"Benny Blanco"

SmartLess

In this episode of SmartLess, hosts Will, Rob, and JB sit down with prolific music producer Benny Blanco. The conversation transitions from

Key takeaways

• Benny Blanco, born Benny Levin, grew up in Reston, Virginia.
• Due to flight neuroses, Blanco avoids flying and instead travels from LA to Europe via a seven-day boat trip on the Cunard ship.
• He earned his first $500 in music by producing beats for the 'Hip Hop Honeys' series.
• Blanco describes his career progression as a series of 'baby steps' involving networking and internships.
• His early musical influences included artists like Nas, Prince, and Teddy Pendergrass.

Main topics

• Music production history
• Travel neuroses and boat trips
• Early career hustle in New York

Notable quotes

Everything you do is just like... one like baby step.

Conclusion

The episode serves as an inspiring testament to how persistence, netwo

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:02) Hey, wow. Look at you guys. Speaker 1 (0:04) Hey, by Speaker 3 (0:04) the way, what they Speaker 1 (0:05) don't know is, the audience doesn't know, is that we had already started a cold open and Rob and Bennett weren't rolling yet. Remember that? Oh, God. Remember, we were about to go and then Rob goes, oh, rolling. So it's a lukewarm, lukewarm opening here. Now we're ready for all the smart lists. Welcome to SmartList. Speaker 1 (0:42) Somebody just had a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. And it wasn't me. And it wasn't you, and it wasn't JB, and it wasn't our surprise guest, although I don't know what they had. Hi, everybody. It's Will, and we're back with Smartless. Oh, my God. Did you? I'm having my Speaker 3 (0:56) tea. Speaker 1 (0:56) I got to catch Speaker 2 (0:57) up with you. Oh, boy. That's Speaker 1 (0:58) so much Speaker 2 (0:58) coffee. Speaker 3 (0:59) Will, did you make the bacon, egg, cheese sandwich? Speaker 2 (1:03) What does make mean? Oh, no. Makes me booty. Did you go Speaker 1 (1:07) down to... You know where, can I mention, I ordered it from Leora. Speaker 3 (1:13) Oh, that spot. I love that spot so much. Oh, my goodness. I feel like they're leaving a little money on the table by staying in such a small spot. I know, I agree. They're Speaker 1 (1:22) always booked up. Speaker 3 (1:23) They're buried in that UTA building. Speaker 1 (1:25) Yeah. And Sean, have you been there? No. It's unbelievable. Have you had the frozen coffee, JB? Speaker 3 (1:32) No, but nothing sucks there. Speaker 1 (1:34) It's a joke. I can't have it right now because it'll send me to the moon. I'll be... But Speaker 3 (1:38) I'll bet you that bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich was slathered with just real tasty creams and goo Speaker 1 (1:45) sauces and stuff. Speaker 3 (1:46) It was more Speaker 1 (1:47) like the bread had been perfectly toasted, so it was like... Where it's just Speaker 3 (1:52) got a little edge to it that's got some chew and some crunch, but the center is so soft. Yeah, and the Speaker 1 (1:58) cheese is so velvety. Hello. It was so good, and I don't normally do that. You know, back in the day, Sean, JB used to have, every morning when we were shooting Rest Development, we'd walk through rehearsal, and he'd be holding on for dear life to a breakfast burrito, two hands. And Mitch Hurwitz would be like, yeah, we're doing this, and he'd go, and he'd be hammering at breakfast. I mean, every morning, right, JB? And Speaker 3 (2:23) I couldn't understand why I was holding so much water weight in my face. Speaker 1 (2:27) But I don't usually have breakfast, but today I felt like I needed it. I Speaker 3 (2:31) don't Speaker 1 (2:31) ever have breakfast. What? Speaker 3 (2:32) I Speaker 1 (2:32) fast. Oh. I was up early because I'm on East Coast time, so I was up super early, and I was like, I got to eat something. Speaker 