Benjamin Benz: 26 Years in the Rap Game, Battle Tested and Still Building on His Own Terms

There are artists who talk about paying dues. Then there is Benjamin Benz, a man who has been in the trenches of hip-hop for 26 years as an unsigned independent artist and has the receipts to prove every single year of it.

Born Curtis Edmonds Jr. in Brooklyn, New York, Benz did not start his rap career in a studio. He started it in the streets, on DVDs, on radio and in battle rap circles that separated real lyricists from everyone else immediately. From 2000 to 2006 he competed on some of the most respected stages battle rap had to offer and held his own against names that became legends.

He went round for round with Math Hoffa, the Brooklyn battle rap icon, in what has been remembered as a legendary classic. He stepped into the ring with Hollow Da Don, one of the most feared battle rappers of any era, inside the infamous Brooklyn Beat Street record store hosted by DJ Sickamore. The battle was recorded but the footage never surfaced. For six years he sharpened his pen in those environments before making a deliberate decision to shift his focus from battle rap to becoming a fully developed independent recording artist.

That transition was not an accident. It was a strategy.

The battle rap foundation that built everything

Before the singles, before the stages, before the streaming platforms, there was the raw competitive environment of New York battle rap that forged Benjamin Benz into the lyricist he is today.

He won a week straight on Power 105's live on air freestyle rap battle competition. He appeared on multiple freestyle rap DVDs including Hoodvision DVD, HipHopMovie.com, Sub 0 DVD and Underground Sessions DVD. He stepped into the Monday Night Fight Klub multiple times, one of the most legendary venues in battle rap history, and held his ground every time.

That foundation gave him something most recording artists never develop. The ability to construct bars under pressure. The confidence to deliver in any environment. The understanding of what it takes to actually connect with an audience that is looking for any reason to turn on you.

Everything he learned in those battles went directly into his music when he made the switch.

From battles to the booth

After six years of battle rap Benz stepped back from competing and committed fully to artist development. In 2012 he got on his first mixtape through DJ Gemstarr from Shadyville DJs and never looked back. Multiple mixtape appearances followed through 2016 as he built his catalog and refined his sound.

Now in 2026 he is back with five singles dropped this summer and the focus is entirely on those records. No upcoming projects being announced yet. No collaborations. Just Benjamin Benz putting his music in front of the world and letting it speak for itself.

The five singles, "Work That Body," "For the Love of Money," "What's Up Now," "Wap Wet" and "5000," are all available now on every major streaming platform including Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and Deezer through DistroKid. "Wap Wet" and "5000" were produced by Weatherman Beatz out of Chicago while "For the Love of Money," "Work That Body" and "What's Up Now" were all self produced by Benz himself. Each release comes with official merchandise supporting the song and helping build it into a popular demand.

"Motivation follows action, not the other way around. So I make the work small enough that I cannot talk myself out of it and do it on a schedule."

How he thinks about the work

Benjamin Benz approaches motivation and evolution in a way that is worth paying attention to because it is different from how most artists think about both.

He does not wait for motivation to show up before he creates. He takes action first and lets the motivation follow. He makes the work small enough that there is no excuse not to do it and he puts it on a schedule so it happens regardless of how he feels on any given day. That system has kept him productive and consistent across a career that now spans over two decades.

His approach to evolution is equally deliberate. He puts himself next to artists a tier above him, studies what they do that he cannot do yet and lets the gap pull him forward rather than discourage him. That is not passive observation. That is active competitive learning applied to his own craft every single day.

The stages that shaped him

Benjamin Benz has performed at some of New York's most iconic venues. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Drama Lounge. The Pyramid. Blackthorn 51. Times Square Arts Center. SOBs NYC. Irving Plaza. The Spot Karaoke Lounge. The M Bar Lounge in Philadelphia. Each stage added something to the performer he is today and the range of those venues reflects an artist who is comfortable in multiple rooms and multiple environments.

That live experience combined with his battle rap background and his recording career gives Benz a depth of stage presence that most independent artists at any level simply cannot replicate.

26 years unsigned and still standing

Benjamin Benz has been doing this for 26 years without a label behind him. No major deal. No industry machine pushing his records. Just a Brooklyn lyricist with a battle rap foundation, a self produced catalog, a merchandise operation and five new singles out this summer building momentum one stream at a time.

Inspired by The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Rick Ross, Jeezy and Future, he brings raw authenticity and gritty lyricism to unfiltered commercial street trap rap that is rooted in real life experience from the streets of Brooklyn.

The battle is not over. It never was. Benjamin Benz is still in it and still winning.

Stream and follow Benjamin Benz:
All links: https://linktr.ee/benjamin_benz
Music and merch: https://direct.distrokid.com/benjaminbenz/