| Home | Company's Profile| Photo Gallery | Press Releases | Music Catalog |Artists | Scrap Book | News | MySpace |Advertisements | Links |Contact Us |

Benz Man

~Prince and Princess: Living in Peace ~

Luxury and class are words used to describe Mercedes Benz vehicles, like his namesake “Benz Man” embodies the epitome of class and charm.  Despite his humble beginnings in the ghettos of Papine, in the parish of Saint Andrew, Jamaica, Benz Man has emerged as a talented artist and entertainer.  Benz Man not only DJs, but also writes his own songs, primarily to dancehall, roots/culture and lovers’ rock beats, with reggae at the foundation of it all.

Born Benton Rainford on January 27, “Benz Man” grew up with his father, Roy Rainford, who taught him the fundamental values of staying out of trouble, dedication,  perseverance and hard work – which Benz Man still lives by to this day.  

From birth, Benz Man’s love for music transcended all other youthful goals and aspirations.  His initial exposure to reggae and dancehall music came from his older brother who played with sound systems like Black Star, Jah Love, and the like.  “The music back then was not like nowadays,” reminisces a nostalgic Benz Man, “I grew up during a time when the sound systems would play the rhythm and I would DJ on it live!”

A living example of the potential for growth from the grassroots, Benz Man’s music career began at the tender age of 7, as he developed his own songs on the streets of Jamaica alongside his friends.  This simple and yet profound form of building music required that Benz Man and his friends play the beat with their hands on their bodies, pots, pans, the fence, and anything else within reach that could be used to create unique and resounding rhythms.

In 1982, Benz Man migrated to the United States of America, ‘the land of opportunity,’ at age 12 to join his mother, Mable Rainford in Philadelphia.  Through this change of pace, Benz Man was exposed to a brand new and exciting way of life and started to knock on the door of ‘opportunity.’  Benz Man later became a “true” Rasta at the age of 20.  His inspiration came from life-learning experiences which also drove him to seek out further education about the King, Haile Selassie. 

As he started reading and believing in Haile Selassie’s teachings, the principles about love remained central, because: “without love and faith we have nothing,” says Benz Man.  Benz Man prides himself in having an open spiritual mind and avidly reads the Bible and the teachings of the King, which is the fuel and inspiration behind his music career.

Though Benz Man went through the motions of “going to school to get a decent job,” in the back of his mind, his passionate love for music continued to burn as an unquenchable fire.  The fire was finally set ablaze; it was Benz Man’s friends in Philadelphia who eventually opened the door of opportunity and allowed him to put his passion into practice.  Benz Man took the music scene by storm and started DJing at venues ranging from basements to, dancehalls and ballrooms, with sound systems like Echo International, Yardie Hi-FI, Roots Uprising, and many more.

NY.  “African Beauty” is a reggae/dancehall song about the fundamental love and respect of the African roots in Black women.  “The recording was not planned,” explains Benz Man. “I was sleeping in the studio and I woke up to sound of the beat as Major Jackson was singing half of the song.  The rhythm had a nice vibe and I immediately started to DJ free-style on it; and it turned out to be a hit single,” shares Benz Man.  The rest was a matter of destiny; “African Beauty” achieved phenomenal success with frequent airplay, particularly in the clubs.  The success garnered through “African Beauty” gave rise to more exposure, more demand for bookings and stage show performances, as well as an outpouring of support from a growing fan-base. 

Benz Man has performed alongside renowned artists such as Foxy Brown, Nicodemus, Papa San, Major Mackerel, Brigadier Jerry, Josey Wales, Tonto Irie, Johnny P, Junior Cat, Sister Nancy, Major Jackson, and many others.  He has also performed on various popular concerts and music festivals, such as the ‘Caribbean Festival’ at Robin Hood Dell East, and more recently the ‘Unite the People’ concert in Jamaica - catering to an audience of more than 10,000.

Given his sincere love for the music, money was never the driving force behind Benz Man’s passion.  Through his continued growth in popularity, and the demand for performances on various shows in areas like Philadelphia, Boston, New Jersey, Washington, Atlanta, New York and Jamaica, Benz Man took the music industry more seriously and explored opportunities to grow his love for music into a career.  Benz Man’s aspirations grew beyond performing the music, to managing his own music business.  He eventually forged his own record label called “Blessed Records,” and in 2005, created his debut album entitled “Knock on My Door.” 

In 2006, Benz Man joined the New Creation Records family.  Sacrificing his own album, Benz Man made the conscious business decision to work on a brand new album with New Creation Records.  “This is a worthy sacrifice,” says Benz Man.  “New Creation Records has sound business ethics, the reach and a wide range throughout the U.S. and Jamaica.  I am enjoying the rest from having to personally handle the business, and can remain focused on the music without distractions,” says Benz Man.

The album will be comprised of 15 songs, on dancehall, roots/culture and reggae beats.  The official album title is forthcoming and it is slated for release before the end of 2007.  In the meantime, two main singles will be released in the coming months: “Prince and Princess” and “One Man Army.”

Prince and Princess: is inspired by the King, the “Emperor Haile Selassie” who teaches us unity and love.  “Prince and Princess” is motivated by the war running rampant, and the devastation caused by people killing each other and the many lives being lost uselessly.  Benz Man’s goal in writing this song is to inspire people who hear it to take away a feeling of goodness, love and peace. He also hopes that it will prevent people from doing bad, and be inspired to “start caring about other people more than yourself,” shares Benz Man.      

One Man Army: is a fun and funky dancehall song mentioning various females.  Benz Man’s personal preference of being in the company of ladies rather than men inspired this song, which celebrates that “one man will conquer all the ladies and win the war.”

Every aspect of Benz Man’s music clearly depicts that he is an extremely versatile artist and entertainer.  Though Benz Man’s enjoys more laid back activities like watching movies, philosophical reasoning and playing soccer, he remains a perpetual businessman, and also owns a restaurant in Conyers, GA.  At the end of the day, Benz Man’s deepest desire is that people will learn love, kindness and overall goodness through his music.……It’s all about the love of the music! Love is the fire of life, it either consumes or it purifies.