3 (2:38) And did you walk over to the Leora place? Speaker 1 (2:42) No. Speaker 3 (2:42) You get Speaker 1 (2:42) a Speaker 3 (2:42) delivery? I Speaker 1 (2:44) did an Uber Speaker 3 (2:44) Eats type deal. Well, Speaker 2 (2:46) how can it arrive hot and fresh if it's delivered? Speaker 1 (2:49) It's not delivery. It's DiGiorno. Guys, have you not? Do you not know that? So stupid. I want you guys to Speaker 3 (2:58) know that I am in a puddle Speaker 2 (3:00) of my own sweat right now. Oh, I thought that was, I thought that when you got out of the shower, that's disgusting. I Speaker 3 (3:05) know. I didn't time my workout slash sauna slash shower slash get dressed. Stop slashing. Slash get, and then I slashed to the podcast. Look, I mean, I gotta fucking, So is this sauna sweat or workout sweat? This is still sauna, this is post shower even sweat. No. Oh, so it is a shower. Yeah, the hair is, yeah. But the face, I mean, oh. Speaker 2 (3:29) Wow. Speaker 3 (3:30) Oh, my body. Well, thank God Speaker 1 (3:32) you took a shower. Yeah. I'm going to need another one after this. Will you shower after this? You bet. Yeah. And did you already go through your whole process this morning? Speaker 3 (3:43) Have I emptied? Yes. Speaker 1 (3:45) Yeah, okay. Have you? Did that happen? Have you? Obviously. Did that happen? Speaker 2 (3:52) Sean? What have I? I haven't taken a shower yet. No, I'll take a shower right after this. You done everything else? No, nothing. I never do. I don't even eat. What do you mean you never do? What do you Speaker 3 (4:01) mean? We didn't Speaker 2 (4:01) get Speaker 3 (4:01) a Speaker 2 (4:01) zipper on Speaker 3 (4:01) that thing? Speaker 2 (4:03) No, I don't. I don't eat breakfast. Speaker 1 (4:07) Who are you, my Speaker 2 (4:07) wife? What are you? What's your nickname? Speaker 1 (4:10) Waste management? What's going on? Speaker 2 (4:15) No, I don't. I don't have to poop in the morning. You're not regular? No, not at all. We've covered this a number of times over the years. I'm sorry. Hold on. But Speaker 3 (4:26) just real quick. Is it once a day at least though, Sean? Well, Speaker 2 (4:29) maybe sometimes not. Speaker 3 (4:31) So I feel like Speaker 2 (4:32) that's Speaker 3 (4:33) a Speaker 2 (4:33) problem. I don't. I talked to my doctor about it. He said if you go something like four days without it. This is the one you've Speaker 3 (4:39) been Speaker 2 (4:39) seeing Speaker 3 (4:39) during your frequent visits to the emergency room? No, this is somebody else. Speaker 2 (4:44) Yeah. This Speaker 3 (4:44) is a Speaker 1 (4:44) different... You went ahead and decided you needed to restaff your team? Speaker 2 (4:50) No, I went to the ass doctor for all that stuff. Oh, Speaker 1 (4:53) yeah. Speaker 2 (4:55) He's great. But yeah, no, he said it's normal. But anyway. Anyway, let's... Should we get to our guest? I mean, Speaker 1 (5:02) is that a weird transition? I mean, sure. I think we're all still... Our minds are all still on what's going on with you. Is Speaker 2 (5:08) this yours, Sean? Speaker 1 (5:09) This is mine. I was dipping my sandwich in ketchup, by the way, in case anybody was like, I was just doing a drag. But you were dragging it too. Not even dead drag. I know. Speaker 2 (5:18) It was a full drag. Get him out here, Sean. All right. He grew up in Reston, Virginia. I'm thinking about dragging ketchup. That sounds so good. As a teenager, he cold called record labels. Speaker 3 (5:29) Why Speaker 2 (5:29) don't Speaker 3 (5:29) you take a Speaker 2 (5:29) dump Speaker 3 (5:29) first before you think about putting more in your face? Okay? Dump truck? Speaker 2 (5:34) Waste management. Speaker 3 (5:36) We're Speaker 1 (5:36) just so worried about the backup. Go ahead, Sean. I know. I don't have Speaker 2 (5:39) it. I don't feel it. As a teenager, guys, he cold-called record labels pretending to