Plan B

by Jason Lymangrover An East London raconteur with an ability to write in a horrifying first-person narrative (similar to Bret Easton Ellis) as a variety of outlandish characters, Ben Drew (aka Plan B) specializes in weaving explicit tales about gangbanging, psychopaths, and junkies. With his distinctively cockney accent over grimey beats, he comes across like a hostile version of the Streets on record, while his live shows are stripped down to bare vocals over acoustic guitar, showcasing his enigmatic switches between controversial raps one moment and personal Ben Harper choruses the next -- as if Jamie T. were channeling Eminem. Drew started playing R&B soul ballads at a youth club and at urban showcases when he was 14 years old. After a couple of years of going unnoticed and getting pigeonholed as a Justin Timberlake-type sensitive singer/songwriter, he came to the realization that the public wasn't taking him seriously, and reacted by making a conscious decision to move into a more experimental narrative territory. He referred to this drastic artistic change as his alternate plan and adopted Plan B as his new moniker. His writing style soon gravitated toward that of a screenwriter as he scripted rhymes that featured strong dialogue, plot developments, and antihero protagonists. By 19 he penned the shocking and heavily detailed "Kidz"and "Dead and Buried." Three years later, in 2006, 679 Records released his debut album, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words.