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Zia Benjamin

Zia Benjamin (born Christina Benjamin) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and documentary filmmaker. A mosaic of ethnicities, she identifies as black, white, and Carib Indian. Musically, Zia is known for her soulful voice, as well as her songwriting for the likes of Major Lazer and Sean Paul. Zia’s sound spans a unique mix of genres: jazz, neo-soul, pop, retro-dancehall, and neo-reggae, which she dubs ‘Rum Shop Blues’. Zia was featured as a songwriter and vocalist on Sean Paul's ‘Tomahawk Technique’ album, Major Lazer's #1 Billboard album, ‘Free the Universe’ and has contributed to several other projects in international rotation. Millions around the world have vibed to her voice which has even been featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show. In 2018, Zia’s single with Major Lazer, ‘Jet Blue Jet’ was added to their ‘Major Lazer: Essentials’ album, naming the song one of their top releases of all time. The song itself has garnered over 100 Million streams. Zia continues to work as a talented songwriter with the likes of Nervo, Major Lazer, and in 2018 she has worked with ‘Bitch Better Have my Money’ producer, Deputy in a writing camp for Rihanna’s upcoming album. 2018 also found Zia working closely with XXXtentacion producers, Andre ‘Vibez’ Chevolleau (produced for Sza, Lil Pump, Maluma, Damian Marley, Rio Santana) and JonFX, as well as working with LondonOnDaTrack (produced for Drake and Post Malone) manager.

In 2017, Zia released the video for her first official single, ’No Fame’, produced by legendary Jamaican selecta and reggae producer Rory Stone Love (who features on Beyonce and Jay-z’s 2018 song ‘Summer’). Zia’s soulful vocals caught the attention of respected BBC Radio DJ, David Rodigan, who tweeted that he was “truly blown away by [Zia’s] song~spoken word gem”. Forbes music writer Hugh McIntyre wrote about Zia’s video, “Everything about this is really cool, the music, the lyrics and the vocals are great…it’s fresh and new…really well done” The music video was conceptualized, produced, directed and styled by Zia herself, and filmed in Jamaica's iconic Ward Theatre by Atlanta-based Hamilton Multimedia. ’No Fame' is rich with symbolism, subtle and otherwise, and is Zia's #MeToo story illustrated in film noir fashion: a very real Caribbean perspective on a Global issue. The 'No Fame' video gained its wings organically: gaining over 100,000 views within its first three months. Created by a predominantly female team, ‘No Fame' garnered the attention of woman empowerment activist Madame Ghandi (former drummer for M.I.A) and was featured on her 'The Future is Female' playlist on Spotify. The song has allowed Zia to lecture on resisting Gender-Based Violence through art at post-secondary schools and girls’ homes across Jamaica. Zia released her next single with RoryStoneLove entitled ‘MrNeverMan’ in December 2018. The song is a testament to unrequited love that never grows old “…like NeverNeverLand” she says.

Zia has shared the stage with the likes of Rick Ross, Kymani Marley, Lee Scratch Perry, Third World and Grammy nominee Agent Sasco, and featured on reggae artist Kristine Alicia’s album ‘Songs from Zion’ which debuted at #12 on the Billboard reggae charts - one of three female artists on the charts at that time.

 Early Life 

Zia’s mother, Andrea Bickhoff-Benjamin, followed music to Jamaica. She was a medical technician in a small village in Germany, about to marry, when her little sister received a Bob Marley album for her birthday. Unmoved by the album, she gave it to Zia’s mother who fell in love immediately with reggae music. Andrea woke up one morning to the Marley song ‘Wake Up and Live’ playing on the radio and decided she had to change her life: she left her fiancé, flew to Jamaica where she knew no one nor spoke the language, and set out for a new life. A few months later she met Zia’s father, Dr. Bernard Benjamin, and the rest was history.

Zia’s father was black and Carib Indian, from a small village in the small Caribbean island Dominica. He came to Jamaica as a teenager for school, determined to become a doctor and make something of himself. A lover of music he founded a small record company called La Morne Records. Here he facilitated the production of the disco classic, ‘More, More, More’ by Andrea True, a song which was later released under Buddha Records and which has been resurrected in the Sex and the City Movie and various commercials. Fast forward through an epic (movie-worthy) love story and Zia was born.

