Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaelan Bennett.
Hi Jaelan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a 23 years delivery driver/trainer at Chick-fil-A by day and a producer, rapper, & content creator by night. Before life in Atlanta, I was just a kid from Charlotte, North Carolina. After the recession hit in 2008, my family relocated to Georgia in hopes of better opportunities. I come from a warm loving working middle-class family with a love for music. Both my father & mother’s family is filled with many singers who often sang for churches throughout most of their lives.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although life has provided me with many blessings, it’s definitely had its fair share of adversity.
Due to religious reasons, I never got the chance to experience birthdays and holidays like most children which created a sense of disconnect amongst my peers. Often times I’d find it hard to relate with many until I discovered theater in 6th grade. It would be in theater where I would learn how to become comfortable with just being me. It allowed me to open myself up more to the world. For a while things were great; then senior year happened.
While most of my peers were getting ready for college, my family would face our hardest battle yet, dealing with eviction. My stepfather had lost his job in the months prior and the bills had finally caught up. We had no choice, but to move. For my mother, sister, and stepfather it meant returning to North Carolina. As for myself, I had fallen in love with Atlanta and couldn’t allow myself to leave in defeat.
It would be during these troubling times I would discover my love for music. In 2017, I would begin living with my childhood best friend and working at Chick-fil-A. During my free time, I would spend every waking hour trying to create new sounds to express the emotions I couldn’t put into words at the time. I began connecting with friends and other local artists to get a better understanding of this new world.
A year later I would lose my oldest stepbrother to his battle with mental health on the day after Christmas in 2018. This eventually led me astray from dreams and sent me to a very dark place in life where nothing felt important anymore. It would be nearly a year before I attempted to make music again. However when I did, this time I had something to say.
With a new outlook on life, I took the same passion that kept me afloat during my eviction and used it to help release me of the pain buried inside. It would be around this time I would try my hand at rapping and haven’t stopped since.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As of now, I have been a rapper for four years & producing for six. Unfortunately after moving, I don’t have all the fancy equipment that many could find in studios, but I’ve managed to make the best of what I do have. While not having the best tools would discourage most, I’ve learned to use it to my advantage. Every day I seek out new ways to enhance the quality of my work and outdo my prior. I have over a hundred songs released on SoundCloud with a hundred of unreleased behind it. Last year I was able to get some of my beats featured in Peter McNeil’s debut film “Urge”.
Along with my music ambitions, I have spent time building a small following on TikTok in hopes of building a bigger platform and to show more of my humorous side. On TikTok, I’m able to pull from my theater days and perform various skits as well as connect with others and show everyone it’s okay to be yourself.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The best thing about Atlanta would have to be the culture. It’s been a long time coming, but Atlanta is now one of the biggest cities for music and entertainment. Atlanta provides the opportunity for people to connect and create magic whether it be through the delicious food spots here, beautiful art displays, or new sounds. Atlanta sets the trends & creates the waves in America.
While Atlanta is one of the best cities, the roads here would be its only flaw.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/8Fm1tWWWAAUwERtE9
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lonely_benxo/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/hoD6hSWeM1hkmHej9
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdWJDaCX/
