Tilly back with a ‘Beng’
OLD-SCHOOL deejay Tilly Beng is back with a new single. The artiste, popularly known for the slogan “Tilly beng beng”, recently released the song and video Beng Beng on the Brutal Music label.
He explained his prolonged absence from the music scene.
“I have been working in the studio and fine-tuning my music before releasing them. Over the years, the lack of promotion was one of the main reasons why persons didn’t hear much from me but now I am ready to put more into the promotion of my career,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
In the 1990s Tilly Beng made his entry into the music scene with songs such as Same Old Punk, Miss Gwaanie Gwaanie, and Couch.
“The journey has been a rough road but my love for the music keeps me going. Music has been my passion from I was very young,” he said.
Tilly Beng was born Devon Johnson and grew up in the Majestic Gardens community of Kingston 11.
“The love for music began from I was eight years old. I used to sing for my family, and when we moved to Portmore near to Massa Lawn —an entertainment complex in Newland — I used to listen to Ranking Joe ‘mash up the place’. That piqued my interest and then Shabba Ranks came on the scene, and that’s where it all began for me,” said Tilly Beng.
Tilly Beng would later rock stage shows within the Portmore area and other community events. When he relocated to Brooklyn in New York he extended his brand of energy and showmanship on stages including Madison Square Garden, Club Amazura and BB King’s Blues Club.
He has shared stages with the likes of Baby Cham, Anthony B, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder and Jigsy King, among others.
Tilly Beng also did some acting, appearing in the independent films Hungry Dogs and Pups (2007) and Gangsta Nuh Play (2017).
In 2015 he released the seven track EP Move On, which was produced by Secret Revival Records.
Last year he formed his label, Ronlon Music Production. Among its latest releases are Girls Come and Till Dem
Heng (both recorded by him), and About the Papers featuring singer Ed Robinson.