Clive John "Benji" Webbe (born 11 March 1967) is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist for the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

band Skindred. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider,

Dub War Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae. Biography Dub War formed in 1993 in Wales. The band released two albums, via the metal label Earache Recor ...

, Mass Mental and his own solo project. He has featured on albums by Bullet for My Valentine,

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has release ...

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977 under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the group soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language ...

, and Punk Rock Factory. Webbe is a native of Newport, South Wales, and a veteran of the rock explosion of the mid-1990s which led to '' Spin'' magazine dubbing Newport as 'The New Seattle'.

Early life

Clive John Webbe was born on 11 March 1967 in Newport to Caribbean parents. His father was brought to the UK on the Windrush ship which brought one of the first groups of

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

immigrants to the United Kingdom. His father arrived in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

where he struggled to find a job and moved to Wales instead. Webbe became an orphan at the age of 13 and was raised by his older brother in Newport. He was also involved in drug dealing, but turned his life around with music.

Career

Webbe first came to prominence with

, releasing two studio albums, ''Pain'' and ''Wrongside of Beautiful''. A third album was in the works before the band split in 1999. Benji left Earache after they refused to let him record a solo album, which was intended to move to a more

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

sound. After a short lived project with

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...

, Mass Mental, which released one studio and one live album, Webbe formed Skindred with former members of Dub War. Due to a dispute with the record label, a new lineup moved to Bieler Bros. and has released six studio albums. In 2006, Webbe performed with

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

at the 2006

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

, while Korn's lead singer

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, which is considered a pioneering act of the nu metal genre. Davis's ...

was seriously ill, he sang " A.D.I.D.A.S." He has also appeared on Bullet for My Valentine's 2008 album '' Scream Aim Fire'' (on "Take It Out on Me"), as well as

's debut album (on "Quilombo" and "Prejudice"). In 2012, Webbe collaborated with the

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

band Dirty Wormz on their album ''Outbreak'', appearing on the song "Blood & Fire". In 2015, Webbe released his debut solo album, a purely

album entitled ''I Haven't Been Nicking in Ages'', produced by Monsta Boy. He has also been performing intermittently with the reformed Mass Mental and in 2015,

. In 2018, commemorating

Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...

in the United Kingdom, Webbe was included on a list of 100 "Brilliant, Black and Welsh" people. In 2020, Webbe unveiled a new studio project with Dub War bassist Richie Glover, entitled Diamond Spider. The "voodoo blues" project released its debut single in October that year, with a self-titled album due in 2021 along with Dub War's fourth studio album.

Personal life

Webbe has four children with his ex-wife and 19 grandchildren. In September 2022, he married his wife Julie Christian in a private wedding ceremony.

Discography

Solo discography

Skindred discography

Dub War discography

Diamond Spider discography

Mass Mental? discography

Collaborations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webbe, Benji Skindred 1967 births Living people 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers Welsh male singers Musicians from Newport, Wales British heavy metal singers Welsh people of Jamaican descent Black British rock musicians Reggae rock musicians Nu metal singers Mass Mental members