The Real Hip-Hop

Virginia emcee Benny Watts has a story to tell. Watts’ story is one of failure, triumph, pain, joy, doubt, and faith. His name is derived from the fictional chess prodigy in the 1983 Walter Tevis novel, The Queen’s Gambit. This particular Benny Watts is playing chess in the booth – making calculated moves in an attempt at domination.

Watts’ first major move comes in the form of his debut solo album “The Benny Watts Riot.” The project comes courtesy of Carmafia and features appearances by Born Unique, Rah Skrilla, Jakoby, Noah-O, D Gramm, Lyric, and Pro Dillinger. The 12-track album is produced by Dame Grease, Trackoutz, DJ Diz, Michael, OthelloBeats, Dolce Vita, BeatSmith, Nat, RXFI, and Nars.

The Real Hip-Hop chatted with Benny Watts about how he cultivated his rap career in prison, the impact that Islam has on his life, and his new album, The Benny Watts Riot.

TRHH: Explain the title of the album, The Benny Watts Riot.

Benny Watts: The name of the album is basically like the rhymes that I formulate they’re saying they’re causing a riot, bringing everybody together to cause some chaos. I was incarcerated for 17 years. I’ve been home for probably like a year and a half now. So, I came home like full-fledged and that was the idea I came up with to cause mass hysteria – chaos when I got back in the booth.

TRHH: Seventeen years, man, that’s a long time, bro.

Benny Watts: I got locked up in 2005.

TRHH: So, were you rhyming before you went in?

Benny Watts: Oh, no doubt. I was working with Pete Twist. He was our producer and engineer. I was in a group called The Suspects based out of Norfolk. I’m originally from Norfolk, but I moved to Richmond. I’ve been working with Pete Twist, he’s like the OG. When I came home he was like “let’s work again.”

TRHH: When you were locked up did you write songs?

Benny Watts: Of course, It’s crazy, some of the songs that’s on the album I wrote when I was incarcerated.

TRHH: The album is so cohesive. What was the process like for you putting things together with all of the producers?

Benny Watts: It wasn’t a hard process, it was just like I’ll get a beat and I’ll run it through Pete first and see what Pete says. I trust his judgement and I’ll just run it through Pete and he’d be like, “Yeah, that’s fire.” If I already had something to it I’ll go do it or I will go to the house and just write something to it. But it wasn’t hard at all. The beat “Send It” when I was incarcerated I had my son reach out to Dame Grease. My son reached out to Dame Grease and said “Man, my pops got a fire joint to one of your beats. My pops is locked up, he about to come home, he did a long time.” And Dame Grease was like “Man, tell your pops I got him.” I came home and he got me.

Same thing as Jahlil Beats. I got a song that’s not on the album produced by Jahlil Beats that’s called “My Plug Stamped.” My son reached out to Jahlil Beats and when I got home Jahlil Beats leased me the beat for a real low price. I’ve reached out to a lot of producers. I was doing my politicking when I was incarcerated. I came home and already had a plan in mind.

TRHH: Wow, that’s dope, man. Not everybody can come out with that kind of plan in mind. Not everybody can come out with optimism. What made you different?

Benny Watts: To keep it real, some of the dopest dudes I heard was incarcerated – I’m talking about signed or un-signed. Some of these dudes got like 40-50 years. It was one point in time I gave up. I’m going to tell you a little quick story, so, I got locked up in ’05 and in ’07 I started rapping. I get to this prison called Lawrenceville — it’s close to Emporia, VA. This cat named Mojo from Northern Virginia, we was in the cell chilling and didn’t nobody know I rapped. They’re making preparations for a talent show, so, Mojo had the instrumentals on and he was like “spit something!” So, I go in and when I finish everybody in the cell looking at me like, “What the fuck?”  They was like “Man, you getting in that talent show” and I was like “Man, I ain’t fucking with that shit.”

Shout out to counselor Taylor, they told Taylor. She pulled up on me one day when we was walking to the mess hall and she was like “I heard you can rap” and I was like “I do a little something.” She said “Naw, it ain’t no little something. You getting in that talent show.” Long story short, I got in the talent show and I spit something old from like 2005-2006 I wrote when I was in the jail fighting the case. I came in 3rd place and it was dope singers, it was people that was in choirs that was in prison that could really blow. I came in 3rd place with some old stuff. I still was not all in, so, everybody said “You gotta get back into it.”

I say around like 2018-19 before the pandemic hit we was locked down a lot in our cells because they didn’t know how to fight this virus. I caught COVID when I was in there and almost died. Me being in the cell that long I started working on my craft. I started sharpening up. When we came off the pandemic that’s when I knew I was ready. It was like late-2020. They kind of started letting us come out a little bit and that’s when I knew I was ready. I came home with a plan.

TRHH: You paint a vivid picture on the song “Tony Story.” What’s your writing process like?

Benny Watts: It’s based off the beat. If the beat takes me there then I’ll go. My writing process, you know sometimes it might take me 20 to 40 minutes to write a whole song. Sometimes I might just have to write a little something and get back to it. It depends.

