Town rapper Benji shines in national contest

Buy photos » Bromsgrove rapper Benji Blake is through to the quarter-finals. s

A BROMSGROVE rapper has fought off more than 50,000 other musicians from around the UK to make it through to the last 20 in a prestigious national competition.

Benji Blake, from Sidemoor, is celebrating after making the quarter-finals of Live and Unsigned, Britain’s largest music competition for unsigned acts.

The 21-year-old, who makes indie, dubstep and pop music, said: “I’m amazed I’ve got this far, mainly because the competition is mostly for singers and I’m a rapper.

“There are only two rappers left now, including myself, so I feel lucky, but positive as well.”

It is not the first time Benji has reached the finals of a major competition, he proved popular at the Open Mic event last year but on being voted out, he was told it was the end of the road for him.

He will face a panel of judges, including Radio 1 DJ, Annie Nightingale, at the quarter-finals which will be held at the NEC.

Up for grabs for the winner is £10,000, along with opportunities to play at festivals and major UK venues, such as the O2.

Benji is currently studying business at New College, in Redditch, after successfully completing a music production course in 2008.

The next round of the competition takes place on March 24 at 8.30pm.

Tickets are £8 and are available by contacting Benji via Twitter: at @thatbrumkid, Facebook: Facebook.com/thatbrumkid or via e-mail: bb_14@hotmail.co.uk

Benji and a friend run free-style rapping workshops for children and young people.

Any parents or schools interested in finding out more can contact him via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook.