NYC artist Benta releases mysterious new debut EP 'Noir'

We last heard from NYC-based artist Benta on his dramatic music video for "Lover In Dark," which was premiered exclusively on our site. He is infamous for the mystery that surrounds him, and often works in black and white imagery in both his artwork and social media, aptly naming his debut EP Noir. Benta balances two different lives, never showing his full face in photographs because of the juxtaposition between his daytime and nighttime personas.

Noir spans five tracks that delve deep into dark emotions, and the EP itself can be seen as a sort of catharsis for the artist, in his signature style of rough hip-hop beats blending with indie sensibilities. Each character on the EP is struggling, either with themselves or with someone else. For Noir, Benta collaborated with Sneaker Pimps founder Liam Howe, who has worked with Ellie Goulding, FKA Twigs, and Lana Del Rey in the past.

Respected indie blog Neon Gold lists the EP as, "a dark, twisted R&B fantasy of Hollywood pop noir, bursting at the seams with cinematic bravado and ominous grandeur over an escalating groove and rugged hip-hop production."