Family has a significant influence on a person’s lifestyle choices, guiding them to make certain decisions in their careers. In the music industry, artists pick up their dreams from watching their family members thrive. Coco Benson is one of the most recent artists to break out in music, following her grandfather’s career.
Coco Benson is an international singer and songwriter of West African descent and the granddaughter of Nigerian music legend Bernard Olabinjo “Bobby” Benson. Her grandfather participated in injecting Nigeria’s Highlife and is best recognized for his hit song Taxi Driver. Although they never met, Bobby paved the way for her music career. “His spirit of music definitely passed on to me,” Coco shared. Apart from Bobby, Coco’s eldest sister played a part in her love for music. Coco watched her perform in musical plays in amazement, learning from her until she started finding her voice.
The rising artist spent a considerable time growing up in Switzerland, traveling to Ghana, Nigeria, and many other places. During her travels, Coco took inspiration from each destination, citing their uniqueness as a source of inspiration. Adopting the pop and house music, the rhythm, drums, and chimes of Africa, and the colorful sounds of other places she went to, Coco built the foundations to her style in Afro-pop, Afro-house, and soul music.
By 2013, Coco Benson started her music career in Nigeria. She produced hits like They Call Me Coco and Oga Cornelius, which featured a remix of her late grandfather’s hit, Taxi Driver. Coco later met renowned music producer Shizzi, who has collaborated with established names like Davido, Wizkid, Wale, and Chris Brown, to name a few. They eventually married and started a family. While she found moderate success as an artist, Coco decided to take a hiatus after 2015 to care for her new family.
After a couple of years, Coco Benson decided to once again return to her greatest passion. Collaborating with her husband, the couple produced the timeless summer jam, Majesty. The song came about one night when Coco and Shizzi decided to create a piece together. While going through the sounds, one chord captured their attention, setting the foundation for their song.
“I knew it was going to be a woman-empowering song,” Coco shared, enthusiastic about the project. As professionals, the couple set their relationship aside, projecting their efforts into the song. After releasing the song, Coco and Shizzi went out to film a music video to accompany the piece. The team completed the project in three days. The video lived up to its title, and Coco has shown her gratefulness and satisfaction with how they shot the video according to how she envisioned it.
Now that Coco Benson has returned to the music scene, she is determined to create more songs. She hopes to perform on the stage again. “I love performing live,” Coco confessed, “I actually prefer it to being in the studio.”
Stay updated on Coco Benson’s latest releases by following her on Instagram.