Unfiltered Africa is BACK with another episode featuring singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer, Benjamin Freedom! 🔊🔥 With this video series, we chat with some amazing Symphonic artists and get a closer look at everything they’re working on, personal stories, passion projects and so much more. Read the full interview below…
Unfiltered Africa: Full Interview with Benjamin Freedom
Benjamin Freedom (BF):
“Hey guys, wherever you are in the world! My name is Benjamin Freedom. Singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and record label CEO.”
Daphne Barquin (DB):
“How does your understanding of the business side influence your creative and strategic choices?”
(BF):
“The biggest reason I joined Symphonic is because of how they empower independent artists and independent record labels. And since I own a record label and also am an independent artist at the same time, I saw it as very important to partner with a distributor like Symphonic. From planning the releases too, Symphonic has all the tools and everything that you need to educate yourself from when you should release, when the perfect season to release so you can maximize the exposure. You can get it all on the Symphonic platform.”
“So I utilize all that information to then plan when I can then drop my music, and then have a wider audience listening to my music. So shout out to Symphonic for being so amazing.”
(DB):
“Which South African artists inspire you the most, and how do you pay homage to them in your work?”
(BF):
“South Africa is very rich in heritage, with different cultures colliding and bringing some different flavors into the music. I grew up listening to a genre called, Guaito, which is a South African version of hip hop. So the artists that I grew up listening to would be Lebu Matosa, Brenda Fassis, your TKZs, your Zolas. But how I pay homage to those artists… I infused our different languages into the music to make sure that I carry on the legacy that they started. I love how all those artists were authentically South African in the way that they do the music. Whether mixing English with their home languages, because South Africa has 11 official languages, 12 now with sign language, I love how they always used those different languages…”
“So that’s exactly how I’m also doing it these days. Another artist I look up to, made his soul rest in peace, was AKA. So I love how AKA was very authentic South African and how he fused South African sounds from sampling back in the day music into like his contemporary art. That’s what I’m also trying to do going forward.”
(DB):
“Question number three… Amapiano is taking the world by storm. How do you see it evolving and where do you hope your sound fits within this movement?”
(BF):
“The fact that we are talking about Amapiano right now… it’s beautiful what the sound has done, especially for South African music. I feel like for the longest time we’ve made music that was not authentically South African. We do hip hop, we do R&B, and it’s still beautiful music, but I feel like Amapiano gives us our voice, you know?”
“Since I’m an artist who grew up listening mostly to hip-hop, Guaito and all that, as I said I try to infuse the Amapiano elements into my sound. For example, this year I’m going to be releasing more of like fully Amapiano sounds, whether it’s a hip hop record that’s used with Amapiano, I also love what the Nigerians are doing with Amapiano fusing with Afrobeats. Amapiano is very flexible, you know, but now going forward I want to find my own flavor and give my own originality into it. Obviously, every artist should have their own signature, and that’s what I’m going to do for like going forward.”
(DB):
“That’s amazing! What’s your creative process like? Do you have any rituals or routines that unlock your songwriting and production flow?”
(BF):
“That’s a very interesting one, because the last time I wrote a song, I think was like four or five years ago. These days are more of just freestyling, because I feel like when I used to write the music, it would make me overthink so much. So now I took a different approach, collecting beats, going into a studio with my producers, giving them a direction of the instrumental that I want, then recording myself. I do everything myself, like in studio when it’s time to record, I freestyle over a beat, just put a mic right in front of me. And then I then freestyle until I finish the song. So that’s pretty much my ritual.”
(DB):
“Wow, so you produce all your songs, you write everything and you like record everything yourself? That is so cool.”
(BF):
“Yep, right there. I’ll be there on the spot doing everything myself. I collaborate with a couple of producers, but I’ll just go collaborate on the beat, go back into the studio, and then I record myself. Even sound engineering. I mix and master my own records, but I’m trying to work with other engineers because when you listen to something for the longest time, you just need fresh ears, you know? But for now I handle things everything myself.”
(DB):
“Definitely. So, what can your fans expect from you this year?”
(BF):
“Last year, I dropped an EP titled, “Freezy”. It was pretty much an amalgamation and project that I wanted to express myself and show my diversity in. So if you go and listen to that project, there’s definitely Amapiano, there’s R&B, there’s Afrobeats, there’s Hip-Hop. This year, I’m looking to give you guys visuals.”
“I’m also a film director and script writer, so I’m very big on visuals. Another reason I haven’t shot a music video is because I’m so much of a perfectionist, you know? But I’ve told myself, this is the year of the visuals. So I’ll be dropping more music, but also prioritizing visuals! And I love the fact that Symphonic also distributes music videos to all platforms, so I’m looking forward to giving you guys the music video.”
(DB):
“So, who is Freezy? Is it like an alternate version of yourself?”
(BF):
(BF):“Freezy is an alternative version of myself. Someone who’s free, to experiment and do anything, hence the title, the EP title, “Freezy”. From the first track, hip hop song. Second track, R&B fused with Amapiano. Third song, Afrobeat. Fourth song, Amapiano fused with hip hop. Fifth song, Amapiano. Freezy was just an expression of like, nobody can put me in a box. So, I’m just going to do everything but find a good way to fuse it. That’s the epitome of what describes Freezy.”
“But I’m also going to release a second version of Freezy, maybe a deluxe, so that you guys can see more of what Freezy is. Also on the visuals, you’ll see how I present myself, the branding and everything. So Freezy is a whole different version of myself, but at the same time, myself. It’s someone who’s not afraid to tap into different dimensions. I love that question.”
(DB):
“Last question… What is your favorite South African street food and or a hidden gem in Johannesburg tourists always miss?”
(BF):
“Okay, there’s a South African street food that I love called Kota. It’s pretty much a quarter of a bread that’s unsliced, so they just cut a piece out in the middle and then stuff it with chips, then maybe a burger patty, and all sorts of things. These days they even experiment with adding veggies and stuff like that. But it’s really nice, cheese and all that. It’s like a street burger basically. That’s my favorite. I feel like it’s a signature Johannesburg street food and for anyone who’s coming to South Africa, make sure you don’t miss that.”
“You cannot come to South Africa and not go to the party scenes, the nightlife, the club life. You’ve seen what Amapiano does. It’s a dance genre, and it’s everywhere in the country. So that should also tell you something about the party scene, the nightlife, how amazing it is. So if you’re coming to South Africa… make sure you don’t miss that!”
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