‘A singer-songwriter passionate about writing vulnerable music that takes everyone's walls down including his own’ is what you’ll find if you seek out the music and artistry of Benjamin Carter. Hailing from the Cayman Islands and Washington, D.C., Carter is a self-proclaimed first generation child of the internet. He writes music not based on genre but based on what best helps get his dedicated message across to the listener.

Carter’s latest two-part record, Black Boys on the Radio, discusses delicate themes of race, culture, and relationships. At its release, he had called Black Boys on the Radio: Part II one of the “most vulnerable projects [he has] shared to date”. Lyrically and sonically, Benjamin Carter is not afraid to dig deeper than other artists and bring out the important conversations we should all be having. Carter’s most recent single, BACKSEAT DRIVING, will help introduce you to this artist’s emotional brilliance and rare virtuosity.

Recently finished an opening run with Los Angeles-based pop rock band, The Wrecks, Benjamin Carter is focused on releasing new music. Thirteen Magazine caught up with them at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, California to discuss the band’s history and what inspires them.

THIRTEEN: How long have you all been performing together? 

BENJAMIN: He (Ben Gomez) and I have been performing together since 2022, and Marcus and I met in college and performed together at random non-music events…’for the holy spirit.’ He became Instagram famous for his guitar work recently - shoutout Toast - so I called him up and asked him to play on the road with me and thankfully, he said yes.

THIRTEEN: How does it feel to play a hometown show at the end of your tour? 

BENJAMIN: Playing here for the last show of the tour is really special. I used to live in Koreatown in a building just down the road, but I refused to ever come into the Wiltern until I played a show here because I wanted it to be a surprise. It took a lot of delusion to ever think that I was gonna play here-

BEN: I mean it was ballsy for sure, but hey we’re here.

BENJAMIN: Yeah somehow it worked, so this is my first time being inside this venue which was a bit overwhelming. So with this also being my first tour in general, it’s all just completely new.

THIRTEEN: What was it like adjusting to the touring lifestyle? 

BENJAMIN: The performing part came naturally for all of us, but the biggest changes came with the sleep schedule, driving, hotels, and logistics. But once we figured that out and got on stage, everything felt natural for us.

THIRTEEN: What was the inspiration behind this album? 

BENJAMIN: The inspiration was just the backstory of my life…Black boys on the radio part one and part two, and being able to use eclectic versions of rock to show representation to the origins of black people in rock music. It’s just my take of how I want to showcase this genre, so when you listen to it it’ll sound like each song sounds kinda different, and that’s on purpose because I wanted to show myself in each one of the genres where I wish there were more people that look like me. And the next record is almost set already, so we’re really excited about that. 

THIRTEEN: What’s the inspiration behind the new record? 

BEN: Sex.

BENJAMIN: Sex, yeah. For real though I don’t want to give the title away, but it’s more of a story surrounding a romance and sensual relationship, and that’s something that the last record doesn’t really have, so it’s been a lot of fun.