William Benjamin Bensussen (born November 7, 1982), better known by his stage name The Gaslamp Killer, is an American

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

producer and DJ based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Career

He grew up in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, where he became a DJ in the

Gaslamp district The Gaslamp Quarter is a 16½-block neighborhood in the downtown area of San Diego, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue. Listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places as ...

. His sets often ruined the music vibe in the clubs, earning him the nickname "The Gaslamp Killer". After moving to

in 2006, he helped found

Low End Theory Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California. History "The Low End Theory" is the second studio albu ...

, "L.A.'s monolithic weekly showcase for uncut beat-driven tracks". The Gaslamp Killer has played at

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, the

Austin Psych Fest Levitation (formerly Austin Psych Fest) is an annual 3-day music festival developed and produced by The Reverberation Appreciation Society. Since its sixth year in 2013 it has been held at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the creat ...

, the

Decibel Festival Decibel Festival was an annual music and digital arts festival in Seattle, launched in 2004 by Sean Horton and a team of volunteer staff. The Decibel Festival was dedicated to live electronic music performance, visual arts, and new media. Histor ...

, and the Voodoo Fest. He produced Gonjasufi's debut album, ''

A Sufi and a Killer ''A Sufi and a Killer'' is the debut studio album by Gonjasufi (Sumach Ecks). It was released by Warp (record label), Warp on March 8, 2010. The album was produced by Flying Lotus, The Gaslamp Killer, and Mainframe. Ecks said of the album: "I didn ...

'', with

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, Disc jockey, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. Flyi ...

and Mainframe in 2010. In August 2012, he released a single, "Flange Face" b/w "Seven Years of Bad Luck for Fun", which was listed by Pitchfork as their "Best New Track" of July 2012. His debut album, ''

Breakthrough Breakthrough or break through may refer to: Arts Books * ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger * ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life * ...

'', was released in September 2012. In 2015, he released a live album, ''The Gaslamp Killer Experience: Live in Los Angeles''. In 2016, he released a studio album, ''Instrumentalepathy''. In 2020, he released his latest album ''Heart Math''.

Personal life

He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and his ancestry includes

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, Lebanese,

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

. His great-uncle is activist

Herbert Aptheker Herbert Aptheker (July 31, 1915 – March 17, 2003) was an American Marxist historian and political activist. He wrote more than 50 books, mostly in the fields of African-American history and general U.S. history, most notably, ''American Negro ...

. In 2017, he was accused of rape by a woman named Chelsea Tadros, who claimed he met her and another woman at the

Standard Hotel Standard Hotels is a group of seven boutique hotels in New York City (Meatpacking District and East Village), Miami Beach, London, Maldives, Ibiza, and Hua Hin, Thailand. The hotels are operated by Standard International Management. The two origi ...

in 2013, and “had non-consensual sex with both of us while we were completely incapacitated.” Bensussen replied with a $5 million defamation lawsuit. In 2019, the suit was settled with a joint statement: "After their discussions, Ms. Tadros acknowledges she does not know who drugged her, and both parties recognized that Ms. Tadros could have been drugged by one of the many attendees that were present on July 5th, 2013. Ms. Tadros continues to maintain that she was drugged and thereby unable to consent on July 5, 2013. Mr. Bensussen maintains that he has never drugged or raped anyone, and that he did not have any indication that Ms. Tadros was drugged or unable to consent."

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2012) * ''Instrumentalepathy'' (2016) * ''Break Stuff'' (2019) * ''Heart Math'' (2020)

Live albums

* ''The Gaslamp Killer Experience: Live in Los Angeles'' (2015)

EPs

* ''The Killer Robots'' (2008) (with

Free the Robots Free the Robots (born Chris Alfaro) is an underground hip hop producer from Los Angeles, California. Style Free the Robots pulls together jazz, dubstep, psychedelic music, electronic music and hip hop. History Free the Robots started as a side ...

) * ''My Troubled Mind'' (2009) * ''Death Gate'' (2010)

Singles

* "Impulse" (2010) (with Daedelus) * "Flange Face" b/w "Seven Years of Bad Luck for Fun" (2012) * "Brass Sabbath" (2013) (with Jungle by Night) * "Murder Man" (2015) (with Mophono) * "Residual Tingles" (2016)

Mixes

* ''Gaslamp Killers'' (2007) * ''It's a Rocky Road: Volume 1'' (2007) * ''It's a Rocky Road: Volume 2'' (2007) * ''I Spit on Your Grave'' (2008) * ''We Make It Good Mix Series Volume 5'' (2008) * ''Akuma No Chi Ga Odoru'' (2009) * ''All Killer: Finders Keepers Records 1-20 Mixed by The Gaslamp Killer'' (2009) * ''Hell and the Lake of Fire Are Waiting for You!'' (2009) * ''Vs Finders Keepers'' (2009) * ''A Decade of Flying Lotus'' (2010) * ''Helio x GLK'' (2013) * ''Lavender AM: Meditation Mix'' (2013)

Productions

- "GNG BNG" from ''

'' (2008) * The Beastmaster - ''Have You Ever Bled from Your Eyes? Do You Want To?'' (2009) * Gonjasufi - "Kobwebz" and "Kowboyz & Indians" from ''

'' (2010)

Guest appearances

* Free the Robots - ''Free the Robots'' (2008) * Prefuse 73 - ''

Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian ''Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian'' is a studio album by Prefuse 73. It was released on Warp Records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Becke ...

'' (2009) * Nocando - "Hurry Up and Wait" from ''

Jimmy the Lock ''Jimmy the Lock'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Nocando. It was released by Alpha Pup Records on January 26, 2010. It includes productions from Nosaj Thing, Nobody (producer), Nobody, Thavius Beck, Free the Robots, and Daedelus ...

'' (2010)

Compilation appearances

* ''The Change Up EP-V.01'' (2006) * ''T7L: Audio Promo Disc 707'' (2007) * ''ArtDontSleep Presents... From L.A. with Love'' (2007) * ''Echo Expansion'' (2007) * ''Secret Hangout'' (2007) * ''Brainfeeder Sampler'' (2008) * ''Warp Records Spring 2008'' (2008) * ''Stussy x TurntableLab - Beats'' (2008) * ''Dublab Presents: Echo Expansion'' (2009) * ''Choice on 12'' (2010) * ''Radio Galaxia'' (2010) * ''Low End Theory Podcast'' (2010)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaslamp Killer Alternative hip hop musicians American DJs American hip hop record producers Hispanic and Latino American entertainers Living people American musicians of Mexican descent Musicians from California People from San Diego Jewish American musicians American people of Lebanese-Jewish descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Turkish-Jewish descent American people of Mexican-Jewish descent Jewish hip hop record producers Hispanic and Latino American musicians Brainfeeder artists Record producers from California Year of birth missing (living people) American Mizrahi Jews American Sephardic Jews