06/03/2021
This weeks feature artist is Miss.Benzo
Below we dive deep into who she is in a very detailed interview aswell as giving insight to the 5 songs she chose to be featured!
Cruz: Who are you?
MB: I am Miss Benzo otherwise known as Mercedes, I am a Singer/ Songwriter, Published model, Mother of 4, and a Psychic Medium. That's a mouth full I know! I strive for greatness, helping people find their purpose and promote self-love, su***de prevention, and mental illness awareness advocate to say the least. I am the oldest of 7 siblings, born in Edmonton Alberta, Raised in Las Vegas Nevada, and currently reside in Calgary, Alberta. My music team is filled with geniuses I swear! From producers to photographers the list goes on. I am an R&B and Soul artist, however, I do have music from other genres, as I believe as a musician the only control I have in my life is my creativity so I don't believe in placing myself in a bubble. I sing, rap, write, ghostwrite, etc. Every single song I have ever written or recorded has come from personal experience. I want the world to hear the truth, I wear my life and trauma on my sleeve, and one song at a time, I hope the world will start to accept that trauma creates resilience, and resilience creates drive which all in all, turns into success if you stay driven. I am Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and Caucasian, I tend to fit into all different types of crowds, and accept everyone for who they are and what their reason and purpose are.
C: What side of the city you from?
MB: I am from the southside! Millwoods, spent most of my time in Edmonton on that side of town, towards the end of my stay n Edmonton I met a lot. of awesome people on the northside. My mother always lived south my father always lived north. I got the best of both worlds!
C: Are you part of a collective? If so
who’s involved?/How did you start?
MB: I am no longer in a collective however I was in The Honor Roll Music collective and created a collective with a local rapper named Konflict. I had just gotten out of a four-year marriage, and truly wanted to follow my passion as a singer, so I started working with K-Riz and his Collective as a backup vocalist amongst many talented artists and musicians, then started the collective with Konflict which was amazing! I then went into my solo career, although I am a solo artist now I am still in collaboration with many of the musicians from the collectives and have great memories with them.
C: What does it mean to be an artist from Edmonton/Alberta?
MB: Being an artist from Edmonton Alberta is a pleasure, there are so many talents in all ways shapes, and forms, true authentic leaders and ambitious souls to say the least. The Hip-Hop and Urban music in Edmonton, and in Alberta as a whole should definitely be more recognized and I think we're doing it slowly but surely, getting the recognition we all deserve.
C: Which artists inspired you?
MB: If we're talking celebrity-wise, although. think we are all equal I have to say Usher Raymond IV, Mariah Carey, Micheal Jackson, and Ashanti have been my biggest inspirations, everything about them from their vocal range, to their lyrical wisdom, all the way to their life story. I really took the time to understand them as individuals, what really stood out to me with them was their trauma and how they overcame it, changing the cycle, and becoming greater than the world set them up to become.
C: How did you come up with your stage name?
MB: Miss Benzo, although my name is Mercedes and it seems self-explanatory Miss Benzo means a lot more, in relation to a commonly known anxiety-reducing medication "Benzodiazepines", given that my main goal when creating music is to act as a cure and to draw awareness to su***de prevention, addiction, mental illness, resilience, childhood trauma, abuse reduction, and forgiveness, by giving the audience and fans all of my emotions, and potentially saving lives through my musical content. My name is just touching the surface compared to my plans to give the world a euphoric taste and comfort along with support, giving the feeling of that antidepressant and temporary relief helping people around the world understand their self-worth and importance.
C: I noticed you’re a parent, how’s does it that affect how you make music? Does it make it difficult to find time to record?