be Jay-Z's attorney. On weekends, he took the five-hour bus trip to New York to DJ parties, hauling a desktop computer from club to club because he didn't own a laptop. He couldn't afford a hotel, so he slept in train stations, parks, and the McDonald's in Times Square. Before he turned 25, he had co-written and produced Kesha's TikTok and Rihanna's Diamonds. You may have heard of his wife, Selena Gomez. It's the singular and super cool Benny Blanco. Benny Blanco. Here we Speaker 3 (6:06) go. Speaker 2 (6:08) This Speaker 3 (6:08) guy's got answers Speaker 2 (6:09) for us. How you doing? There he is. Speaker 3 (6:12) Benny, how's Speaker 2 (6:12) your Speaker 3 (6:12) morning been? Well. That's a soft question right there. You go ahead and take it wherever you want to go with that. Speaker 4 (6:19) First of all, I'm empty. Second of all, second of all, your doctor said you can four days. That's insane. They need to lose their license. What are you talking about? Speaker 2 (6:31) Yeah, he said that was okay. Did you get a deal on this doctor? Speaker 1 (6:34) Doctor doesn't hold any actual licenses, per se. Speaker 4 (6:41) Yeah, my doctor says four days, too. Yeah. Speaker 3 (6:45) Four days, Shawnee? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Four days. That's Speaker 4 (6:49) not... Speaker 1 (6:49) All right, we'll get off the subject. Maybe I got it wrong. Hi, Benny. How are you? Benny and I do know each other a little bit. We do know each other a little bit. We did a commercial together. We Speaker 2 (6:59) did a Speaker 1 (6:59) commercial together. Oh, what commercial? For Duncan. Dunkin' Donuts. Speaker 3 (7:03) Oh, right on. Wow. That's Speaker 2 (7:04) all Speaker 1 (7:04) we got. That's all we got. Speaker 3 (7:08) How about the Tim Hortons folks? Would they be upset about that, Willie? Speaker 1 (7:11) Well, we don't know, eh? We haven't been in touch with them. That's a Canadian outfit, Benny. Oh, I know. It's a Canadian Dunkin'. Wait, Speaker 2 (7:16) Benny, what's on the wall behind you with all the charts and graphs? The other side. Guys, I don't... No, the other side. Speaker 3 (7:22) The other side. What office are you borrowing? Are you in a school? I'm in my doctor's Speaker 4 (7:27) office right Speaker 2 (7:28) now. Hold on. Speaker 3 (7:29) It's Speaker 4 (7:29) like you're at a classroom. Speaker 2 (7:30) It says... Speaker 4 (7:31) Shitting every four to six days. I don't know. This is a weird doctor's Speaker 2 (7:36) office. Speaker 4 (7:37) No, it is a very strange room. Everywhere I look, there's maps. We are in an Airbnb. Well, I don't even know if it's an Airbnb. I call everything an Airbnb if you're renting a house. There's no other name. It's like any time. It's Speaker 1 (7:54) a Speaker 4 (7:54) Q-tip. It's a cotton swab. Yeah, Speaker 2 (7:56) yeah. I'm in a Speaker 4 (7:57) rental home in London. And I've been here for a very long time. How Speaker 2 (8:03) long have you been there? About Speaker 4 (8:05) six years. Speaker 2 (8:05) No, I've been, Speaker 4 (8:07) well, it's such a stupid story. Basically, I don't fly. By the way, Speaker 2 (8:17) can I tell you something? That's my first question. I want to get into it. Speaker 1 (8:19) Okay, well, hang on. He was halfway through the interview. No, Sean, I don't Speaker 4 (8:24) care. You want to take it wherever you want, Sean. Let's do it. You might be a little constipated. Speaker 1 (8:29) He's a little backed up. Go ahead, Benny. So you don't fly. It's affecting his brain. Speaker 4 (8:33) Yeah, I know. It's cutting off circulation to his brain. Okay. So basically, I stopped flying a long time ago. My neuroses took over. I've flown a handful of times in the last like 10 years. But I'm so insane that I take the boat to Europe. Wow. So I take every time I go to Europe, I have to drive from LA to Speaker 2 (8:59) New York. And then I get on