BENJAMIN DROPS NEW HIP HOP SINGLE “DRIVING ME CRAZY” AFTER INSPIRING LONDON WRITING STINT
““I wrote this one as a love letter to a special someone... Produced by my long-time collaborator and best friend SR Mpofu, he absolutely understood the assignment. Probably my favourite song I’ve ever made. At the moment I’m really trying to push myself to sing more in my art and I feel like this track is a great example of that. I hope this one shows a different, more sensitive side to me and not just the hard stuff people are used to. I feel like this track is a way of me explaining how much this special someone means to me. It also shows the fears and worries and magic of stepping into something new with someone you love.””
Following a series of releases, “Driving Me Crazy” showcases a more sensual side of BENJAMIN’s artistry. A jazz/R&B-inspired beat layered with soaring strings creates the perfect backdrop for BENJAMIN’s intimate storytelling; a sensual reflection on loving someone through captivating lyrics.
Hailing from Central Auckland, rapper BENJAMIN is an artist that has had his foot on the gas in the local underground music scene over the last couple of years. Growing up, BENJAMIN was blessed enough to have had music embedded in his surroundings from the start, which has since been fostered to harness a unique passion and love for what he does.
Stylistically, his sound leans into a montage of east coast golden era rap, upon a set of modern cadences to forge a lethal arsenal of familiarity, smooth flowing pockets and head knocking frequencies. BENJAMIN is a narrator, and a true storyteller at heart, balancing his own life experiences and lessons. There is a strong sense of social responsibility in his verses that clearly point to a purpose not only at a personal level, but at a place of influence he foresees for his own future.
Follow BENJAMIN on Tiktok | Instagram | Youtube
Born and raised in Central Auckland, BENJAMIN is a lyricist and artist whose words carry both the grit of his upbringing and the grace of his evolution. His music is rooted in raw human emotion, balancing sharp penmanship with deep introspection and spirituality.
Growing up in the heart of Auckland, BENJAMIN was surrounded by a vivid mix of cultures and contrasting realities. “I could be living in a two-bedroom shoebox with my mum surviving off her income, but next door there’d be an ex-All Black in a multimillion-dollar home,” he recalls. “That diversity of circumstance and culture really shaped my art-it made it broader, more textured, and gave it essence.”
Music first entered BENJAMIN’s life before he could even spell it. One of his earliest memories is sitting in his car seat while his mum played Outkast on the way to kindy. It was more than just sound-it was escape. “No matter how rough things got, if I played that song I loved, it would take me out of there, even just for a moment.” That feeling became the foundation of his lifelong obsession with music.
By 14, he had already started writing verses in English class. “My school pages weren’t filled with work-they were filled with bars,” he laughs. School itself, though, wasn’t a fit. “I had a tough time conforming to the rigid structure of the education system. I was a square trying to fit into a circle-sized space.” After being kicked out at 16, he devoted himself to music entirely, a path that felt less like a decision and more like a divine calling.
His influences trace back to the greats of ‘90s rap-Big L, Nas, Biggie-and span to the modern giants of TDE, A$AP Mob, and Beast Coast. But his sonic palette also pulls from soul legends like Sade and Al Green, and from the creative energy of his peers back home-Mokomokai/Eno x Dirty, Nauti, SR, and NWAK. “My music is for everyone,” he says. “I want your grandma to play BENJAMIN, your little cousins, your dad at his 9 to 5. I don’t want to be in any box.”
Writing, for BENJAMIN, isn’t an act of effort - it’s a way of being. “I write every day. I don’t even feel like I have to try-it happens as naturally as breathing. Years of daily writing sharpened my pen to the point where if I hear something that resonates, the words just flow.” Inspiration, he says, comes from everywhere: human connection, other beautiful art, God, and life itself.
In the studio, he feels completely at home. “It feels like I’m exactly where I should be.” Some of his most memorable sessions have been with his best friends and longtime collaborators NWAK and SR Mpofu. “The synergy is unmatched! We know each other’s stories, and we know how to push each other.”
A recent writing trip to London marked a defining moment in his career. “It was validating and eye-opening,” he reflects. “To be in rooms with decorated producers on the other side of the world and have them genuinely impressed with my ability. It reminded me that what I’m doing is actually working. The energy in London matched mine; fast, hungry, and collaborative.”
Performing live, BENJAMIN approaches each show with reverence and ritual. “I like to spend time by the ocean before a performance to ground myself. Then a hot shower, ice-cold right before I leave, a couple of drinks to loosen up, and I just let God take the wheel.” While he’s had his share of onstage mishaps - fallen wires, forgotten lyrics, mid-set power cuts. He sees them all as lessons in presence and authenticity. “The main thing is to have fun and be 100% real. People can feel that.”
From opening for Savage, a surreal full-circle moment, given he grew up listening to him with his mum, to writing overseas, BENJAMIN remains focused on process over accolades. “I don’t really have top highlights. I just absolutely love the process.”
Still, the vision is clear. “In five years, I see myself eating extremely well off my art. Recognized as one of the best rappers in the world. Living beautifully with my family, my friends, my girl. And yeah… a Grammy would be nice,” he laughs.
More than anything, BENJAMIN wants his music to make people feel something real. “I hope it helps people feel less alone. I hope it’s cathartic. Whether it makes you happy, sad, angry, chill, or hype, I just want it to make you feel in a world that’s become so fake and surreal.”
Through his storytelling, BENJAMIN turns pain into poetry, survival into soul, and the everyday into something divine. He’s not just writing songs. He’s building bridges between struggle and spirit, between who he was and who he’s becoming.