Singer-songwriter James Benton has music embedded deep within his lineage. As the self proclaimed Mr. Next Generation, he is determined to be his family’s golden child; taking his family’s musical talent to the next level of greatness and recognition. James Benton is the epitome of the word RAW; and the Chicago native holds nothing back. His soulful vocal abilities, aligned with his songwriting skills and assertive attitude make up the formula for his success. His music fuses mainstream R&B with soul, producing a mature sexy sound. The goal with each perfect melody is to create a bone chilling experience. Recording a portion of his music with a live band allows him to provide his audience with a pure acoustic sound and quality of music that he feels is lacking in R&B today. Growing up in a musical family, James has been singing since he could talk. At the age of 7 he began singing in his local church choir. By the age of nine his voice was strong enough to not only sing lead in many of the songs, but the passion in solo performances WOWed the entire congregation. In 2001, the gospel sensation Tony Tidwell formed a singing group composed of James Benton and other local male artists. Being a part of this group opened many doors; one of which was connecting with Jabari McDavid, road manager for Earth, Wind & Fire. McDavid took James under his wing, introducing him to key people in the music industry. James received vocal training and coaching from the acclaimed Brandon Love of The Gift and also by Jamie Simond of Walt Whitman’s Soul Children of Chicago. Soon thereafter James began auditioning for background vocal spots with established singers like Trey Songz, Mario, and many others. Those auditions led James to lending his vocal talents onto opportunities like the ‘106th & Park’ tour, Burger King FamFest, and other spot dates around the country; and even overseas alongside some of the previously mentioned artists. James’ musical enlightenment continued while sitting in on sessions with artists and producers like Donovan Price, B. Michael Cox, Johnta Austin, Tricky Stewart, Gucci Mane and Willie Taylor of Day26 to name a few. Additionally, James has worked as a demo artist for Sony Music. Today, James Benton is the sole artist on Next Generation Music. His aspiration and driving mission for the label is to create a platform for young, up-and-coming artists to flourish predominantly from within the country’s urban markets. James Benton is set to drop a new EP later this year entitled “Red Bottom Diaries” which features collaborations with Naledge from Kidz In The Hall and producers D. Brooks and Spaceman. His goal for the 5-song project has been to work with producers who can truly capture the sound that James rightfully claims as his own. James Benton is on a mission to bring real, classic, and innovative music back to the commercial side of the music industry. His go-getter mentality and relentless actions are bringing him closer and closer to realizing his dream of commercial success and artistic fulfillment.