Cincinnati hip-hop artist Turich Benjy seemed to be making a declaration in an eye-catching video clip released at the start of last year. Standing in the middle of an empty city street under a single light shining down on his contorted dancing, arms stretched wide open staring up at the night sky, he repeats the line, “open this bitch wide up” over and over from his song “SHROOMIES” off the then-upcoming album ULTRASOUND (DELUXE).
The video and much of his work blends boundary-pushing production with high-fashion glamor. The hard-hitting immediacy of an artist demanding their spot and your attention makes Benjy earn it.
The moment came just after the critically acclaimed collaborative album, It’s Too Quiet..’!! with friend and fellow rapper Pink Siifu. He’s continued building momentum since. While touring Europe late last year, Benjy churned out glammed-up, inventive videos, music and fashion, often on the verge of avant-garde, seemingly poised for even larger success.
Benjy, also known as Lionell Rogers, found his connection to creativity and entertainment as a child at age nine when he began dancing. He tells CityBeat the first time he performed at a school talent show he was asked to perform again; he was hooked.
“I got highly interested in just the hype of it, you know what I’m saying? I was like an attention whore kind of, basically,” he says with a laugh.
Dancing would remain his main interest through his teen years, later touring with partner and friend Carlon Jeffery, also known as Lil C-Note. “He was the artist and I was his hype man/dancer but he really was the first inspiration for me to start writing my own music,” Rogers tells CityBeat.
Touring would leave another impression on him, including performing on the first Scream Tour in 2001 with other up-and-coming stars Bow Wow, B2K and Chris Brown. “A lot of the artists I was around, they were doing things on BET already and with a lot of people that were in that young, creative space, and I think that just kind of made it appeal to me. But, you know, like I said, I grew up in the era like Bow Wow and Romeo and shit like that so, seeing that type of stuff, seeing the kid celebrities, I was like, ‘Ok, I need to be a triple threat.” He was making music by 14 or 15 but wouldn’t start performing as a rapper on his own until his early twenties, starting out in a group that Rogers would get work by negotiating spots on his dancing gigs instead of getting paid.
By 22 he had some experience and more focus and was compelled to go forward after a loss. He tells CityBeat, “Once I got a little more comfortable in making my own music and one of my closest friends, he passed away about 10, 11 years ago now, but he was the one that was like, ‘Nah, you got it,’ you know what I’m saying? This is before I was called Turich Benjy and he was like, ‘Yo, you really got it,’ and I think when he passed in 2014, that’s when I really kicked it into gear. I was like, ‘I got to pick a side and stay there.’”
He moved in 2018, pursuing music and splitting time between Atlanta and LA when he became disillusioned and put off on the impossibility of success before another catalyst would spark something. “I had one of those weird situations that it just, kind of, deterred me from music. So, I took like a year break from music,” he tells CityBeat. “And then COVID hit and, I don’t know, I’m just a creative person in general, so, I ended up buying a sewing machine to try to make merch.”
He started with embroidery on bucket hats, then jeans before going further, making what he calls “costume pieces,” eventually wearing the clothes out to shows. “Then it was like, people always kind of recognized me for my extreme fashion sense, but then when I was wearing my own clothes, it definitely gave me another life, and it really got me back into music.” He continues, “When I started wearing what I felt like, I started wearing clothes that seemed like it was a part of my personality, it started making sense.”
He talks about the role of an artist and, additionally, what fashion and image can bring to a project. “It’s like, I explain to people all the time, we as artists are superheroes and to other people that look at us that can’t make music or can’t make clothes, they look at us as extraordinaires. So, it’s like when you get to put your cape on and you already feel super, then it adds to the whole emotion of being like, ‘Oh, this is my job, for real.’ Even in films, a huge part of film, what makes a movie good, is the cast and the costume direction. So, I think that’s highly important and they go hand in hand. You can be an artist who’s a regular guy and dress like a regular guy but I think, like I said, when you put yourself in a position to be, like, superhero material, it feels different to you and the consumers.”
His goals as a musician touch on the same philosophy. “I’m trying to entertain first. So, I think when I’m making songs and when I’m performing, I really want people to feel something. I know that probably sounds generic, but it’s not about me going out onstage and being like, ‘Listen to me,’ like ‘This is me.’ I really want people to feel invited to the same ideas and the same feeling that I have when I’m making something. Everybody can’t create but everybody likes music, so I’m trying to create a common median; a common ground between the person with the ideas and the person who is thinking the same thing but probably can’t convey it, you know?”
When asked about how he feels about being from and working out of Cincinnati, Rogers tells CityBeat that the video and much of his work blends boundary-pushing production with high-fashion glamor. The hard-hitting immediacy of an artist demanding their spot and your attention and earning it. “I’ve always been a fan of Cincinnati hip-hop and Cincinnati music, in general.” He mentions King Records, Roger Troutman of early Dayton electro-funk group Zapp Band and local legend and funk pioneer Bootsy Collins, adding, “I try to remind everybody, you’re carrying a torch and it’s an honorable place to be.” He continues, “Like LA and the West Coast sound was created, the West Coast hip-hop sound anyway, that funk bop, that’s like Midwest music originated. For me, I always try to remind people that we are a part of what was already birthed here, and it’s a blessing to kind of be able to look back and see what’s going on and be, like, cultivating and curating the new wave.”
He also mentions some of his contemporaries and local favorites. “Devin Burgess is a guy I really look up to; M80 is a producer from here, he just won a Grammy like last year or maybe two years ago now but he’s somebody that’s been paving his own way and I’ve seen him go from when he was 17 to getting a Grammy, from Cincinnati, so that’s important. Lantana’s one of my favorites — he’s done things that some of us haven’t, still haven’t done yet, you know, but he did it 15 years ago. Also, Sappha, she’s like the perfect median of pop but like funk music kind of meshed together. Siri Imani is another big one. I love her music but she’s also the perfect balance between humanitarian and an artist and a person for what she does for a lot of the community and stuff like that. There’s a young guy, his name is Gio Getem, he’s kind of low-key, but he’s a crazy harmonious singer, and he makes rap music, too. He’s one that embodies that funk music and soul at the same time.”
When asked about performing, he says, “My favorite shows are always the Cincinnati shows. The countless shows in Cincinnati have prepared me for the world touring I’ve been blessed to be a part of.” He mentions Madison Live in Covington and Northside’s Radio Artifact as a couple of favorite venues, saying, “Rest in peace Mad Frog” with a laugh. “That was one of the places I got started at.”
He’s currently adding guest spots from local artists for final touches on an album that will be out in the coming weeks, in addition to a three-part series of releases that will feature a live band made up of local musicians.
Rogers tells CityBeat he’s possibly most passionate about curating events, whether it’s an art show or fashion show or performances, in addition to working with up-and-comers through his Turich Worldwide imprint.
“Right now I’m just in a space of trying to explore all creative endeavors and really utilize the people around me,” he said. “I’m really just looking forward to working with more local artists and putting out really high-quality music from Cincinnati to the world.”
To learn more about Turich Benjy and to listen to his music, visit soundcloud.com/turichbenjy.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s April 30 print edition.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.