I can’t help but be nostalgic when I hear
the opening bars on RJ Benjamin’s signature song “C U In My Dreams.” It seems
like just yesterday when he came into our lives through that very song. It’s
hard to believe that it’s been 10 years.
Many people, myself included were convinced
that RJ Benjamin was an international artist. As brilliant as South African
music was and still is, RnB/Soul music was a “largely underdeveloped” genre at
that time. To our utter shock the artist
responsible for the song was not only South African but also a white man! The
world had seen its fair share of Blue Eyed Soul, but not South Africa.
“C U In My Dreams” was the break through
single from RJ Benjamin’s critically acclaimed “Who I Am” album. A poignant ballad about regret and self
persecution. People took an immediate liking to the song.
Looking
back, “Who I Am” album couldn’t have been released at a more unlikely time. The
year was 2003 and the climate in the local industry was not the most
accommodating for Soul singers. One can
argue that it still isn’t but the situation was worse 10 years ago. It is no
secret that House, Afro-Pop, Afrikaans, Gospel and Kwaito music are the most
popular genres in South Africa. This
gives one a sense of what a risk it was to release an album like “Who I Am”. It became South Africa’s very first Neo-Soul
album.
One thing you can’t miss about the album is
how organic it is. Live horns, live drums and so forth on a record. Mainstream RnB music had not sounded organic in
years globally. It had to take albums like D’angelo’s “Voodoo” and Maxwell’s
“Urban Hang Suite” (amongst others) to steer RnB back into that direction. Picture an album like that in a country where Soul
music was still a largely obscure genre.
Despite the odds the album was faced with, it definitely got the
attention of the music industry. Admittedly, “C U In My Dreams” was the obvious
favourite, but other tracks on the album enjoyed a reasonable amount of
airplay, including RJ’s “out of the box”
cover of English Rock band Oasis’ “Wonderwall”.
RJ stripped that song of all its rock elements and clothed it with
Horns, a slower tempo and a funky bass lick. I STILL use this song as a
yardstick of how cover versions SHOULD be made.
RJ Benjamin established himself with “Who I
Am” not only as singer but songwriter and producer. All the songs on the album
were written by RJ himself. Apart from “Cry” and “Play Around” RJ is credited
with the production of all the songs on the album. He would later go on to write and produce for
artists like Lira, MXO, Aya, Pebbles, Gift Gwe to name but a few. There seems
to be a general consensus in the music industry that RJ Benjamin is the ‘go to
guy’ for the production of Soul albums.
“Who I am” is the quintessential local Neo
soul album, and it would see other albums gradually follow suit. South African audiences
slowly began dissociating RnB/Soul music with the USA and embracing it as their
own. This is the album that “tested the waters” for RnB/Soul others acts who
would soon follow.
It’s inconceivable to look at the strides
that Rnb/Soul genre has taken in South Africa without considering the profound
influence RJ Benjamin’s “Who I Am” had on the industry. 10 years later it’s
still viewed by many as THEE album to beat.
Bongani Mdakane
