Listen to Benny Mails’ song – “Mantra.”
Benny Mails has unveiled new track ‘Mantra’, which is available today. This summer has seen the quickly-rising South London rapper make his debut festival appearances at the likes of Visions and Lovebox, following dates alongside Loyle Carner (including two nights at Shepherds Bush Empire), Jay Prince, Lil Peep and Cosmo Pyke. With additional early support across the 1Xtra, NTS and Radio 1 – plus a collaboration with Gotts Street Park – Benny has already been confirmed for Pitchfork Avant Garde, and will announce news of further music and live dates for the year shortly.
First previewed in session for COLORS – “”an artist whose name you seriously need to know” – ‘Mantra’ is described by Benny as “the story about myself as a confident teen that suffers from anxiety, struggling and striving through misfortune. It touches briefly on personal experience in previous relationships to family passing away due to knife crime. It really is a song about how I can get back up after being knocked down by remembering that “everything happens for a reason.”
‘Mantra’ is a more affecting but characteristically-frank offering from Benny Mails, who has won across-the-board plaudits for early tracks ‘I Blocked My Dealer’ and ‘Sticky’. Brought up in the midst of London’s grime scene whilst also listening to heroes like Nas on the one hand and the discovery of his family’s funk and jazz records on the other, his early experiences of playing live weren’t that of a typical MC: Benny breakdanced and performed contemporary dance from a young age with the likes of b-boy legend Crazy Legs and the Zulu Nation. Developing an innate sense for rhythm and flow inevitably filtered into his songwriting, which has began to unveil in 2017. The strength of ‘Mantra’ suggests that Benny Mails is only just getting started.
Listen below…
