A car ride with Benjamin Saeed Davis, aka Benny Blancco, meant listening to instrumentals and beats that he would inevitably freestyle to—with rhymes that never missed. Benjamin cared for those around him with a passion that rivaled his love of music. In his presence, you were sure to find people laughing, smiling and most definitely rapping.
“He even brought out a side of me that I didn’t even know I had,” says Davida White, a lifelong friend turned chosen family. “I actually started going to the studio to record music, singing with him, rapping.”
Davida was first introduced to Benjamin as the younger brother of her best friend when he was 13 years old. The first thing that she remembers about him is how he wanted to be a rapper, always rhyming or writing a new song.
Benjamin brought joy to the lives of those around him, always ready to lend a helping hand or tell a good joke. “He was very, very, very playful. He was always happy or at least always trying to make everyone else happy,” says Davida. “He was all around a great person.”
He especially loved to hang out with kids, from his nieces and nephews to other kids in his neighborhood. He was especially close to Davida’s son Kasai, always ready to go outside and play basketball or toss a football. When Benjamin moved in with them, the last six months before his passing, Kasai had so much respect and love for Uncle Ben that he gave up his room for him. “He loved kids so much and they loved him too,” says Davida.
Weeks before his passing, he passed his driver’s test and was excited about his new ID. He was also proud to have secured a job interview, which was scheduled for February 20, 2018.
But he would never have the interview. On February 19, 2018, while walking home from the bus stop, Benjamin was shot on the 1300 block of West Pike Street, the same block where was raised. He was 24 years old.
Born June 9, 1994, Benjamin grew up in Erie, but later moved to Philadelphia, graduating from Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter.
As he grew up, he embodied the perfect balance of stylish yet understated, so much so that he was the type of person you’d go to for fashion advice. Rather than flaunting designers, he used his wardrobe as a means of uplifting and supporting his community.
“The last few months of his life, he would wear a clothing line I started or just like different clothing lines from the young entrepreneurs in the neighborhood,” Davida said. He was even collaborating with Davida to create his own Blancco brand clothing line.
He would often join Davida at her print shop during the day. He would hang out, helping her with designs over her shoulder or anticipating any other things she might need. One thing was for sure; if he was in a room, music would be most definitely be playing.
“He liked R&B and slow jams,” Davida said. “He had like an older person’s soul to me.” But by the time lunchtime came around, she notes, the morning slow jams would be replaced by instrumental beats. Benjamin would be rapping, going back and forth with another one of her coworkers, and just having a good time.
Benjamin was hopeful and aspirational about his future. “He was growing up really with nothing, trying to make something happen,” says Davida. “ He just wanted to do the right thing.”
Benjamin’s funeral services were held at Khadijah Alderman Funeral Services on February 22, 2018. He is interred at White Chapel Memorial and there stands a community memorial on West Pike Street marking the spot where his life was tragically cut short. He is survived by his friends, siblings, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, nieces and nephews. Davida named her youngest son Saeed in Benjamin’s honor. She started a Blancco clothing line shortly after his passing and his brother, a well-known rapper in the community, has released music in his memory.
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