Producer and music composer Benito ‘Mr Benn’ Validum has been in the business for 22 years. Benito, who runs his music business from Orlando, Florida, was first influenced in music by a band out of South Ruimveldt owned by his father, Victor Validum.
Born in South Ruimveldt and one of five children, Benito recalled growing up hearing music being played by the Vic Validum Show Band. During this time, he attended Tucville Primary School. In 1983, Benito left these shores for New York where he subsequently began his music career in 1999.
Though a music composer and producer now who mostly builds tracks, Benito started out as a singer/songwriter and videographer. Over the years, he has dabbled in Rap, HipHop, chanting, and Reggae. Being from the Caribbean, often saw him collaborating as a Reggae artiste.
Because of his skills, he went on tour with Haiti-born rapper Lil Haiti which saw him opening a concert for Jamaican Reggae/Dancehall singer, Patra. According to Benito, at the time of the tour, Lil Haiti was signed with RCA Records while he was a part of a group called Two Dreads and a Baldhead. The tour took them to a number of US states and Canada. However, he came to realise that his passion in music was for writing and working behind the scenes as a producer.
During his music career, Benito has worked with countless artistes including Spliff Star, LL Cool J, Mikey D and Lott Picasso.
“Music is my life and my everything. I live and breathe music,” the producer stated matter-of-factly.
He went on to found the Know Underground Freestyle Forever (KUFF) Entertainment group and shared that many artistes who have gained international recognition started in the streets, freestyling their music. As such, KUFF Entertainment hopes to ensure that the singers attached to KUFF remember the streets they grew up in and never forget the cornerstone that paved the path for their recognition. Another objective is to seek out freestyle artistes and work to help them achieve their dreams of a career in music.
KUFF Entertainment is not limited to artistes living in the US, Benito posited, adding that part of his bigger plan is to work with Guyanese artistes living in Guyana. Already, he has begun working on this plan having recently connected with childhood friend, Esan Paul, who is the director of a local music group called Guyana Music Affiliate.
Reminiscing about his boyhood days, Benito shared that Esan, who was also his next-door neighbour, spent a great deal of time with him. The two had great times at the movies and spent time in the backdam as boys.
Having migrated, Benito lost touch with his friend, but they reconnected through social media after many years. They were each surprised to learn that the other was in the music industry. After Benito learned that Esan was working with artistes in Guyana to help them to gain recognition, he felt they should join hands as they were both on the same path.
Recording and producing one’s music, Benito pointed out, does not come cheap, adding that along with having to come up with the finance, singers also need to be dedicated to their art. The producer noted that while some singers’ careers blow up almost immediately as they start, this is not the reality for the majority. Sad as it might be, music, he said, cannot be the sole avenue to provide for one’s livelihood. In most cases, a singer is required to work another job and do music on the side.
Benito, who is president of the label Uncle Benn Records, had faced this struggle himself. “I’m from the streets so I know what it is to struggle,” Benito said. He had worked other jobs to save to build his studio and purchase the necessary equipment. “I am a certified forklift operator. I don’t think you could make it big without a second job. You need jobs to get you there, but money needs to be made legally,” he added.
The 49-year-old producer said that age should not prevent one from realising one’s dreams. “Being consistent is the key; never give up. The more I learn, the better I get. I keep improving on my craft and a lot of doors keep opening. Age is nothing because no matter how long it takes, dreams still come through,” he said.
Having worked his way up, Benito noted that today he is in a place to help others. He admonished not only artistes but everyone to first build themselves then get a move on helping others.
“I want to inspire everyone and get them out of the streets, from the guns and the drugs and the wars. It means the world to me to help Guyanese. All the time I hear Jamaica this and Jamaica that. What happened to Guyana? I want Guyana to rise up. When I look at our Guyanese artistes, I realise that they are [lacking] the necessities. The visuals in the music videos got to be better and the sound needs to be more powerful,” said the producer.
Currently, Benito is working on a song collaboration with 30 artistes. The HipHop single called “Thirty Deep Da Symphony” involves singers penning their own pieces. The song is slated to be released soon.
He is expected to drop a second single called “Hungry Belly” any day now.
When he is not caught up with music, the producer who considers himself a family man, spends time with his family. Like his father he also has five children and chuckled as he shared that like his father, he has three boys and two girls.
His time is also divided working on other side hustles. His other passion is cooking, and he has a YouTube page called ‘Food and Music’. A natural at cooking, Benito loves to make goat curry and rice, oxtail stew, fish-head soup and owing to him being married to his Jamaican love, he learnt to make Ackee and saltfish.
Benito can be followed @KUFF Entertainment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or @Benn Stradamus on Facebook and Instagram.