TRHH: On “Charged Up Mafia” you have an interesting line where you say, “I heard the devil giving record deals, I’m ready to sign.” Explain that line. Why would you sign with the devil?

Benny Watts: [Laughs] Aww, man. To keep it real, I wouldn’t sell my soul for the music. At that time that’s what I was feeling when I wrote that bar. I wouldn’t sell my soul for this though.

TRHH: You rhyme about street situations, but consistently refer to Islam in your music.

Benny Watts: Yes, I’m Sunni Muslim.

TRHH: Me too, brother.

Benny Watts: As salaam alaikum, akhi.

TRHH: Wa alaikum salaam, brother. How important is Islam in your life and does your faith make you conflicted about the subject matter in your music?

Benny Watts: It makes me conflicted because I know it’s haram. But music is the one thing that keeps me sane. If it weren’t for this I don’t know where I would be mentally. Alhamdulillah that I survived through everything. I went through a lot of trials in there too. Prison is a world of its own. I was at a prison that was just like the street. Prostitution rings, people OD’ing left and right, but the brothers always congregated and made salaat. Some brothers had their faults, but that’s up to Allah. That’s what kept me sane and well-grounded — the deen and the music.

TRHH: You said some brothers had their faults, but everybody has their faults.

Benny Watts: Everybody has faults, no question.

TRHH: Everybody. I think that’s something we lose sight of because we like to look at somebody who’s doing this or who’s not doing that, but we all got our own lane to travel. We’re all trying to get to the same destinations, just taking different roads. We all slip — that’s just life. Were you Muslim before you went in?

Benny Watts: I was not Muslim, but it was crazy because I was going to the F.O.I. joint before I got locked up. I was going like every now and then because it was right there in Norfolk. I dibbled and dabbled a little bit and in the Supreme Mathematics. I had a homeboy who was Godbody from Jersey and he’s the one that got me started rapping for real. I dibbled and dabbled in Islam, but it wasn’t the right Islam – it’s not the Qur’an and Sunnah. When I got incarcerated I had my homeboy — he was locked up with me. He was like, “Man, you need to start coming to jumah.” I started going to jumah.

The Imam there took a real liking to me the first day I came. I started going to classes but I didn’t take my shahada yet. I say like nine months go by and they kept asking me if I was ready. They were like, “Are you ready? You know your salaat, you know Arabic.” I was like, “Man, I ain’t ready yet.” So, the first day of Ramadan I go and say, “I’m ready to take my shahada. They said, “Man, you’re trying to take it the first day of Ramadan?” I said, “Yeah, I’m gonna take it and I’m gonna fast!” [Laughs] They were like, “Alhamdulillah” and gave me my shahada.

TRHH: That’s beautiful. I know you said “not the right Islam” but I too was very much into the Nation of Islam. The Minister changed my life, man. I was in the street being foolish in like 92-93. A buddy of mine had cassette tapes of the Minister’s speeches and we would go play ball and he would play the Farrakhan tapes in the car on the way to the court. It influenced me and I just grew and grew. Later on, I knew it wasn’t for me, but I think it’s important because black people perceive Islam as an Arab thing.

Benny Watts: It’s not. It’s a “we” thing because you got some Imam’s that are white!

TRHH: Asian, everything.

Benny Watts: Mexican.

TRHH: Right, everything. But it’s perceived as Arab. The Nation of Islam to me is important because it speaks to us.

Benny Watts: The black people, yeah.

TRHH: It can get you in the door and it might work for you. My buddy was Sunni Muslim forever now he’s Nation of Gods & Earths. I didn’t ask him why, he just said “I believe this.” Whatever gets you to the destination, man.

Benny Watts: Yeah.

TRHH: “Thug Cry” is a song where you talk about deeply personal situations. Was it difficult for you to speak on family issues on that song?

Benny Watts: It’s crazy about this song because before I put the album out that was a song that I was debating on putting on the album because I didn’t know how my sister would feel. My sister that’s alive, we’re cool now but it was a lot of greasy things done. It’s crazy because I wrote that song while I was incarcerated and while I’m writing it I just seen a tear hit the paper. It’s always hard to air out family issues to the public, but it was something that needed to be done to get it off my chest. I thought it was a dope song and it’s real.

TRHH: So, did your sister hear the song?

Benny Watts: Yeah, she heard the whole album. She said “That joint tough!” She said she was proud of me.

TRHH: Who is The Benny Watts Riot album made for?

Benny Watts: I’m gonna just say it’s made for the streets. It’s made for the streets and anybody that can relate to it. I’m not gonna necessarily say that it’s for the streets, it’s for anybody that can relate to it, because it’s songs up there for everybody, like Thug Cry, Send It. Especially the people that been incarcerated, you know they gonna feel it the most. The brothers, they gonna feel it too because I’m throwing the Islam in some of the bars too. I tried to make the album for everybody, but I know who can gravitate to it — the streets, the brothers, and the people that’s incarcerated.

Purchase: Benny Watts – The Benny Watts Riot