Clive John "Benji" Webbe (born 11 March 1967) is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist and synthesizer player for the
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band
Skindred
Skindred are a Welsh reggae metal band formed in Newport in 1998. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, alternative rock and ragga. The band also integrate elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle, ska, hip hop, drum ...
. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider,
Dub War
Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae.
Biography
Dub War formed in 1993 in Wales. The band released two albums, via the metal label Earache Record ...
,
Mass Mental
Mass Mental (also stylized as Mass Mental?) is an American rock band. It was formed in 1995 by former Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.
Histor ...
and his own solo project. He has featured on albums by
Bullet for My Valentine and
Soulfly
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 199 ...
.
Webbe is a native of
Newport, South Wales, and a veteran of the rock explosion of the mid-1990s which led to ''Spin'' magazine dubbing Newport as 'The New Seattle'.
Early life
Benji Webbe was born Clive John Webbe on 11 March 1967 in
Newport to Jamaican immigrant parents. Webbe's father was brought to the UK on the
Windrush Windrush may refer to:
Places in England
* Windrush Square, precinct in south London
* River Windrush, a river in Gloucestershire
* Windrush, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire
** RAF Windrush, a Royal Air Force station in World War II ...
ship which brought one of the first groups of
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
immigrants to the United Kingdom. Webbe's father arrived in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
where he struggled to find a job and moved to Wales instead.
He became an orphan at the age of 13 and was raised by his older brother in Newport.
Career
Webbe first came to prominence with
Dub War
Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae.
Biography
Dub War formed in 1993 in Wales. The band released two albums, via the metal label Earache Record ...
, releasing two studio albums, ''Pain'' and ''Wrongside of Beautiful''. A third album was in the works before the band split in 1999. Benji left Earache after they refused to let him record a solo album, which was intended to move to a more
hip-hop sound. After a short lived project with
Robert Trujillo
Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of cr ...
,
Mass Mental
Mass Mental (also stylized as Mass Mental?) is an American rock band. It was formed in 1995 by former Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.
Histor ...
, which released one studio and one live album, Webbe formed Skindred with former members of Dub War. Due to a dispute with the record label, a new lineup moved to Bieler Bros. and has released six studio albums.
In 2006, Webbe performed with
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 ...
at the 2006
Download Festival
Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
, while Korn's lead singer
Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the ...
was seriously ill, he sang A.D.I.D.A.S. He has also appeared on
Bullet For My Valentine's 2008 album
Scream Aim Fire
''Scream Aim Fire'' is the second studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on 28 January 2008 in the United Kingdom and the preceding day in the United States through Jive Records. Since its rele ...
(on "Take It Out on Me"), as well as
Soulfly
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 199 ...
's
debut album (on "Quilombo" and "Prejudice").
In 2012, Webbe collaborated with the
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and early ...
band Dirty Wormz on their album ''Outbreak'', appearing on the song "Blood & Fire".
In 2015, Webbe released his debut solo album, a purely
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
album entitled ''I Haven't Been Nicking in Ages'', produced by Monsta Boy. He has also been performing intermittently with the reformed
Mass Mental
Mass Mental (also stylized as Mass Mental?) is an American rock band. It was formed in 1995 by former Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.
Histor ...
and in 2015,
Dub War
Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae.
Biography
Dub War formed in 1993 in Wales. The band released two albums, via the metal label Earache Record ...
.
In 2018, commemorating
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...
in the United Kingdom, Webbe was included on a list of 100 "Brilliant, Black and Welsh" people.
In 2020, Webbe unveiled a new studio project with Dub War bassist Richie Glover, entitled Diamond Spider. The "voodoo blues" project released its debut single in October that year, with a self-titled album due in 2021 along with Dub War's fourth studio album.
Discography
Solo discography
Skindred discography
Dub War discography
Diamond Spider discography
Mass Mental? discography
Collaborations
Personal life
Webbe has four children with his ex wife and 17 grandchildren. On September 1st 2022, Webbe married his wife Julie Christian in a private wedding ceremony.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webbe, Benji
Skindred
1967 births
Living people
21st-century Black British male singers
Welsh male singers
People from Newport, Wales
British heavy metal singers
Welsh people of Jamaican descent
Black British rock musicians
Reggae rock musicians
Nu metal singers
Mass Mental members