— Fixtures in the new rap underground, Benji Blue Bills and BNYX® have never been afraid to experiment with their sound. Connecting for the first time on a collaborative tape, the rising ATL-via-DC rapper and the GRAMMY-nominated producer release Out The Blue.
The new tape is home to the viral hit “Aye Rage!,” Benji and BNYX’s hit single (created with streamer YourRage), which started life as a spontaneous “Song Wars“ collaboration on PlaqueBoyMax‘s stream, and grew into a sizable underground smash with over 10 million streams across platforms. Benji is an ideal guide through BNYX®’s azure-hued sonic world, grounding the producer’s flights of fancy with calm cadences and tight flows.
Out The Blue uses “Aye Rage!” as a launching pad for Benji and BNYX® to explore a variety of underground sounds. Songs like the floating, melodic “All The Way“ and the chaotic “Taco Shells“ stay in the Working On Dying sweet spot, with boosted 808s and dancing synth arpeggios. The ethereal “Feels CoreCore“ and plugg-influenced “Right Key“ demonstrates the pair’s facility with the underground’s softer sounds. Inspired by their connection in the studio, Benji and BNYX® venture even further afield into genres they have always admired, but have not yet had the occasion to try: “I Wonder” employs a lush soul sample, reminiscent of the beats favored by Benji’s 90s rap heroes, while recent single “Down Girl,” a collaboration with Argentine rap superstar Duki, draws from BNYX®’s Haitian heritage with a Kompa-inspired sound.
Along with the tape, Benji and BNYX® share the sci-fi video for tape highlight “Morgan.” Boosted by BNYX’s bouncy 808 bassline, “Morgan” is an instant-party starter, intended to soundtrack house parties and moshpits alike. Benji beckons baddies with reckless abandon, stacking blasé boasts and inciting pandemonium with lyrics like, “If I put that b*tch in Coco, turn her to a 5 star lady/Too much ice, it cause a meltdown, is you f*cking crazy?”
Directed by Jay Richardson, the video “Morgan” pays homage to the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, parodying the campy kids action show with loving attention to detail. Benji leads a crew of masked warriors (as the Blue Ranger, naturally), taking orders from a disembodied BNYX® (as the inter-dimensional Zordon figure) and teaming up to fight a team of baddies from outer space. At the video’s end, Benji and his crew form a giant blue Megazord-like robot to vanquish the threat once and for all.
Available now on all digital platforms, Out The Blue releases later this year a limited run (500) of vinyl LPs, CDs, and an Out The Blue coffee table book featuring never-before-seen photos of Benji Blue Bills and BNYX®.
With Out The Blue out now, Benji and BNYX are ready to set the underground ablaze. It’s a Blue world, and we’re all just living it.