a boat for seven days to Speaker 1 (9:03) Europe. Speaker 2 (9:06) But how long is the drive from L.A. to New York? I mean, it's Speaker 4 (9:09) as long as you want it. You can do it in 41 hours if you want, but you can stretch it out to two weeks. Never the train? Never the train? I've done it. I've done every form except walking. Speaker 1 (9:18) Benny, I love this so much. I love this idea. Speaker 4 (9:20) Okay, Speaker 1 (9:20) so Speaker 2 (9:20) can you say, first of all, seven days on a boat, and then you get there. So, of course, you've been there a long time because you don't want to take the trip back. But what about the Ed Sheeran story? Speaker 3 (9:30) No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What's the boat like? Speaker 4 (9:33) Okay. Speaker 2 (9:34) The boat is Speaker 4 (9:35) the actual Titanic. Like, I'm on the Titanic. I'm on, it's not like a yacht or something. I'm on the Cunard. Right, it's Speaker 1 (9:42) a Speaker 4 (9:42) ship. Like, yeah. I'm on like a, essentially like a carnival cruise with all British people. But it's kind of badass, right? You got a nice cabin. Speaker 3 (9:49) I mean, imagine Speaker 4 (9:49) it's high end. Yeah? Define high end. Speaker 3 (9:54) Well, like, let's say the Orient Express, but floating. No, no. Speaker 4 (9:58) Okay. But does that Speaker 3 (9:59) exist? Speaker 4 (10:00) No. Speaker 2 (10:01) No. Speaker 3 (10:01) Oh, Speaker 2 (10:01) I think it does. Speaker 3 (10:02) The Titanic doesn't exist anymore, right? Well, they're building Speaker 2 (10:04) the Titanic 2 for real from scratch, and it's going to be exactly a replica. Speaker 1 (10:09) Wow, great idea. Let's keep that going. My Speaker 4 (10:12) mom's actually on a fancy cruise right now. So I know it exists. It just doesn't exist on my... travel trajectory. So I'm sitting, yeah, basically, Sean, you want the story. I was, I was, I was, I was making an album with Ed Sheeran. We're making an album called Divide. It took us like two and a half years. We were on tour all over America. He said, I have to finish it at my house in my hometown where I grew up in, in England. And I said, okay, that's really cool, but I don't fly. And he said, well, what if we take a boat? I said, what do you mean take a boat? We looked it up. It's the Queen Mary. He's like, yeah, I think it'll be a cool idea. So we're on the boat. In theory, it's a great idea. Like, it sounds like an amazing idea. Speaker 2 (10:59) Yeah, right. Speaker 4 (11:00) It's cool for a day and a half. Right. Everything else, you're like, you... I usually start to go insane about four days in and you just like, you don't even know who you are anymore. It's, it's, it's, it's. You've explored all four Speaker 3 (11:14) corners of this boat and all the people and you're just, you're ready to jump over. They Speaker 4 (11:19) got the Speaker 1 (11:19) intranet on there? Speaker 4 (11:20) They got the internet. They got the internet. They got like Starlink. That's good. The first time I went, the internet was so bad and it cost like a million dollars. Like the first time I went on, you'd be like this. I'd be like, like just signing on, just trying to like figure out everything. Speaker 3 (11:38) And then what about any high seas ever? Speaker 4 (11:41) Yeah, I've been on in a hurricane. Speaker 3 (11:43) God, flying Speaker 4 (11:44) is better. Flying is better. That scares Speaker 3 (11:46) me. Big, big, Speaker 2 (11:47) big Speaker 4 (11:47) waves. There's only been one, there's only been Speaker 2 (11:50) one, the boat sunk one time out of like a million. Speaker 3 (11:53) It's the best odds. And they made a great movie out of Speaker 2 (11:55) it. Yeah, but I mean, but like, but aren't you worried? I can't, every documentary is like about diarrhea on a cruise ship, on any ship. Yeah. Sean, you Speaker 1 (12:04) should, Sean, you should Speaker 2 (12:04) be the star of that. Speaker 4 (12:04) Yeah, you need to go tomorrow. Get a ticket tomorrow. Speaker 1 (12:07) Yeah. Let's get the motor running, huh? Speaker 4 (12:09) Yeah. Prime Speaker 1 (12:11) the pump a little bit. Speaker 4 (12:13) Well, I actually make my own food on the boat. Let's get him Speaker 1 (12:17) a Speaker 4 (12:17) foghorn for his Speaker 1 (12:18) bathroom. Speaker 4 (12:19) Yeah, exactly. I actually make a, I make my own food on the Speaker 2 (12:23) boat. Speaker 1 (12:23) What food? What do you mean? What does Speaker 4 (12:24) that mean? How do you do Speaker 2 (12:25) it? Speaker 4 (12:25) I like bring it and I have like a little refrigerator. I either use like a rice cooker or an air fryer. And I just, I want to have my own food. I don't like the food on the boat. Speaker 3 (12:34) Tell me about the inciting incident that got you out of the sky and into the water. Speaker 2 (12:41) Okay. Speaker 4 (12:42) Okay. Speaker 3 (12:43) I love the way I Speaker 2 (12:44) phrase my questions. Speaker 3 (12:44) I love phrasing questions. Speaker 4 (12:48) Basically, I'm in. Speaker 4 (12:53) It's the same day. What's that guy's name? Sully, who got the plane. Sully Sullenberger. Yeah, yeah. It's the exact same day Sully Speaker 2 (13:01) landed the plane in the fucking river. Speaker 4 (13:05) The Hudson River. Yeah. So I'm on my way to the airport. All my friends are calling me, and they're saying, are you okay? And I said, what do you mean, am I okay? They said, that plane, we thought you were on that plane because I guess I was on one similar time. And I said, no. So I hear that and I'm not even afraid. I'm like, man, what a crazy coincidence. I get on a plane to Atlanta and it got dicey. You know how I know it got dicey? I was always all good on a plane because you looked at the stewardess and they were stoked. They were stoked. I looked at the stewardess and she had... a fear in her eyes I've never seen on a plane before. So I was like- Because of the level of turbulence? There was a level of turbulence and we weren't allowed to walk the entire flight. You couldn't stand up to go to the bathroom. I remember the one traumatic thing is this lady is trying to get the cart down and the cart goes flying and she goes flying too. And the medic gets one of the ladies, the stewardess. So- It's just an awful flight where you think you're going to, everyone's had that one. But I got off and then I had like slightly a bad flight like a few weeks later. And I was just like, you know what? Maybe I'll drive to New York the next time. That was like, and then it just kind of started like that. And it's just like a neuroses that grew. And I wish I could say. You fall Speaker 3 (14:30) in love with long drives too. I love driving long distances. But that boat is super relaxing for you. But truly, it gives you focused time to just do what you want to do and get bored. And a lot of relaxation happens in boredom, I find. Speaker 1 (14:49) Well, and creativity. Speaker 2 (14:52) Yeah, which is a great segue, Will. Speaker 1 (14:55) Well, thank you. No, I was just going to say, people talk about it. It's not an original idea, but you see people talk these days about how... We used to, but prior to social media and smartphones and stuff. I mean, you remember as you were a kid, how many hours spent staring out the window as you were driving. Oh my God, yeah. Speaker 2 (15:13) And Speaker 1 (15:13) all you did was on a plane, in the car with your folks, whatever, just staring out the window. Or Sean, like staring out the living room window, wondering like, is he coming Speaker 3 (15:21) back? Is he gonna come back? Speaker 4 (15:22) Is he ever coming back? Guys, I was talking about this. I was talking about this the other day with my friend. Back in the day, you'd say, hey, meet me to play basketball after school. So you'd go, you'd