Ben Drew Quotes

United Kingdom, Actor
October 22, 1983

Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew, better known by his stage name Plan B, is an English hip hop recording artist, actor, film director and producer. He first emerged as a rapper releasing his critically acclaimed debut album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words in 2006. His second studio album, The Defamation of Strickland Banks (2010), was a soul record and went straight to number one on the UK Albums Chart. He has also collaborated with other artists such as Chase & Status, most notably on the 2009 top ten single "End Credits".

Also known as Artist, Film Director, Producer, Rapper

I love the way I make hip-hop and I refuse to make pop-rap. I don't refuse to make mainstream music, which is why I did a soul record. There was no reason why soul music couldn't get played on the radio and I still wanted to have a relationship with my record label. So, I really enjoyed doing the Strickland Banks album. But there's no point in my trying to release underground hip-hop music on a major label. That part of my talent, or part of my art, had to live somewhere else and feature film was the perfect vehicle for it.

Ben Drew
- Music
- Art
- Soul
Anyone who puts 110% into their work deserves as much success as they can get.

Ben Drew
- Work
- Success
- Puts

I found very early on when I became a hip-hop artist that I loved telling stories. Actually, when I was trying to get a message across it was more powerful when I told a story, rather than if I used a metaphor or if I preached about an issue. And through doing that I realised that actually these stories were very visual in my head and I couldn't wait to make the videos.

Ben Drew
- Hip Hop
- Message
- Videos
I was a soul singer first and I'd write love songs. I find with soul music it's really hard to write about anything else. But I was 15 at the time when I was doing that and, to be honest, I'd never experienced love, so the words were kind of meaningless. With hip-hop music, it allowed me to talk about political and social things but also to tell stories.

Ben Drew
- Soul
- Stories
- Talk
The problem with working with a record label is they maybe a song I want to make a video for that they will refuse to make a video for because they don't see that song as a single. And I found that very frustrating. I realised what I was doing was making these short films for the blind. They were films and all you had to do was put some headphones on and close your eyes and listen to my voice and you'd be able to visualise the images that I'm putting into your brain. And so I started calling what I was doing 'films for the blind'.

Ben Drew
- Song
- Single
- Films
I didn't make a film because I wanted a starring role. I made a film because I wanted to tell a story and I wanted to prove that I could direct.

Ben Drew
- Film
- Role
- Prove