Mr. Benji

Wayne Donald Benjamin better known as Mr. Benji N2O was born on June 9, 1981 in Fond Cole, Dominica. It was from an early age that he realized his talent and blessing to be in the music arena. Coming from a strong Christian background, at church he played drums; however, he had the love for keyboards. As the years went by it became more obvious and evident that Wayne’s career would have taken a musical direction. Being a lover of reggae music especially those produced by the internationally known “Steel Pulse” he slowly grew interest in the new genre of music, which was created by the pioneers WCK, Bouyon music. He then started to shift his eyes to becoming an artist in bouyon music and sorts the advice from one of the founding members of the WCK Band, Ashton “Wackas” Lugay, whom is his neighbor and role model. It was from that time onwards that the rise of then BENJI began.Wayne and a group of friends from his neighbor, all whom had a love for music as well, decided to come together and form a band known as the “Ruthless Band”. In this band he not only sang but also got the chance to work the instrument that he loves keyboards. The band practice and held dances in the neighborhood and surrounding areas which gained the band some recognition and as well as BENJI. They produced a number of songs. Benji felt even though the band was becoming popular and getting some recognition he still felt that there was a lot more to be done and accomplished. He was never satisfied with things just being all right, his drive grew even more intense after the number of songs that were produced. After years with Ruthless band, he then decided to move on and went to work with Carnival Cruise line as a drummer for the band that played. And even then, he still felt that it was not his calling and that it was not enough. But who knew that things would have changed when he made his vacation visit and met with old friends that introduced him to other musicians like himself but from another band.During his time on sailing, the Triple Kay band, was a rising band with it members from the village of Laudat, however, this band was popularly known for mastering their performances in Compas and Zouk music and even Cadence. Former band member of the Ruthless band and friend Denis “Speedy” Jemmot introduced Benji to members of the Triple Kay Band upon his vacation visit. Then Benji performed with Triple Kay band as a guest performer and also got a chance to produce a song ‘Log On’ on the band’s second album Fanatik. Log on marked a new sunrise for the band due to the fact that Benji now brought in a new flavour to the band’s performance and sound, bouyon music. In 2004, Triple Kay was working on their third album and by that time Benji became popular not only for his energy and getting the audience hyped but also his amazing ability to use chants and put in song. Sewo, which was the name of the album, came from the song written and sang by Benji, brought the band one step closer to being one of the most promising bands in Dominica. Sewo brought a lot of recognition to the band and to Benji as well.But just after the album was completed, Benji had to return to his job on the cruise ship and within two weeks of the release of the album “Sewo” Triple Kay Band had proven themselves to be the most popular band among the youth. It was then Benji decided to return home and it was for good this time and said to himself that he belongs with this band and his place is home making it in the music industry. In October of 2004, Benji returned and from there everything fell into place.Triple Kay Band and Benji became a force to be reckoned with and with his skill of being able to produced tracks that would take the country by storm and his high source of energy when performing on stage. In 2005 the band was awarded “Band of the Year” and “Best Album of the year”, Sewo was named “Best Song of the Year” and Benji captured the title of “Best Male Artist” which he felt was one of his greatest accomplishments. The Caribbean and well as the UK and USA started calling to see Triple Kay and Benji perform. But the highlight of his career came when the band performed in Belgium and gave a great account of himself. He is sometimes reminded of how far he has come in the music industry when he often hear his songs played on the radio and when he meets of old friends or even his fans showing their appreciation to his work.Now as Mr. Benji N2O, music is a full time career for him and found himself competing in the Soca Monarch in Dominica and in the process of releasing his album titled “Life”. Benji maintains the band still have places to go and he himself as an individual have his hopes and dreams to be recognized on the international scene. The bands goal is to make bouyon music known to the World as reggae and soca music are well known.But now Benji have a new inspiration and that is his two-year-old daughter Rayne, which gives him additional drive to go on. She is one of his motivations and surprisingly she has an ear for music and often assisted her father in writing hit songs. Mr. Benji N2o is the name his goes by and whenever he steps on the stage always expect a show not just a performance. He hopes one day to make collaborations with artists like Bunji Garlin and his favorite international artist Machel Montano HD. It is often said in Dominica; Benji’s performances are of the same standard as Machel Montano HD and imagine what it would be like to have to dynamic artists such as these on one stage.His final words to you would be, “See you at my next N2o performance, Faster than ever!!!!”