I am a parent that for sure! I am a mother of four and since the pandemic started I have been homeschooling full time, that didn't change much when it came to time management, the key to all of this is balance, You have to be able to balance your children, your career and your mental health. I luckily have an amazing partner who is also my producer and manager, G Major XCLSV, we are full-time parents, I believe our children should not be an excuse to fail more so a reason to succeed, we tell our children every day they can be whatever they want to be in this world, so we're simply showing them, and practicing what we preach. We built a studio in our home, we actually don't leave to record everything is done in-home, we didn't have enough room for the studio area, so we literally got rid of our bed and bought a futon couch to extend the space, we record in the evenings and our children respect that we work from home, they enjoy it really, watching the process and dedication, inf act our oldest children re starting to produce and the whole crew records, they have their own group going called "He Did It First", they launched their first single and music video called "Proper hygiene" when covid first started and it has been played for all of the school boards. To some it's difficult for us, we make I work, I write music in my car and rehearse it in my car sometimes when it gets hectic, it isn't easy but it for damn sure is worth it!
C: Any new releases coming up that we should be looking forward to?
MB: New releases and projects are for sure in the near future! I just release a collaborative project with a great artist "Tea Fannie" called "Most Hated" and I have another collaborative project with "G Major XCLSV" called Vibes Releasing June 2021, along with my next Solo Album "Slow Jams" a 90's old school R&B vibe that will for sure show my sensual side, and I might just drop a little EP in the next month or so for the summertime, I have 9 projects under the carpet right now that I cant wait to show you all but you gotta wait for information on that, it's in the making and going to be nothing like what I have released before, remember, I don't like picking a genre so every single project will be like a brand new Miss Benzo! There are some new music videos on the way as well! Stay tuned!!
“You’re not like him”,
This track is all about accepting your trauma and past relationship and allowing new love. Accepting love without judgment and learning to love yourself. With a sexy twist and an acoustic vibe, the lyrics express more than emotion they express strength and communication. Check for the bridge, there is a lot of originality and shows creativity with the vocals especially the unique breakdown towards the end of the track!
“Runaway”
An Alternative Indie/R&B track inspired by artists such as Billie Eilish and Jessie Reyez. The song is all about letting go of past trauma and allowing yourself the chance to make the world your own, forgetting all of your worries, and starting new, accepting the next chapter to begin. Remembering to never leave your true love behind in the process of walking away from negativity. It's smooth, with a bounce, and extremely relatable to issues we are facing in the world right now. With a hint of recognition of PTSD, letting others know who suffer from mental illness it's okay to take control of your mind.
“Patience”
We live in a world of Convenience, look around for just one second you can literally contact somebody that is across the world within three seconds, You can buy a car with the top of a card, with that being said it’s extremely easy to let go of something so important, that’s your patience. We need to be able to rectify what we can and cannot handle or change in this world, you cannot change God’s plan, but you can choose the path, you take and the choices that you make to determine what fate will become of your being. Sometimes in life, we tend to think that something so minuscule can determine the rest of our day, even the rest of our lives. Emotions tend to overcome our decision-making process and it can alter our future. I want you to take the time to listen to this song I wrote from my heart to yours, I want you to absorb the lyrics, I want you to feel the emotion, and I want you to hopefully find a sense of peace by the end of listening. I know I did, this song saved me.
"Created From Hate” collaboration from the EP Most Hated with Tea Fannie
We came together on this collaborative project with nothing but facts. It’s not often you see two strong-minded like-minded women in the hip hop field get along never mind create an entire EP with open hearts. We spoke our mind, we released our anger, we celebrated our accomplishments, and revealed more than enough in-depth topics that are rarely looked at from multiple perspectives. Filling the room with ego and confidence while remaining humble and remembering where we came from we bring you Most Hated! This Ep is filled with so many talented beings all over Canada!
“Vibes” collaborative single from the upcoming EP with G Major XCLSV
This track is a whole vibe! This is just the beginning of an amazing EP on the way! This track takes you back to where We all need to be in the music Era with a 90’s feel and a touch of the future. the track is a smooth sounded Hip-Hop / R&B song, with gritty rap lyricism and chilling melodic vocals, accentuating the vibe of love and perseverance.
