For Ben Reilly, the journey to becoming a voice in rap began long before he ever stepped into a recording booth. It started on the city buses of Brooklyn, where he navigated the bustling city as a child. With a mother who worked long hours, Reilly took the opportunity to teach himself how to cook and absorb the sounds of his environment. From the curated playlists of his household to the bass vibrating from backyard and basement parties on his block, this early necessity for self-reliance became the foundation of his creative process. Today, Reilly operates with a level of autonomy rare in the industry, acting as his own A&R, conceptualizing his own visual production, and directing his music videos practically cinematically.
When Reilly moved to Atlanta at the age of 13, his musical palette expanded. He found himself at the intersection of two distinct cultural cities. From New York, he retained a deep-seated attitude for gritty, jazz-influenced, and lyric-heavy storytelling. From Atlanta, he adopted a love for melodic, bass-heavy funk. His work now serves as a bridge between these worlds, balancing Northern lyricism with the infectious, rhythmic soul of the South. This duality was refined over a decade spent as a member of the collective Abstract Media. From 2013 to 2023, Reilly describes it as a “necessary chapter of growth before he was ready to pivot as a solo artist.”
The first true glimpse into Reilly’s solo potential came with his 2021 project, Freelance. Created in just two months during the pandemic, it was designed as a “proof of concept” to showcase his range. The project was deeply symbolic, centered around the imagery of the red cardinal, a bird Reilly learned represents freedom and peace. He discovered that cardinals in the wild live for an average of 28 months, therefore formatting the project to be exactly 28 minutes long. This era also saw the viral explosion of his track “Maytag,” a moment that transformed his career overnight. While many artists might have chased that viral high, Reilly remained grounded, viewing it as a statement song rather than a blueprint for his future output.
This commitment to depth is most evident in his debut album, SAVE. Though it is his latest release, the concept has been brewing since 2016. Reilly took his stage name from the comic book character Ben Reilly, a Spider-Man clone, and used that framework to build what he calls his “superhero origin story.” However, SAVE is far from a fantasy. Instead, it uses the superhero trope to explore the heavy themes of power, trauma, and the weight of responsibility. At the heart of the album is a four-track run: “Bulletproof,” “Hero Complex!,” “Responsibility,” and “Paul.” These songs dive into the nuances of brotherhood, his complex relationship with his mother, and the absence of father figures in his life. He even touches on the physical and psychological aftermath of being stabbed, an experience that added a layer of mortality to his persona.
The project summed up is said in a single line from “Bulletproof,” “A man of steel is just a man still.” It is a reminder to himself and his audience that strength is often a facade for vulnerability, and that even those who seem indestructible need to be checked on. This honesty extends to his visual work, where he draws inspiration from legends like Gordon Parks and Spike Lee. For Reilly, every frame of a music video should be a “dope picture,” a standalone painting that tells a story even without the sound. As he looks toward 2026 with a mini-tour and a continued rollout of visual content, his focus remains on growth. Looking back at the decade it took to reach this point, his advice to his younger self is a simple reflection of his journey: listen more, trust your gut, and prioritize your own well-being. He has moved beyond the “freelance” stage of his career, emerging as a fully realized architect of his own narrative.