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Biography of Soul Capital MC, Ben Brubaker:
Ben Brubaker is a lyricist with something to prove. From an early age Ben has developed his strong musical background as a jazz percussionist, combining his experiences as a community activist with lyrical ability and a cutting edge sound, helping him to become an eclectic songwriter and performer. Bottom line, you could search the world over and not find another artist like him.
Ben’s career in music started from a young age, playing gigs in coffee shops and house parties in Philadelphia and the tri-state area. In 2005, Ben’s life was forever changed when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, flooding his apartment and erasing years of song lyrics and poetry. After evacuating to Shreveport, Ben refused to let Katrina stand in his way. In just two months, Ben managed to record a full-length album “Life as We Know Itâ€, and sold over 500 copies to fans across the country, raising over $1,500 for the New Orleans recovery efforts. A few months after returning to New Orleans, Ben showed his initiative as an artist and a savvy music industry figure by heading up an annual benefit concert called “New Orleans Hip-Hop for Hopeâ€, to raise money for local education. Since then, Hip-Hop for Hope has raised over $12,000 and featured artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Baby Boy da Prince, Raw Dizzy, Soul Rebels Brass Band, and many more. His commitment to the city of New Orleans and its music did not go unnoticed, and a variety of artists, media and organizations have since been working with Ben to create music and events which speak to the heart of the issues while remaining relevant to the popular trends of today. In 2007, Ben was selected as a top 20 finalist from a pool of over 1000 competing artist in the nationwide “Keep A Child Alive†on-line battle of the bands contest. His music was judged and chosen by celebrity artist, Common and producer Steven Lilly-white, among others, landing him as the only hip-hop artist in the finals and earning him a featured page on the KCA website.
Ben has performed on stage with a number of well-known artists, including Baby Boy da Prince, Dizzy (of Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money), Rebirth, Soul Rebels, Sess 4-5, Partners n’ Crime and many others. He has performed in front of hundreds of fans in some of New Orleans most legendary venues, including Tipitina’s, House of Blues and the Howlin Wolf. Most recently, Ben has teamed up with musical prodigy, Miles Felix, to create a new sound that appeals to a variety of listeners across the country. Working for Atlantic Records since September 2007, Ben has accumulated important experience in the industry and is ready to employ those skills to further his own career. As a charismatic “go getter†with a “do it yourself†style, Ben is capable of handling the pressures of an evolving music industry landscape and clearly has the potential to make it big. Recently featured in publications such as the Gambit Weekly and Where Y’at, Ben’s talent as a lyricist, performer and promoter have earned him the reputation as one of the hottest up and coming artists in New Orleans. Most recently, Ben has joined DJ Miles Felix to create a new super duo reminiscent of Blackstar, called "Soul Capital", and hopes to release a new album with Miles (a.k.a Professor Felix) in the spring of 2008.
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"My Philosophy"- Ben Brubaker
Who I am is not where I have lived, or what I have accomplished thus far. I refuse to define myself in those terms, because we are all works in progress, and we are all the potential within ourselves, struggling towards that realization. For me, that struggle takes the form of a calling from somewhere far off and deep down inside. I am a philosopher at heart, a lover of knowledge, of wonder and experience. This inner self is manifested through the arts, specifically the venue of music.
As a musician, I constantly live in a dualistic reality; the tension between living for the music and facing the reality that the music industry is brutal, between writing music to inspire and affect positive change in the world and writing simply because I have emotions, whether dissapointments, love, happiness, confusion, angst or celebration.
I am constantly trying to strike a middle ground that can resonate with people from all walks of life and especially with people who feel like me; torn between dreams and reality, right and wrong, and unable to fit into the convenient categories of superficial judgements. Yes, I am your typical white kid from the suburbs who has experienced hardly any of the hardships that many people around the world endure. No, I am not that person.
I have been blessed with many gifts; different talents and abilties, caring friends and family, and opportunities which many people will never have. I have also been cursed, with the white skin that constantly reminds me of a tainted history, with the limitations of a body and mind which could never do justice to the dreams in my heart, and with the inability to give in to apathy and resign myself to indifference. The latter is often times the most troubling, because the world we live in today is overwhelmingly filled with impossible challanges, unbearable tragedies and insurmountable obstacles.
Still, If we are to remain human, to hold on to individuality and embrace freedom, we must fight with all of our might against indifference, injustice and impossibilty. We must each accept responsibility for the fate of this world we live in, and no longer wait for others to make the difference that we want to see in the world. And while we must embrace the fight for freedom and humanity in all seriousness, we must never forget how to laugh. We must always remember what it is we are fighting for, the things we still have to celebrate and cherish, and the ability to love others. I am no more a hero than you or the next person, but I am determined to make a difference in my own way.
www.myspace.com/soulcapital
www.soulcapitalmusic.com
www.thesixtyone.com/soulcapital
www.reverbnation.com/soulcapital
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