Adejumo is of
Yoruba Nigerian descent. Inspired by
UK garage producer
Wookie, Benga would produce tunes on a
PlayStation, and subsequently
FruityLoops. As a teenager he would visit the Big Apple record shop in Croydon where he was introduced to
Skream, and together they would help forge the sound of dubstep emerging in the early 2000s. His productions caught the attention of
DJ Hatcha, who worked at the shop, and, by the age of 15, Benga had made his first record, "Skank", released on Big Apple's own record label in 2002. Benga's second release was a collaboration with Skream, called "The Judgement". Further releases followed on Big Apple Records,
Hotflush Recordings and
Planet Mu, before Benga self-released his debut album
Newstep in 2006. As dubstep garnered mainstream attention, Benga continued to release singles, including a collaboration with Coki of
Digital Mystikz called "Night", that reached 98 in the
UK Singles Chart in 2008.
Diary of an Afro Warrior, Benga's second album, followed in the same year with
Resident Advisor describing it as "one of the most anticipated LPs in dubstep yet." In 2007 Benga along with fellow producers
Skream and
Artwork, formed the dubstep
supergroup Magnetic Man. This resulted in the release of an
EP and
eponymous studio album in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Benga also produced
Katy B's debut single "
Katy on a Mission", which peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in 2010. From January 2011, Benga joined
BBC Radio 1 with Skream as part of 'In New DJs We Trust', and presented a weekly Friday night show. Skream and Benga performed together at
Field Day music festival in Sydney on
New Year's Day 2012. Benga generated controversy in July 2012 after reportedly saying he wished to remove himself from dubstep, insisting that he no longer wanted to be a part of the genre. He went on to clarify his comments saying "For me to remain creative, I've kinda not got to call my music dubstep and for me to keep pushing boundaries and moving around, making songs... I can't call myself dubstep." In 2013, he released his third album
Chapter II on
Sony Music, which included the single "Forefather" featuring
Kano. He also created an official remix of
Donna Summer's "
I Feel Love", which features on the tribute
remix album Love To Love You Donna, and co-produced
Dominique Young Unique's 2014 debut single "
Throw It Down" with
DJ Fresh. On 2 February 2014, Adejumo announced on social media that following his engagement to Holly-Jae Treadgold, he was retiring to focus on raising a family. However, in May 2014, he announced plans to complete a new album. In September 2015, Benga revealed via his Twitter account that mental health issues had been the reason for his retirement announcement. In an interview with
The Guardian, he explained that he noticed issues in late 2013 and was subsequently
sectioned in March 2014. He stated that excessive touring led to
schizophrenia. In an interview with
Annie Mac on
BBC Radio 1 in 2018, Benga claimed to have deleted all of his productions from his hard drive during his hospital stay. He premiered a new track "Psychosis" on the radio show, inspired by and to treat his psychological experiences, and was released in February 2018 on his new Illuminate record label. In January 2025, Skream and Benga announced they had started a collaborative album together, their first collaborative work since Magnetic Man. Neither of them announced the name or release date of the project, and have since released two singles, "Good Things Come To Those Who Wait" in June and "Midnight Control" featuring Emily Makis in November. ==Discography==