Benedetto Rotondi, known by his stage nameBenny Cassette, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Signed to Kanye West's Very GOOD Beats as a producer since 2013, he worked on Kanye West's Yeezus album among other collaborative projects. Cassette has released a number of official remixes as well, including the 2013 song "You're Not the One" by Sky Ferreira. In 2014 he went on to release three singles as a solo artist: "Raging Bull", "Bridges Over Babylon" featuring BJ The Chicago Kid, and "Virgo Season" featuring Isaiah Rashad.
Early life
Benny Cassette was born in Los Angeles. Neither of his parents were involved in the music industry, his father, Michael Rotondi, working as an architect, but Cassette was still exposed to the diverse local music. He has stated, "I came up in the LA hip hop scene listening to N.W.A and the Beastie Boys. On top of that, I grew up in a Latino neighborhood where I heard salsa, ranchero and oldies. At home, dad listened to jazz, and at school kids either played rap at lunchtime, or rock after school." In high school he began rapping as part of a youth-performance group, which inspired him to consider pursuing music as a career. He toured with the group during his summers, performing at diverse locations including prisons. He stated "I learned real quick how to cover stuff up because if you mess up there, on stage, you get boo'd."
Music career
Production, songwriting (2013-2015)
After collaborating with artists such as Chuck Inglish in 2012, in 2013 Cassette signed with G.O.O.D. Music as a producer. For his first project he was flown to Paris to work on Kanye West's Yeezus album. Cassette has since collaborated with friends such as Miguel and DJ Skee on projects, also working with John Legend, Eric Bellinger, Stacy Barthe, Elle Varner, Wynter Gordon, Allen Stone, the Band Perry, Lily Allen, and others such as Krewella. As of 2015, he has recently worked with artists such as Sza. On April 1, 2014 Cassette released two official remixes of Sky Ferreira songs: "I Blame Myself" and "You're Not the One." Both songs were originally off Ferreira's 2013 debut Night Time, My Time, and the remixes were exclusively released through Spin Magazine. Stated Spin, "Cassette bolsters the tight snares of the singer's 'Blame Myself' into a trap-addled bounce and softens the lovelorn 'You're Not the One' into a breezy, skip-along groove." In 2014 he was a co-writer, producer, and co-executive producer for the Mary Lambert album Heart on My Sleeve, due out on Capitol Records on October 14. He co-wrote the album's track "Secrets" along with Lambert, Eric Rosse, and MoZella. The single was released in early August along with the track "When You Sleep."
"Raging Bull" and EPs (2014-2016)
In 2014 Cassette released the song "Raging Bull," which "features Benny Cassette’s own vocals over his synthesized and drum-pounding production," and was followed by a music video. About the sound production, AFRSH.com wrote that Cassette "has mastered a distinct hybrid of hip-hop, alternative and pop music that proves utterly infectious." Cassette has since 2014 announced several upcoming EPs. In September 2014 Cassette released his single "Virgo Season," which featured Isaiah Rashad. He premiered the music video for his "Sex and Faith" single in December. In May 2016, Benny released his first single "Entertain Us" off his upcoming album Broken Hearts and Dollar Signs. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Viral Spotify 50 chart.
Personal life
Cassette continues to live in his hometown of Los Angeles. He is involved in the local music scene and Baha'i community.
