An aspiring artist hailing from Las Vegas, Benny Boy blends hip-hop and hints of various other genres to noticeably standout. Mixing conscious substance with a mainstream appeal, Benny plays with the wittiness of words and incorporates countless puns and entendres into his lyrics. Growing as a musician, Benny has included “Music producer” as one of his many titles to benefit his skills of songwriting. Putting together his first two projects for recreational purposes, Benny has decided to pursue a music career with full force. With his third installment “The Future”, this will complete his mixtape trilogy, as well as bring Benny Boy to the forefront of the music scene.

Abel Teshager Kelkay, better known as “Benny Boy”, was born on September 14, 1987 in Sunrise hospital. Growing up on the eastside of Las Vegas, his parents wanted their son to avoid the pitfalls of the inner-city and sacrificed to move Kelkay to the suburbs at an early age. This put pressure on their marriage causing them to get a divorce when Kelkay was at the tender age of 6. His mother vowed to complete her prior plans on moving out of the slums of Vegas, and would do so with a steady progression.

Now living with his mother and grandmother, Kelkay would learn to embrace a nomadic lifestyle. Rarely going to the same school consecutively, Kelkay switched 11 times during his years in grade school. With his mother constantly working, and an elderly grandmother now watching over him, Benny spent the majority of his time at home sketching and writing poetry. He’s even gone to say that writing was therapeutic and his form of venting. Once he was introduced to the hip-hop culture, his format of poetry would eventually evolve into the flow and style he has today.

Often referred to as the soft spoken new kid, Kelkay would isolate himself in lunchrooms and libraries, with his face buried in his notebook and his head nodding between a set of headphones. Occasionally spectating in school cyphers, he would focus on challenging himself on improving his craft. After his grandmother moved back to Ethiopia, his family began to settle down on the southwest side of town. Little did he know, Benny would unfortunately have to adapt the biggest change of his life.

On the morning of July 19, 2003, Benny’s mother, Abeba Belete Blazek, was killed in a fatal car accident on the Las Vegas strip. Kelkay was devastated and lost his sense of direction. With no one close enough to talk to, Benny turned to his familiar form of release, writing. Being that it had evolved from poetry to rapping, it was then Benny started to consider becoming a rapper.

Since then, Benny has released two mixtape projects, by the name of “The Past: My Process”, and “The Present: My Life”. Both of these projects were strictly released for his friends and acquaintances, but the positive response he’s received has led to the result of Benny Boy releasing his third installment for the general public. Simply titled “The Future”, Benny will be showcasing his talents of songwriting, lyricism, and music production.