Imagine Benjamin "Alkatraz" Holness as a young boy born in the late seventies who began life in an era when rock music was the strongest but was slowly being pushed out of the limelight by a growing genre of music dubbed Hip-Hop. A typical day in this young boys life might have Pink Floyd playing in the car on the way to school, and Big Daddy Kane playing on his way home from school.
The wide musical choice can be attributed to his mothers love for rock and his stepfathers introduction of up and coming Hip Hop artists. This boy could see that in music there was freedom. "And so if you were British and needed to scream or were Black and needed to vent about life in the inner city, well it all made sense to me." He loved music and identified with many of the musicians that he listened to. "I remember listening to Hip Hop and I was amazed at this new sound. It had such rhythm but the vocals were talking about being free and not being controlled and something about that really appealed to me."
His mother split up with his biological father very early and he was raised for half of his life by an African American, (his moms new husband). This of course led to a wide view of life and culture. He has a brother from that marriage and that also gave him something to be proud of. Later on his mother would remarry again after a move to Las Vegas. So he and his half-black brother and his Mexican step-brother grew up, defining themselves as we all do. One way that helped define who this boy would become was when he created a counter-culture magazine that still operates today called Voices Magazine (voicesmagazine.org).
The creation of this magazine was a way for the young man to meet people, and fight a system that he saw unfit to teach him anything about the world. "I just saw things going on and teachers and even my family could not explain them to me. I wanted answers and I wanted to unify people for the greater good. It [the magazine] just seemed to come together."
Then a friend would give him a set of turntables, and this is what has sparked the latest in series of endeavors that he has gone after. "I have always wanted to be a DJ but I never had the money for the turntables, so when a good friend gave me his set I was shocked but excited to learn about scratching and mixing." So while running Voices magazine and putting out a few mix tapes here in there he began to speak to his biological father again. It was then that he found out that music talents had definitely been passed down.
Ben's father who played in a few different bands, played El Chicano tunes like Santana, and WAR. He played bass for many years and was asked to tour with a 50's/60's band but had to pass on the opportunity because of other family obligations. "It's been great to meet back up with my biological father. It places many puzzles pieces where they needed to go and completes my life in a great way."
So Ben or "Alkatraz" as he is known writes and edits Voices Magazine and has begun this new music project. He is taking his poetry and writings and is going to be doing spoken word over samples and mixes. "I don't want to be famous because of this. I don't have any ego whatsoever, but it's a way for me to vent and it proves to be more interactive then traditional writing. I hope you enjoy my words and please check out my magazine when you have a chance! Thanks! http://www.voicesmagazine.org