“My parents tell me I took my first steps to Michael Jackson ‘Bad’... it was playing on MTV in a hotel room. So now I like to say I danced before I could walk and I’ve been in love with music ever since.”

Zia was a born performer: as a child she was involved in choir, dance, and theatre. Yet, after being bullied for years by other children, she became shy and reserved. “As a kid I always had ink on my hands, all over my school books – lyrics, everywhere. I'd drive to the country with my parents and because I had no paper I'd chew up all my bubble gum and write lyrics on the wrappers – just so I wouldn’t forget them. I’d leave the car with lyrics all over my arms, because bubble gum wrappers can only hold so much...”

Music and poetry became her sanctuary. But her parents figured a career in the performing arts was too risky – “I was good at sciences and they wanted me to become a doctor. I’d sit with my dad and help him stitch up wounds and calm his patients and he would tell me “get your doctorate, make your money and then you can do whatever you like – you can be whoever you like...”’.

Zia was sent to high school in Canada at age 14 where she formed a singing group called ‘Vizion’ with two other friends. Zia graduated from high school with honours and was accepted into the prestigious McGill University for sciences and commerce. On the last day possible, she changed her mind - “medicine felt like fixing a problem after it was already a problem... I wanted to fix things before that stage...before people got hurt. Media and music made sense to me – they both affect how people think, act, feel, and make their life decisions... I wanted to be a part of that”. Zia opted out of McGill and went to The University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College to study Journalism instead.

Tragically, in 2005 Zia’s father was shot and killed close by her home in Kingston, Jamaica– she later found out that his killers were teenagers: 16 and 17 year olds. Zia turned to music, poetry and her documentary work for solace. The topics of her documentaries included grief, human rights, social justice, pop culture and music, and her interviews ranged from war deserters, to UN Peacekeepers and former child soldiers from Darfur to the famous faces of the day. She found that her trauma helped her to connect with her interviewees, and she threw herself into ensuring their stories were heard.

Zia worked in radio for a while in Canada – as a news and entertainment anchor from 4am to midday and then reporting from midday into the early hours of the morning. Even then, she’d find herself at the radio station studio recording acapellas whenever she had free time. She was shy on stage but would perform in London and Toronto, Ontario where she felt she could be anonymous. There she was approached by then Junior Sony A&R, now music exec (AMAG, Cash Money Records), London on Da Track (Drake, Post Maolone) manager, Anshu Sharma, who offered to work with her – Zia declined, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be made into ‘a star’, and she didn’t want to be a star her home country had no knowledge of. In 2009 Zia moved back to Jamaica, hoping to learn more about her country of birth and use her media and music skills to give back to the island she called home.

 Music Career: 

Career Beginnings

“I tried to focus on everything else but music, trying to be the kind of person who would make my parents – my dad -- happy...but no matter how much I tried to ignore it, music, poetry and songwriting were the things I turned to in the hardest of times... they helped me survive”. Serendipity intervened and one day when Zia was hanging out at a close friend’s house (Blaise Davis of Natural High Music), they began working on a song she had written in high school. It was a song called ‘Ghettosupafly’. That day reggae songstress Keida came to visit Blaise, heard the song, and asked if she could DJ on the track. This spiraled into the girls recording the song at dancehall producer and hitmaker Craig ‘Leftside’ Park’s studio. Leftside, intrigued by Zia’s unique voice, introduced her to Grammy winner, Sean Paul. A few days later Sean invited Zia to feature on a song with him.

“That blew my mind, ‘cause I was a fan of his from long time... used to sneak out of high school and teif out to Toronto to watch Sean Paul concerts or dance to his tunes in the underground dancehall clubs. Both Leftside and Sean have been amazing mentors to me...” “Serendipity has a lot to do with my musical journey, I think... a twitter post led me to record a few lyrics on my phone...which led to me recording with Diplo for example... a lot of things have happened that way... working hard, but letting the Universe do its thing...”

