Photo Courtesy of Kyle Bent
Kyle Bent is an independent rapper and music artist based out of Boston. Since his youth, he has made significant progress over the years, making a name for himself through his impactful music. He puts together songs with deep meanings behind them. What makes him so unique in the music industry is his inspirational spiritual expression embedded in his artistry.
Bent’s music is an expert amalgamation of the motivational, honest, uplifting, and energetic styles. He has toured with such well-known artists, including Nelly, Joyner Lucus, Hopsin, and Mick Jenkins. In times of this global pandemic isolating people and making us feel so alone, Bent delivers a message through his music of togetherness and unity, reminding us that we are not truly alone and still have each other.
Bent was born in 1997 in Jamaica and moved to the United States at the ripe age of two. In the third grade, he was introduced to the world of rap and hip–hop through a close friend. Bent became intrigued by the art of freestyle rapping and started to dig a little deeper, which then led to his own songwriting, working to hone his skill each day.
When Bent was just ten years old, he went and formed a rap duo with a friend of his, and the two lasted for about a year. During that time, however, Bent was working on his artistry and learning how to record and engineer, skills he later used to produce his first records. That is until he met Tarik McFarland, who began working with him to help develop him as an artist after seeing Bent’s talent.
Bent released a music video in 2014 titled “Mind Control,” which brought him over 100k views on YouTube. The video was featured on MTV, Music Choice, and On-Demand as well, earning him a lot of visibility. In addition, it caught the attention of some well-established hip-hop blogs, which brought him even more traction.
Bent went to Bridgewater State University and, in February of 2016, released another music video called “The Higher Power.” The song became an instant hit gaining thousands of views overnight which added a good foundation for a promising position in the scene. With powerful lyrics such as:
The point is to make a difference every minute/
All we have is now, so make the seconds count while you living/
There’s no restarting this adventure/
Go and get the life you envision/
The song, in addition to having an amazing beat, carries powerful lyrics with the intent of showcasing his profound ability to instill a sense of clarity in those who have lost hope along the way which shows that he has a deeper understanding of how the world works.
As an artist, Bent’s focus is transcending boundaries and stereotypes surrounding rap music and creating a positive impact. The plots in most of his songs often cover current social issues, especially related to the urban communities, while expressing the strengths and limits of youth empowerment and activism. This is also reflective through his day today day conversations with the people he works with, states the music producer at Marmoset Studio who worked with the artist on licensing of his many albums. The producer adds that even though the artist maintains his mainstream appeal his lyrics are uniquely sculpted from his learning of his Jamaican identity and focus on self-reflection that everyone should identify about themselves.
He achieves this by penning meaningful songs that talk about finding your true potential and connecting with your true inner self. His songs have a spiritual touch to them which are devoid of any swear words geared towards uniting people from all walks of life and moving away from stereotypes associated with rap music such as swearing, talking about drugs, money etc.
On his track “Just a Little Bit,” which was released in 2017, you can understand his desire to take all of those little steps to make something big happen. However, he gives it a cheerful undertone and an uplifting message to take opportunities and create goals, making small steps at a time and eventually achieving great success.
Bent worked with Lyrica Jada and put together a song called “The Money,” which was inspired by the social injustices that occur due to the need for money. With lyrics like:
Make the money then we let the money make us /
Missing birthdays just to get your cake up /
We want world change but change is what changes us /
Things only gon’ change up once the people wake up /
Once the people stop letting money rule us
Bent shows his disinterest in the fads of pop culture or overuse of the same rap cliches where money is “good.” This song demonstrates how money changes people when we say that we want to be the ones to change things if and when we have money. Money creates the want for more items and power instead of making the changes we set out for initially.
Bent’s intelligence and honesty influence his community and fan base, known as Bent Nation. They are a group established from all walks of life, not a specific demographic. But they all share his motivation of creating a better and positive world for everyone through his music.
You can find Kyle Bent’s music at Spotify, Bandcamp & all major streaming platforms. It is a pretty safe bet that Bent isn’t going anywhere and will continue to deliver his impactful message, eventually bringing more and more people together to unite despite differences and propelling his mainstream success in the years to come.