Jarren Benton

Jarren Benton, the Southern rapper, leans heavily into provocative themes across his lyrics, though his real strengths emerge through intricate wordplay and offbeat humor. This MC from Georgia first encountered hip-hop at age six. He started composing rhymes and stepping up to the microphone well before the end of elementary school. By seventeen he had become deeply embedded in Atlanta’s scene, handling production duties alongside live performances. His debut EP, Huffin’ Glue with Hasselhoff, surfaced independently in 2011. Funk Volume then issued the 2012 mixtape Freebasing with Kevin Bacon. The official debut album My Grandma’s Basement followed in 2013. Two years later came the EP Slow Motion, Vol. 1, created as a tribute to his friend and manager Jahmal "Slowmo" Pryor. Benton Enterprises released Slow Motion, Vol. 2 the next year, and the project climbed into the Top 50 on the U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop chart. His third LP, Mink Coat Killa, arrived in summer 2017 and featured contributions from Nick Grant, Elz Jenkins, Termanology, Big Cheeko, and additional guests.