After spotting a tweet from star producer Diplo requesting a song featuring the word ‘Ratchet’, Zia quickly recorded a voice note on her phone and sent it to Leftside for his opinion. Unknown to Zia, Leftside was in contact with Diplo and sent him the voice note. Diplo loved it and requested Zia to record it professionally that night. Leftside also asked Zia to demo a part on his collaboration with Diplo’s group Major Lazer – she wrote and sang the part and Diplo approved it. Zia went on to record other tracks for Major Lazer. ‘Jet Blue Jet’, the song with Leftside, was released as the 7th single on Major Lazer’s ‘Free the Universe’ album, becoming one of the most played singles on the album.

Present

Zia Benjamin is a mix of cultural influences. She is a poet and sees herself as a songwriter first, singer second. Her songs have been described as seductive – her soulful voice is reminiscent of 1950's and 60's Jazz bar vocalists, but has defiance evocative of the retro dancehall and reggae vixens who inspired her growing up. The lyrics of her songs are edgy -- deep, enticing and rude with a sense of humour and sensuality that is entirely Caribbean.

In November 2015, Zia unofficially released ‘Catwalk in the Sky’, which, with its EDM and fashion-based flair, was seemingly divergent from the rebellious, reggae tones of ‘No Fame’. Yet, despite their obvious differences, both songs described the seductive nature of fame, and the material world, and pose the question of how far a person would go to achieve material wealth and notoriety. ‘Catwalk in the Sky’ was adopted as the runway theme song for a popular Caribbean fashion reality show and has been compared to various Bond anthems, with Zia being matched up against the likes of Shirley Bassey and Adele.

“My greatest wish is to someday sing the theme song for a Bond film – I grew up watching Bond movies with my dad, it was our thing. Ian Flemming wrote the Bond novels in Jamaica and I feel it would be a beautiful thing to have a Jamaican sing for one of the films.”

In 2015, Reggae artiste, Keida, introduced Zia to veteran reggae producer Rory Stone Love. “I was driving to his studio to meet him and these lyrics just came into my head – as I entered the studio, I realised that the instrumentals he was playing fit the lyrics perfectly... All Rory could say when he heard the song was “You’re like the female John Lennon” – that was a huge compliment coming from him... that song’s gunna be called ‘Dreamland’”.

Zia’s first single, ’No Fame’, produced by Rory, was originally recorded as a freestyle, expressing Zia’s mixed emotions regarding her place in the music industry. This version has been played on radio stations in Jamaica, New York, Tokyo and Europe – with respected BBC Radio personality David Rodigan calling it a “lyrical gem”. The song was then re-recorded officially for release in May 2017. ‘No Fame’ is part of a compilation of songs released on veteran reggae producer Rory Stone Love's 'Zeen Riddim'. The song represents Zia's response to the mass commercialism that has become a staple of today's music industry and the role/ portrayal of women within that industry in particular. The song takes the form of a conversation Zia is having with herself. She describes an internal battle between throwing herself into the music industry, being seduced by the prospect of fame and fortune, the 'city lights' as she calls it, and feeling as if that, once achieved, will never satisfy her. She sings, "I love that life you see/ love a wild night, high heels and Hennessy/ black cards, big rims, and limousines/ catch a flight love' s all for free/ but what a shame it' s not the same/ cant find love in that game/ there' s nothing colder than fame". The song acts as a 'hats-off' to artists and musicians who have given themselves up to the musical journey for the sheer love of music, despite the fact that 'the industry' will show its dark side to most artists who travel that path.

 Other Ventures: 

Acting:

Zia has featured in a few short films including playing the lead role in Jamaican director, Nile Saulter’s ‘Young Sea’, which was part of the ‘Ring di Alarm’ film series and played in select theatres across the Caribbean, the United States and Europe. She also played a minor role in Jeremy Whittaker’s film ‘Destiny’ which was shown in cinemas around the world. Zia has made cameo appearances in a few music videos, including reggae artist, Tarrus Riley’s ‘Love’s Contagious’, Ed Sheeran and Master Shortie’s ‘Gravity’ and Skygrass’s ‘High Grade Love’.

