Matt B facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matt B
Benson in 2022 at the Grammy Museum
Born	Matthew David Benson (1989-09-08) September 8, 1989 (age 35) Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Education	University of Illinois at Chicago
Occupation	Singer songwriter record producer
Years active	2004–present
Spouse(s)	Angela Benson ​ (m. 2012)​
Awards	Grammy Award Nomination
Musical career
Genres	R&B Hip hop Afrobeats
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Labels	Priority Records StarBase Records Vitae Records
Associated acts	Eddy Kenzo Lil Bibby J. Ivy Casey Veggies Tricky Stewart Bryan-Michael Cox

Matt B, whose real name is Matthew David Benson, is a talented American singer, songwriter, and music producer. He is known for his R&B, Hip hop, and Afrobeats music. In 2022, his song Gimme Love, featuring Eddy Kenzo, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance. This song also reached #36 on Billboard's US Afrobeats Songs chart. In 2024, Matt B received another Grammy nomination for "Best Global Music Album" for his album "ALKEBULAN II."

Matt B's Early Life

Matthew David Benson was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He is one of seven children in his family. Matt B started singing in his church choir and at church events when he was very young. His grandmother inspired him to become a singer. In 2005, Matt B and his brothers formed a singing group called TriEnd. The group broke up in 2008, and Matt B began his solo music career in 2009.

His Music Journey

Matt B is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He has mentioned famous artists like Stevie Wonder, Boyz II Men, Usher, and The Temptations as his musical inspirations. Since starting his solo career in 2009, he has released eight studio albums. In 2019, Matt B performed at the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, which was shown on national television.

First Albums: Love and War and Dive

His album Love and War was released in 2014 by StarBase Records in Tokyo. This album reached #1 on the iTunes R&B Chart in Japan. Its main song, Plain Girl, also hit #1 in Japan. The album was a collection of songs he had released before, and it was very popular in Japan.

Dive, Matt B's second album, came out in 2016. He produced this album himself. Dive also reached #1 on the iTunes R&B Chart in Japan.

Working with Producers: RISE and Eden

In 2018, Matt B worked with producer Bryan-Michael Cox to create the EP (Extended Play) called RISE. This EP was released by Priority Records. His song Losing You from this EP won him the Best R&B Male Artist award at the Indie Music Channel Awards.

In 2021, Matt B released his first album in the US, called Eden. This album was produced by Bryan-Michael Cox and Tricky Stewart. Eden received good reviews and appeared on Billboard's Top 40 R&B Albums chart. The song Deep from the album also got positive feedback.

The Hit Song: Gimme Love

In 2021, Matt B worked with Ugandan artist Eddy Kenzo to write and record the song Gimme Love. In 2022, this song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance. It also reached #36 on Billboard's US Afrobeats Songs chart.

The music video for Gimme Love won many awards at film festivals. It won Best Song at the New York International Film Festival. Matt B's wife and manager, Angela Valarie Benson, also won an award for directing the music video. Matt B and Eddy Kenzo performed Gimme Love at the Eddy Kenzo Festival in Uganda. Over 100,000 people, including Uganda's Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, watched their performance.

Awards and Nominations

Discography

• 2011 - Matt B:301B
• 2014 - Love & War
• 2016 -Dive
• 2018 - RISE
• 2019 - Homecoming
• 2021 - Eden
• 2023 - ALKEBULAN
• 2024 - ALKEBULAN II