Since ’93 is a hip-hop music producer who believes in the prospect of his dreams and doing what he loves to do over what his peers would consider the “safe” lifestyle of completing a four-year degree.
Better known as Ben Karbank to those outside of the music world, the 21-year-old college dropout came to Madison to attend University of Wisconsin and pursue a degree in film. He was a former three-sport athlete, a team captain, a self-proclaimed jock, a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and came from one of the wealthiest communities in America. Originally from Aspen, Colorado, the music producer now works at a local Madison deli to provide for himself. He produces music in his studio apartment by night until he falls asleep.
“We listen to oldies radio at work,” Karbank said. “I come home, download that song I heard on YouTube, start mixing that track and just continue, continue, continue until I go to sleep. I rarely even stop to make food. Sometimes I even forget I didn’t eat. Then I just brush my teeth and go to bed, wake up and do it all again the next day.”
When I joined Since ‘93 at his cozy apartment just off of Langdon Street, it was clear that his path was no gimmick. All of the walls were brandished with studioquality sound-proofing foam — he even had so much of it lying around in boxes that he plans to donate it to UW’s First Wave program. He had a record player, a mixing board, a beat pad, his laptop outfitted with high-tech music production software and high-quality speakers, which were all held up by an old bookshelf and an Adidas shoebox.
It was apparent to me that with the estimated price tag of all of that equipment and the centrality of it all within the middle of his apartment, making music must have to be more than just a hobby for Since ’93.
“I had been listening to hip-hop for a few years, and it was always the beats I would listen to,” Karbank said. “Say I was chilling with a friend and they would say, ‘This song is dope.’ They’d then proceed to quote the lyrics. I could’ve heard that song 30 times and I would never remember a single lyric because I was so into the music behind it. I was just so concentrated on the beats.”
Since ’93 proceeded to work on sampling an old soul song that he had heard at his place of work, where he often gets ideas and sounds to sample. After mixing that track for about 30 minutes, he then put together another beat in about five minutes. This one was so infectious with its repetitive heavy-bass and melodies that we sat there and freestyled for another 30 minutes about making sandwiches, being young and living off of ambition.
When I asked him why he chose not to pursue both music and his degree, Karbank described to me how being a full-time student who was studying film didn’t really match his vision of how he wanted to live his life.
“I was actually a film major,” Karbank said. “Actually I really liked it. The thing about it is that I’m taking film classes I love. I’m taking a dope art class and I love to draw, but I’m spending so much time on the other classes that I don’t want to take. What am I really going to do with my film degree? I wanted to be a music producer. So although I really liked film and studying it, it wasn’t really relevant to what I wanted for my life. This path I’m following comes from more and more organic places than a university; it’s a street-based movement. So really it was just like a ‘follow your heart’ type of thing.”
In that early period of time between dropping out and getting his life focused strictly on music, Since ’93 said he found himself as a man. He considered it a complete rebirth of who he was as a person. From being a privileged college student who was just going through the motions, to working for low wages and caring about every single penny he came across, Karbank said he isn’t even close to the same person he was just years ago. What didn’t change was that people believed in him, and he believes in himself.
“Within a month of dropping out, I got my first sampler,” Karbank said. “When I dropped out I was kind of on my own money-wise, so I didn’t really have much to my name. The first thing I bought was this sampler. It’s kind of like a modern MPC on steroids. It was $1,000. My girlfriend at the time lent me $400 and another buddy of mine lent me the other $600. They were kind of reluctant to do that, but I paid them back. They just kind of believed in me I guess.”
At the close of our conversation, Since ’93 looked me in the eye and challenged me to be different and stand out from the people around me. He challenged me to find a path that no one has taken yet and own it as my brand. What an amazing perspective that is coming from someone who could’ve easily just coasted through life on what middle-class society expected from him.
Though the life Since ’93 leads is far from glamourous, since dropping out he has found the true value and importance of happiness and what it really means. There were some dark times for him amidst the constant question of, “Is this the right move?” Once he got on his feet, paid for the tools and necessities he required and just started making music, he has never been more sure of himself.
“You’ve got to have a beat and you got to have a rap. So I want to be known as that producer that rappers come to so they can hop on my tracks. I want people to hear my shit and just get on my tracks and freestyle for the fun of it. I don’t want people to say, ‘Can you make this beat for me?’ I want people to ask, ‘Can I use that one and have the rights?’ Then we can put something together and be proud of it together.”
