Rising Stars: Meet Carter Benjamin of Studio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carter Benjamin.

Hi Carter, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in the Cayman Islands as a kid until I moved to Washington DC in the 7th grade. My mom is from Cayman and my dad is from the DC area. Both my parents are musically talented and my dad especially always had my sister and I in music lessons and band class and choir – all which he somehow ran or was a part of too – from the time we were toddlers. I always wanted to be a rapper or a famous soccer player until high school when I met some friends who introduced me to different sub genres of rock and folk music. I picked up an acoustic guitar and my dad taught me a lot – and him being a songwriter himself, I just began copying his daily routine of writing in the basement everyday after school until it became obsessive. I didn’t do well in college with music though, and by the time it was time to graduate I had given up on the music dreams and thought I would follow in my dads footsteps and be a pastor of some kind back in DC. I got married at 22 to my wife Yasmin and we lived in DC until one day I walked into a grocery store saw a bunch of bread on the shelf and realized I only bought a certain brand but If there were this many then clearly there was demand. I still don’t know why but that moment was a catalyst for change for me. I walked out and realized I didn’t have to be the best I just needed to get on the shelf. The people who would want what I have to offer would find me. And that would be enough. And I’ve been writing and creating ever since.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road. But the most rewarding. I’ve pursued a vision through the pandemic, being married in my early 20’s and having a kid at 25. I’ve lived in LA, one of the most expensive cities in the world, had to work multiple jobs while also still working to continue on in this conviction of what I’m doing. That comes with tons of weight and different obstacles – challenges that aren’t even related to just the simple one of “which guitar or drum sound should we use?” Or “what melody or lyrics should we fit in here?” But every time I’ve been willing to quit or stop something has happened to either fund my project, a sync, a song taking off on TikTok, a random email or text to open and go on a national tour. And all the details have continued to fall into place. It’s still scary some days but I have enough evidence and confidence now to trust as things show up they aren’t for nothing.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I tend to just tell people I make rock music. Alt/indie rock but sometimes it’s very pop or soul leaning music. I started in singer songwriter / alt rnb but the truth is something was lacking when I would play live. I have a LOT of energy. And rock music seemed to capture that when I would play live especially. I like to think that I just write music as an excuse to play live shows. Maybe it’s cause of church and growing up with my dad making me do choir and worship music, but at this point I’ve got my 10,000 hours in and I love nothing else than the feeling of being on stage. That feeling of the culmination of energy in the room and in what I’m about to say and perform is typically what helps me the most and where I trust I am able to help provide some sort of value to others too.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Probably coming to America flying into Orlando Florida and going to the Nickelodeon hotel and getting slimed. Felt like i had made it to the big leagues that day

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hoo.be/carterbenjamin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carterbenjamin/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@carterbenjamin2

Image Credits
All photos shot by Sam Scott IG: the_samscottshot