Popstar Benny is the sound of the new weird Atlanta. After years of building his beat-making catalog with names like Rod Wave, 6 Dogs, Destroy Lonely, and UnoTheActivist, the 27-year-old producer is ready to show the world a newly fashioned generation of freshmen rappers exploding over a new palate of sounds. Quietly and quickly overtaking Atlanta’s underground music scene, Popstar Benny has been challenging his favorite artists to expand into stranger, unfamiliar territory. A self-proclaimed plug, connector, and drifter, he identifies as the kid in school who unites all the lunch table cliques. Imagine a world with the anime nerds, muscled-out jocks, street hustlers, and class-skipping skaters–all with Popstar Benny in their headphones.

In his upcoming album, University! (and label debut via True Panther), longtime collaborators Bear1Boss, Tony Shhnow, and DavidTheTragic line its credits with rap lyrical directions that push towards more classic pop anthem song structures. They live alongside newer voices like $pook and Princesa 28 that deny the album a single genre (Jersey Club, plugg, drill, EDM, etc). In the depths of Atlanta’s new weird underground, you’ll no longer be able to miss the 6’10” music nerd donning aviator glasses – next to him, a group of young fresh rappers with green dreads, skinny jeans, and neck tattoos.