Starting his career as a producer, Los Angeles singer/songwriter
Benny Cassette (born Benedetto Rotondi) spans styles with a background influenced by multiple genres. Growing up in an Italian-Spanish family, he absorbed salsa, ranchero, and
Julio Iglesias from his grandmother, jazz from his father, rock from his schoolmates, and old-school hip-hop like
N.W.A and
Beastie Boys from his neighborhood friends. Those sonic inspirations have been reflected in both his solo material and in the music of the diverse roster of artists with whom he has worked, like
Miguel,
John Legend,
Lily Allen,
Krewella,
SZA,
Dev,
the Lonely Island,
the All-American Rejects,
Sky Ferreira, and
Mary Lambert. Before
Cassette made a name for himself in the studio, he honed his talents by rapping in high school and performing on-stage in his free time. While he contributed a rap-rock track titled "Watch Your Back" to the
Fast and the Furious soundtrack in 2001, he wouldn't fully immerse himself in the industry until nearly a decade later. In 2012, he released the Angel Dust EP, produced by
Chuck Inglish. Soon thereafter, he scored a major break when
Kanye West flew him to Paris to help work on
Yeezus.
West signed
Cassette to his G.O.O.D. Music label as a producer, and
Cassette slowly stacked his résumé. In 2014, he released a trio of singles as a solo artist, starting with "Raging Bull," then "Sex and Faith" and "Virgo Season" with
Isaiah Rashad.
Cassette added
Tinashe,
the Band Perry,
Astrid S, and
Bebe Rexha to his production credits before the release of "Entertain Us" in 2016. The playful critique of social media life would be the first taste of his Broke Hearts and Dollar Signs LP. Based on a series of letters to loved ones that
Cassette wrote on the road, Broke Hearts would also include the single "Be Wild" with Alice Leigh and the
Drake-esque, tropical-tinged "Sunrise Sunset," which arrived in the spring of 2017. ~ Neil Z. Yeung