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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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