ben one & shawnna: never leave my girl.

dl: BEN ONE f/ SHAWNNA - Never Leave My Girl (YSI)
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Despite being held down by a moniker that calls to mind either Dr. Seuss's Thing 1 and Thing 2 or Chromeo's Dave 1, this kid Ben One is allegedly dominating the Chicago airwaves. And from the sounds of it, "Never Leave My Girl" is destined to dominate all airwaves.

I was surprised to find that his press release didn't mention any involvement from the oh-so-sought-after hitmakers The Dream and Tricky Stewart, as the song shares the same mid-tempo bounciness of "Shawty Is The Shit" and Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body". In fact, I probably would have thought this song was by The Dream if the vocals weren't so damn smooth. The songwriting and production on this manage to stick to current trends while transcending above them. Chirping birds. A structure that actually BUILDS. And the story, while not entirely an original concept, is somehow fascinating...

Ben is at the club when he gets approached by an inebriated young lady who wants him to dip his lik-a-stik in her fun dip. She has a boyfriend, he has a girlfriend, and he's not about to sabotage his relationship for a one night stand. There's this ambiguity as to whether he's a nice guy politely rejecting his aggressive female suitor or if he's just a dude saying, "Just so you understand, no matter how good you break me off tonight, this ain't going nowhere else." I could probably request to interview Ben 1 and ask him about this ambiguity, but I prefer the mystery of it all. Or I'm just lazy.

Making the song even better is an appearance by Rashawnna Guy AKA Shawnna. I had been wondering what had happened to her! With a little wikipedia research I learned that she left the Ludacris-headed label Disturbing The Peace a year ago and started her own lable M.O.E. (Money Over Everything). She will soon release an independent album titled Just Shawnna, and if radio programmers give "Never Leave My Girl" the attention it deserves she'll wind up with another hit under her belt. Also, did you know that Buddy Guy is her dad? I didn't.

"Never Leave My Girl" is now available on iTunes, and I highly recommending supporting Ben and Shawnna by copping it. Be on the lookout for Ben's mixtape, coming soon!

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BONER TRACK: BEN ONE - Flashing Lights (remix) (YSI)
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