Television:

Zia or rather ‘Christina’ hosted and helped with the production of a TV show called ‘College Lifestyle’, which interviewed young Caribbean people around the world doing amazing things. She was the first person to interview reggae singer Protoje on television, and the show became known for interviewing young up and coming stars before they were recognized as such. She grew bored with hosting, wanting to be more creative and more involved. She then moved behind the camera and started producing and directing an inspirational documentary-styled TV show, ‘Business Access’, which focused on Caribbean entrepreneurs with unique stories. She balanced this with being the editor of a home and travel magazine and directing the corresponding television program. Later she produced a popular fashion design-based television show.

Radio:

While living in Canada, Zia worked at various radio stations between London and Toronto, Ontario as a news anchor and documentary producer. Zia’s interviews spanned people like Romeo Dallaire, head of the united nations peacekeeping force during the Rwandan Genocide, Refugees from the Nuba Mountains is Sudan, Holocaust survivors, as well as the stars of the moment: Akon, Beenie Man, Brody Jenner (The Hills, The Kardashians), among others.

 Artistry 

Style:

Zia’s image is influenced by old Hollywood – 1960’s and 70’s silhouettes, 90’s dancehall, Jamaican and Afro-Caribbean inspired prints and a love for outlandish, often vintage inspired glasses. She mentions John Lennon, Bridget Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Cleopatra and Shabba Ranks as style influencers.

Influences:

Zia’s music showcases the influence of Motown, Bluebeat, Jazz and Blues and Reggae, along with Retro Dancehall. She is a huge fan of Micheal Jackson, and admired his ability to ‘tell a story’ through his album composition and music films. As a child Zia would steal her mother’s Madonna albums, including the steamy ‘Erotica,’ and Zia idolized the self-proclaimed ‘Material Girl’ for her defiance. Zia also grew up listening to Sinead O’Connor, Pavarotti, The Beatles, along with Bob Marley, Dawn Penn, Sister Nancy, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Sade, Lauren Hill, Peter Tosh and Gregory Isaacs. At nine years old, Zia featured as a flower girl at Pavarotti’s performance in Jamaica, and she later joined a choir, learning to sing in the classical style. As a teenager and young adult she was often compared to the likes of Erykah Badu, Macy Grey, Fergie, Joss stone, and later, Amy Winehouse. She found herself hugely influenced by the sounds of Billy Holiday, Nancy Sinatra and Nina Simone.

Personal Life:

In 2015 Zia quit her job as director and producer of a respected Caribbean television program (she had been working day and night for years and saw her music was suffering), she left her longtime boyfriend and began traveling on what she calls her ‘Diary of a Lost Girl’ expedition. She travelled to India, Bali, Thailand, and Dubai with her best friend Kate Knight. Trying to face her discomfort with being on-stage head-on, she made a pact to perform in every country she toured in, and in doing so made several serendipitous encounters with “amazing people who have become lifelong friends” - two of whom include musicians Andre ‘Saxman’ Brown (performance credits include Alexandra Burke, Chipmunk) and Jay Phelps (Amy Winehouse’s trumpet player) who she met serendipitously in Thailand, they remain friends. Zia was in an 8 year relationship with the lead singer of a Jamaican band. It is rumoured that several of her songs are about their tumultuous relationship. Yet, they remain friends, with her ex having produced and engineered several of her upcoming tracks including ‘Catwalk in the Sky’.

Philanthropy:

After her father’s murder, Zia worked ever increasingly on social justice and human rights-related documentaries – her documentary on grief found her winning an award for Documentary Producer of the year given to her by Fanshawe College and an Ontario radio station. Impacted greatly by the fact that her father’s killers were so young, Zia formed a small mentorship program for young people of Caribbean descent who were living in difficult situations called ‘One People’. In 2009, Zia won the ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ award at the Miss Jamaica World Pageant, placing 6th overall. When she moved to Jamaica she re-started the One People program in St. Thomas with the help of a friend and a local pastor. This consisted of a music program and homework program. Zia later went on to produce several documentary-styled, inspirational television programs. Zia is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. She describes her music as her diary – a place that is both dark and disturbing, but defiant, eccentric and inspirational.