We can’t get enough of this outstanding song, “Black Boys on the Radio” by creative and talented artist Benjamin Carter. The song is an amazing experience from start to finish and one of the best records we’ve heard in months. We listened to this song several times and we still can’t find the right words to describe it. The energy is amazing, the lyrics are catchy and the production is polished and sounds very professional. Benjamin has one the best voices we’ve ever heard and his performance on this record is on another level. The melodies are beautifully catchy and mesh perfectly with the lyrics. Benjamin Carter is a talented artist and his music is powerful and sets him apart from the crowd. We hope you love it as much as we do!
WHAT THE ARTIST SAYS ABOUT THE SONG:
Benjamin says on the track/EP, “The song and project can be summed up almost entirely based off the very first line in the song ‘Black Boys on the Radio.’ The first line says ‘she says black boys always play on the radio, I said, ‘its strange how you listen but don’t have time to watch me grow.’ As a Black Man in America Benjamin Carter wants to point out the disparity in how American culture seems to praise the athlete and artist and actor who is black and in entertainment, yet many who look just like them are being stereotyped, marginalized, face various prejudices that keep them this way. It’s not enough to pay the actor, rapper, or athlete and say “look we aren’t racist” we must each – black, white, latin, asian – etc be vulnerable and willing to own up to our mistakes and look for ways to grow. This is why the chorus sings ‘and I know if I cry it’ll make you stay, so please don’t, please dont run away.'”
Benjamin Carter a Caribbean– American hailing from both The Cayman Islands as a child and then to Washington DC as he grew older, is a singer-songwriter passionate about writing vulnerable music that takes everyone’s walls down including his own.
Benjamin self-describes his journey with songwriting and performing as what it looks like to be a “first generation child of the internet” or more specifically “youtube”. As a kid living in the caribbean Benjamin recalls vividly what it felt like to finally log onto Youtube at its start and watching japanese anime with english subtitles, while watching compilation soccer videos and anime videos exposing him for the first time to bands like three days grace, linkin park, crossfade, fort minor and more. This all while watching music videos for the first time at his fingertips by 50 cent, Black Eyed Peas, Lil Jon’s “Snap Yo Fingers”, and Chris Brown’s “Run It”. All this while living on a 28 mile long Island, where his father was a choir director, youth pastor, and band teacher and his native Caymanian family were playing their favorite artists in their favorite genre – Country – with artists like Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, and Reba in the car rides around the island.
Benjamin is a musician and entrepreneur who uses his music now to tell stories – heartache and love, addiction and gentrification, even tapping into the years of racial oppression he’s faced – in hopes of developing artists of the next generation to do the same. His desire in all his songwriting is tap into his exposure of varying genres encouraging the next generation of artists and songwriters to write songs not based on genre – but based on which instruments, melodies, vocal performance techniques, sonically help to best capture the message of the song they are delivering.
Benjamin has performed at the legendary 9:30 Club and on his second single ever had the opportunity to collaborate with LEVEL (Warner Music distribution) which led to recording and releasing “Cosmic” with Warner Chapelle producer Andy Seltzer (Chelsea Cutler, Maggie Rogers, Valley, Fletcher, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
Most recently Benjamin Carter has worked with artist and producers Tim Atlas and Jesse Barrera to write produce and mix songs like “Fragile” featuring Appleby, Time Again, and Psycho. Each song having received accolades from New music Friday to NPR RADIO play.
