With a name like Bentley—M.R. Bentley to be precise—you’re in an unmatched class and way beyond the norm. Kenneth E. Bentley, Jr., soon-to-be known to the world as M.R. Bentley (Musical Revolutionary Bentley), is a hard-working hip-hop/pop artist phenomenon that’s definitely up next. He holds, “I always new I would become a millionaire. I was either going to be a super star recording artist or professional boxer. I chose music.
Bentley was born-and-raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a fairly musical culture and community. He is the oldest of three children, brother William and sister Melanie. His mother, a veteran public school history teacher, moved her family from lower class to middle class when Bentley was around 13 years old. Though coming up was a bit rough, Bentley was very fortunate and had no reason to feel impoverished. His mother provided a foundation for his musical talents and aspirations to be nourished.
He started as a teenager with a home studio in his mother’s basement and is currently putting the finishing touches on his 18-track mixtape album. His current goal is to get signed with a major label and reach international stardom and success with his music. Looks like that dream isn’t too far away. Bentley learned to rap in the same way humans learn anything else: assimilation. He found his own harmony as he listened to artists that inspired him. He studied music and explored his talent levels, elevating him to where he is today.
The career of Bentley is grounded with family, where his brother is his producer, hype man, backbone, and partner in good deeds and success. Bentley is drawn toward the root of music and is by no means shallow with his influences. He has been influenced by Tupac’s legacy, Uncle Luke’s uncensored material, Andre 3000’s diversity, Eminem's emotional hardcore, Ludacris’s fun personality, Nicki Minaj’s weirdness, Kanye West’s momentum, and Michael Jackson’s everything. The list goes on and on.
The talent doesn’t at all fall far from the talent tree. Before falling victim to violence, Bentley’s uncle Bill was a recording artist and community activist. His life was cut short at the young age of 23, due to misidentified association. “He passed away when I was four, but his strong impact allows my memory to go as far back as age two. He always encouraged me to be strong and to seek knowledge that ‘they’ hide from you.” Bentley did just that. He took classes at Temple University in music law in addition to various music classes. He then enrolled in Widener University for communications but did not finish a traditional program because he was selected to become a Philadelphia firefighter. Bentley was excited to take on this exciting, financially rewarding career. Through it all, He opened up a business in West Philadelphia called Paper Boi Studio 53, a multimedia production studio complex. This is where all of his magic takes place.
Music has and always will be Bentley’s Plan A. It’s his passion and is how he stays focused and positive. He asserts that he brings the fun back to music by way of his catchy, vibing club bangers. He brings authenticity by creating musical stories with intense, raw emotion when he shares his thoughts on current events. His uncle is by far a huge influence on the political and conscious sides of his music.
Bentley takes pride in all that makes him who he is: A Musical Revolutionary. Although he admires others’ style, his originality and content are from the heart. He believes that there are some things still missing from hip-hop music today such as diversity, open-mindedness, originality, and plain old fun. He constantly and persistently practices different techniques with his delivery, where his rhythm, syntax, and figurative language are all revolving, simultaneously. His ultimate style of music comes from what feels natural to him. He creates music on impulse. No matter how he’s feeling: playful, goofy, political, angry, loving, sad—that’s going to be the vibe of the song he creates at that time.
The single, “Big OL A$$,” was birthed in Bentley’s Studio 53 and is currently rising on 20 plus FM radio stations, North Carolina’s Soul 92 Jams and Hot 103, along with South Carolina’s Wiiz 96.7, to name a few. He has been getting airplay in Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Texas. The ball keeps rolling. His video is buzzing on the well-respected make-your-song-or-video-pop online music site: World Star Hip-Hop. (WSHH) The single seems to be well liked by the public and has caught the attention of major labels’ A&R. M.R. Bentley is fully on their radar.
The anticipated album is entitled The Adventures of the Party Krashers. It represents rebellious partying and fun, mixed with political views and intense emotion. Bentley feels this is really going to be a hip hop classic. He’s bringing back the stories, the emotion, and the fun party bangers. Aside from the WSHH-viewed single “Big OL A$$,” some other tracks are “Ah Get Bitches;” “World War 3;” and “Burned Bridges.” Bentley is very satisfied with the life-inspired album thus far. He wrote all of his own songs and loves each and every one of them. If he had to pick and describe any tracks, they would be “Burned Bridges;” “Ah Get Bitches;” “World War 3;” and “Catelliya.” “Burned Bridges” has a sound the Revolutionary created that he calls militant goth. It was created in a very dark place when his heart was broken by a female he gave his all to. It's a really crazy track, in a good way. “Ah get bitches” is a fun club song that was created from a phrase used by guys in his hometown of Philadelphia to describe a male that attracts lots of women. It came from a playful place in Bentley’s mind. “World War 3” is a very serious political song he wrote during the Muslim-Christian war propaganda. “Catelliya” is a heartfelt story of a 13-year-old teenage girl growing up too fast in a world that's constantly pushing women in the wrong direction. Bentlely even references his own faults in the song, as they relate to this girl’s story. He labels tfhis as one of the guilty contradicting tracks of his conscious.
Other musical talents include production, ghost writing, and software design. Bentley maintained a solo career with the exception of his brother, Gieco On the Beat. Bentley has a production team called Paper Boi Inc., where he and his brother are solo artists that come together collectively to form the Party Krashers. He started out producing all of his own songs until his brother got so good that he used him for most of his production. The two are the producers on the album. Artist features include: Lee Mazin from Dream Chasers, Gieco, Corey Kelly, Gillie Da Kid, CB the Great, and more to come as the album is finalized.
From this album, Bentley seems to have a larger female listening base, but men attend his events and view his videos more because, perhaps, of all the beautiful women around. Bentley’s message from his music is: Be human and real to yourself with no regrets. Also, be educated to the truth “they” hide. It's okay to be wild and fun as long as it makes the person happy and doesn't hurt anyone. Bentley’s favorite song on the album is “Inside Out” because it’s very out of character for him. With no prior record deal offerings or commitments, Bentley is certain that the world will love him.
Party Krashers can is scheduled to be released this-coming fall. The album offers a variety of songs that will capture the ears of a diverse group of listeners. He wants the world to hear his whole body of work. Music fans will definitely find a favorite track on the album. Bentley feels like it will be one of the most diversified albums of all time in hip hop. The quote that keeps Bentley grounded on a daily basis is: Reality is only the limitation of your imagination, quoted by M.R. Bentley himself
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