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The talented 24 year old Arizona native, Alec Benjamin released his debut mixtape on November 16, 2018 and as a first time listener, I was surprised about his angelic voice, melodies and amazing lyrics. Although I just discovered who Alec Benjamin is, he has been making music since 2013. In his dorm room at the University of Southern California, he self-released “Paper Crowns” in 2014 and in 2016 he worked on Jon Bellion’s “The Human Condition” album. Now in 2018, Alec Benjamin is blessing us all with “Narrated for you”. The 12 song collection is filled with emotion and many life lessons.
Some fan favorites are “Boy in the Bubble” and “Let Me Down Slowly”. Both songs have strong undertones and heartfelt lyrics. “Let me down slowly” is about begging the person you love not to leave you, but if they must, to not shatter you completely and show mercy.
A little sympathy, I hope you can show me, If you wanna go then I'll be so lonely, If you're leaving baby let me down slowly.
A personal favorite from the mixtape has to be “If I Killed Someone for You” Alec is smart with his word choice throughout the mixtape, but this song is a 10 out of 10. The whole song I thought he committed a crime and was admitting to his partner of his wrongdoing, but in the bridge of the song I was caught off guard as he sang - You have to understand that the one I killed is me, Changing what I was for what you wanted me to be, I followed your direction, did everything you asked. - I had to take my headphones off for a second and admire the shift of the song, it was so powerful, and quite relatable. A must hear song.
Have you ever been friend-zoned hard? Well, so has Alec in “Annabelle’s Homework” where he tries to get Annabelle’s attention by doing her homework for a whole month, but realizes that no matter how much he tries, what he imagines will never come to life- Doesn't matter how many papers I write. End of the equation won't be you and I, and now I'm just another who got hurt, doing Annabelle's homework -
For Annabelle was clearly not interested in him, and only saw him as a nerd to take advantage of, ouch.
Alec Benjamin is all about life lessons and how can we understand those lessons without some biblical referencing? Alec relied on biblical referencing in “Outrunning Karma” and “Steve”. In “ Steve”, one is told the story of Adam and Eve...and Steve; This song is brilliant in the sense that this well known bible story was remade to be relatable to all, in one way or another. This is another 10 out of 10.
Alec Benjamin is off to do amazing things and this mixtape really shows the passion and talent he has. The journey for the 24 year old is just beginning but for now I’ll be singing his music and waiting for more.