “I grew up on George
Michael and Prince,” says Reggie. “But contemporary music is all about
the sitar, tabla, and other Indian instruments,” says Benjamin, who
started imitating Elvis, Kishore Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan as an
eight-year-old.
Reggie’s parents, dedicated music lovers, were born and raised in
Hyderabad, India, but migrated to Toronto, Canada, where he was born.
Later, when Benjamin was nine, his parents moved to the USA. In 1983,
when still in junior high, he formed the Reggie Benjamin Band and the
group stayed together through high school, playing in different talent
shows. Soon after high school Reggie put together his next band — RPM
(Rapid Party Motion) and quickly moved from covers to originals,
regularly playing in the regional college circuit in Illinois,
Indiana, and Western Michigan.
Next, it was Benjamin’s plan to get RPM a steady foothold at the
Elixir, one of Chicago’s hottest clubs. Reggie did his homework well;
he knew that Thursdays were the slowest night in dance clubs. With
full knowledge of the market, he approached Elixir’s owner and offered
to play on Thursday’s on the condition that RPM would pack the crowds
in or the owner need not pay them. Result? Reggie’s fans kept growing,
leaving no room in the club.
With full energy and determination, Benjamin soon started the Club 2X
Records. In spite of his growing success, he has surprisingly remained
level-headed, recruiting top producer/re-mixer, Eric E Smoove Miller
to record his first album 2X-Centrix. Miller has worked with Janet
Jackson and Prince, with additional assistance from Maurice Joshua,
who also worked with Destiny’s Child. 2X-Centrix fuses Indian ragaas
and Western pop. Hurry Up, the album’s first single, is already
climbing Italy’s Club Charts at number seven and its video, has been
shot at the legendary and famed Playboy Mansion. His second single,
Ride was only released to the underground clubs and started at number
four on the Billboard Breakout Dance Charts. Ride is currently a top
10 hit in over 30 countries on the dance charts.
Not only does Benjamin play his cards well in business, he is also a
philanthropist. He runs the Hands 2 India Foundation that is pledged
to contribute a percentage of his debut album 2X-Centrix to charity.
“The main motive of the foundation is to supply aid to India’s
homeless and poverty stricken. India desperately needs to fight
diseases and ensure clean drinking water to all its residents… I’m
just trying to be of some help,” says Benjamin, who was worried how
Indians would react to his kind of music. “I’ve got the best of all
worlds,” he says, adding, “I was really overwhelmed when people in
India gave me such royal treatment. They were happy with my
achievement in America.”
Hurry Up has not only got great reviews in the West, but with the
video playing in Asia, Reggie ruled the MTV India airwaves. His shows
in India drew thousands, leaving the audience asking for more. He has
performed in Mumbai and Delhi and is eagerly looking forward to his
next trip to India. “The people in India are just phenomenal, it is a
source of great satisfaction to perform amidst that audience,” says
Benjamin. One of his most memorable incidents trails back to one of
his concerts in Delhi, when two girls went up to Reggie’s mom
requesting that Reggie take his shirt off. “I thought that was the
most hilarious moment when I saw the look on my mom’s face,” he
recalls.
For his next album he plans to cast former Miss World Priyanka Chopra,
although he calls Rani Mukherjee his favourite. Along with Indian
food, Indian movies are also a must for this hip-hop lad. Benjamin has
already started receiving offers from Bollywood, but for the moment
it’s more important to focus on Hollywood. “Once I make it big here,
Bollywood will automatically follow. But I am open to performing in
concerts in India,” he says.
Breaking records in America didn’t come to Reggie on a silver platter.
“All I got at times was a ‘no’… people would just slam their doors on
my face and then it was a dead-end,” he says. “It was quite difficult
at first because everyone was discouraging.” But it was his
determination that got Benjamin going. “Getting that one chance seemed
so difficult, but I didn’t lose faith and tried not just once but
again and again and again,” recalls Benjamin.
“There are a lot of behind-the-scene Indians in the entertainment
industry, here in the USA,” he says, “but I want to show that Indians
can lead.” Today Benjamin’s goals are set. Delivering a Grammy
acceptance speech is what he is looking forward to at present. With a
bright career and family blessings this Indian-American pop star might
not have to wait too long to achieve his American Dream.
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