Amir Benjamin (born February 12, 1999) is an American rapper and producer who is professionally known by his stage name Surf (oftentimes SurfSkrt). The Atlanta native first earned his call to fame upon the release of his first full length mixtape, Bad Human. Having battled with depression and the weight of losing loved ones around him, Surf’s rapping serves as genuine motivation to pursue better opportunities in his life.

Surf has always had an affinity for music. Growing up, his grandfather had worked with Reggae multi-intrumentalist Peter Tosh and other small Jamaican bands. By his early teens, he would learn how to play the guitar and piano, but only when he started posting his music to his SoundCloud did he begin to gain the attention of larger artists and an ever growing fan base. In an interview with RESPECT., Surf discussed his inspiration, saying:

I was just putting stuff out on SoundCloud and I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing, I was just making music because I loved to create. I was getting feedback from classmates and people online, but I had a very chill start up and gradual growth to this point.

His audience’s love of his punk influence and trap inspired melodies would lead Surf to release the sequel to Bad Human titled Badder Human on September 20, 2019. The album was met with even more critical acclaim which was helped by the lead single, “Better Days”. Surf spoke on the album opener and his battle with depression once again in the interview with RESPECT., saying:

“Better Days” was inspired by current events in my life. This year was a tough year for me with everything all around. I had to deal with a lot of displacement and a lot of death. But I linked with my new management team and they really inspired me to look towards, “Better Days.” Surf explained. “This year I was going to just stop making music but they inspired me to keep pushing and making music, so I wrote this song about how things will get better and I let out a lot of feelings. The message is just to keep pushing because "Better Days” will come."

Surf shows no sign of stopping his music career and his fan base cannot wait to hear more tracks that embodies elements of punk and trap. Surf is sure to defy expectations with more upcoming projects that breaks the barriers of the genre’s alike.