So who is BennFranK? That very question seems to be the underlying theme of his debut release, compactly titled “BFK” (Fuzion Records). Not a single picture of the artist appears anywhere in the CD artwork or were included within his EPK. The first track, “Who” again poses that same question, but offers no real answers. So just who is BennFranK?
Inside the “BFK” jewel case, on the back panel of the front cover to be exact, there are a few clues. But these clues only serve to deepen the mystery because instead of plainly telling us who he is they, instead, tell us who he may, or may not be. Here’s the way it reads:
So who is this BennFranK?
Is he a rich man, a poor man, a beggar man or a thief?
Is he a doctor, a lawyer, or a commander-in-chief?
Could he be a King or a prophet,
some kind of problem or a priest?
Maybe he’s a poet, a picker or a pusher with a piece.
The Missing Link, Sasquatch, ET, or the Godfather?
Did he shoot Tupac in Vegas, or Biggie in L.A., JFK in Dallas, or Lennon in NYC?
Is he a Hero, a zero or 4 billion people all mashed up into one?
Who do YOU think, my son?
Who is BennFranK?
Who?
The rest of the design is just as sparse and simple. Only mock-ups of Bennies (street slang for $100 dollar bills) adorned with question marks, crowns and cryptic messages. So who is BennFranK? It almost seems that perhaps the intentional lack of graphic detail was either to disguise the identity of an already recognizable artist, or maybe, to avoid distracting listeners from what the artist held as the highest priority: the music.
The 9 tracks on the record are not the common club bangers that rappers usually release. They’re more like abstract, cubist paintings that fracture reality. In fact, listening to “BFK” from beginning to end is akin to some kind of acid trip. Unclear images of the artist appear, and then disappear, in his music. At times, it’s almost as if BennFranK momentarily materializes only to whisper mystic messages in your ear before dissolving into the ether of your mind’s upper regions yet again. It is sound shattered, then diffracted and filtered through a psychedelic prism that you hear with more than just aural organs.
The closest to a club banger on the recording is the fifth cut, “Aye Buddy”, a song celebrating, of all things, hanging out with your babes and buds in your favorite nightclub. Its mid-tempo swagger and the brassy bass bravado boasts about rolling with the bros and hos all night long. It reiterates the long held philosophy of that if you work hard then you’re entitled to have the right to party hard.
“Lay You Down” offers up a trippy backing vox on the choruses while “Galaxy” talks of leaving a ravished world for somewhere far, far away. In “Save the World” when BennFranK is asked if that’s something he’s able to do he replies, seemingly with a shrug of his shoulders, “I can try”. Crunk like pitch-shifted vocals and quirky meter changes reign supreme in “Faith in Us”. While “History” reaches for immortality, “Do You” asks age old questions. Wrapping up BennFranK’s “BFK” collection is “Keep it Moving” It’s an anthemic reminder that he who is not busy being born is busy dying.
This disc is not the usual Hip-Hop 101 we’ve become accustomed to hearing on the radio. It bobs and weaves like a young prize fighter ready to take on the world. All contenders are welcomed into the ring, but most will only end up carried out on their backs after being forced to bow, and ultimately, kiss the mat. So when all is said and done “BFK” is a pretty impressive offering. The only problem with it is, is it that you’re still left asking, “And who the hell is BennFranK?” Maybe we’ll all just have to wait to find out until he releases his next record. I’m betting that’s exactly just what he wanted us to do.
