Zia Benjamin scores with ‘Maxxx’, looks to Bond

Fast-rising reggae singer/songwriter Christina ‘Zia’ Benjamin is still on a high following news that her 2019 single, Mr Neverman, was made part of the soundtrack for the newly released comedy series, Maxxx. The entertainer, who has always desired for her music to cross over into the international realm, says she hopes the move will mark the beginning of even bigger things to come.

“I’ve always felt very polarised about my music. Half of me has always been very private with my material. I’m a poet, and so most of my songs are written for me from a very personal space. Mr Neverman was one of those songs, and so a little part of me was always scared to release it to the world because it was so real to me. But then, another part of myself is the complete opposite, where I know I am creating the type of music that is really unique coming from Jamaica, and for that specific reason I know that if I push it, it can reach unique places and I can take Brand Jamaica with me to these places,” she said.

“My ultimate dream is to bring my music to, like, James Bond theme song levels. I want to be the first Jamaican woman to sing the theme song. Bond was written in Jamaica by Ian Flemming and Jamaica is known for music, but no Jamaican has ever done the theme song. Doing that would be really great.”

Benjamin told The Gleaner that now that she’s got a taste of what it feels like to have her music be a part of television productions, she wants more. “I want to get my music into more films. As a director myself, I write with visuals in mind because I know what I will want the music videos to look like, and so I know that the songs will work well with films. In fact, before Maxxx, I was being asked to submit music for quite a few films, and so I think we’ll see more of that,” she said. “I don’t even know if I can talk about all the projects yet, but they’re very cool and are a sign of big things to come.”

shereita.grizzle@gleanerjm.com