Today, we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Parent.
Hi Benjamin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story/testimony… like many others, is pretty wild. Let me start off by saying that music has always been my life. Since high school, I was singing and producing tracks, not really knowing what or how I was doing it, I just went off a vibe. If it sounds good and feels good, well, it must be good. I still go off a vibe to this day. I believe I was gifted by God to sing melodies and hear things people usually can’t hear unless you tell them to listen for it.
I attended multiple music colleges after high school but was never able to complete them… whether from the lack of focus, hanging around the wrong crowd, or just being young and dumb. I wasn’t able to complete the colleges I attended when I was 18 and 20 years old. After those attempts, I met this girl, who I never knew would be the mother of my two children and the best thing God put in my life and still my wife to this day. Has been for the past eight years. Within the first couple months of our dating, she became pregnant with our son Braxton, and I had then decided to join the U.S. Army. (The music part will make sense at the end).
I joined the Army in 2016 as an Infantryman. Within the first year of my being in the Army, I deployed to Afghanistan from 2017 to 2018 for nine months. During this whole time, I was also an on-the-fence Christian. Which I feel is important to say and bring up right now. I was sinning left and right in my daily life and my marriage, and just not picking the correct path for most of my life. I was truly lost and had no direction in life.
No spiritual direction or understanding and knowledge. I had served six years total in the Army until I got released for a DUI. The story is that a friend of mine was heading over to my house after a long day of work and wanted to chat with me. (He was my soldier at the time, meaning I was in charge of him). So I ended up heading to my house, where he was, and speaking with him. He brought a bottle with him, and I was passing it back and forth with him.
Well, long story short he ended up butt dialing the police and they ended up sending a patrol unit to our location, my house. He had done that a few time so far, and they ended up sending another patrol unit to our location so at this point I just wanted to get him out of there, not knowing how he would act or respond this third time them showing up. So I end up getting him in my vehicle and driving him down the street to the local store. At the same time of me leaving, the patrol unit was pulling in.
I stop at a stop sign, and he ends up getting out of my car and rushing towards the police unit. Low and behold, he gets arrested, and I do as well for a DUI. When I was in the back seat, I knew my military career was over. Granted, I was trying to help my soldier out of a bad situation, but I ended up hurting myself and my family in the process. By this time, I had a daughter as well. My proud and excellent military career is over. I agreed to the terms I was given, probation, DUI classes, etc. I fully accepted that I was wrong for getting behind the wheel, after containing alcohol and I fully understand the position I put myself in and others, while behind the wheel.
Well, a year after that incident, I got released from the Army. My family and I found ourselves living with my in-laws, and I was attending a warehouse supervisor job. One random day I had told my wife I’m ready to go back to school and chase a career in the music industry. This wasn’t new news to my wife, but she was surprised and didn’t know how it was going to happen. Granted, her world had just gone flipped upside down as well, and there were still a lot of things that we needed to process mentally and emotionally.
Well, after mentioning this to her, a week or two later my parent’s were RV’ing around the Tennessee area and found music institute and sent me their information. I ended up going up there for a week, with my wife and kids and parent’s and checking it out! We both fell in love with the location and school and ended up committing to starting our new and fresh life in Tennessee. With the help of my family and the VA I attended school for Audio Engineering, Music Business and Songwriting.
A total of a year and a half of school, which I can proudly say, I recently GRADUATED. It took me until 31 years of age to graduate from an institute. Not only that, but maturity to me doesn’t come with any age, it comes with your mindset. I was ready, at age 30, to pursue what I had wanted my whole life. I didn’t give up on my dream. And neither should you. No matter what your circumstances look like, there is always a way with God. That brings me to my testimony.
October 2023. One evening, I asked my wife to hand me the Bible and let me see what it was about. Every time I opened it and tried reading it I would get constant chest pain and tightness and just very distracted, I would always put it down. I also randomly started having anxiety/panic attacks in the middle of my living room and restaurants and stores. This was all new to me, as I never struggled with anxiety or panic attacks. This whole time while experiencing that, I was still trying to draw closer to God and read the Bible.
One day, my family and I were at Chuys and I was kinda having a small anxiety attack. Then we went to Sam’s Club, and by this point I was really freaking out. This was by far the worst attacked I ever experienced. Everyone in the store was scaring me, freaking me out. I didn’t like how crowded it was, I was honestly about to faint until my wife told me just go to the car and wait for us. I’m in the passenger seat and rocking back in forth while my wife and driving us home. I am crying my eyes out in the front seat, I just felt really weird and lightheaded and I honestly thought I was going to drop dead. Every anxiety attack and panic attack, I would feel that way.
We were 5 minutes from our house, and I looked up at the skyline out the window. From that point on, Jesus saved me. For 30 years of my life, I was living one way, until that point of the car and looking out the window. All I could say in that moment was, I don’t want to live this way anymore. I can’t live like this anymore. Sinning, lying, not living right. I didn’t see God or anything like that, but I did feel His presence over me. It’s so weird and hard to explain, but my mindset completely shifted. At that point, I truly believed in Him. I have always believed, but like I said, I was an on the fence Christian. That panic attack changed everything. It was a complete mindset switch. A hard one. He found me in the lowest moment of my life.
It’s really hard to put into words, but everything from that point made sense to me. I felt like I had done this to myself. I was crying to my wife, saying, what’s the prayer? What’s the prayer? I’m ready. I was saying sorry over and over to her. Everything at that point had hit me that I was living a sinful life, and I needed to put everything I had into God. So, from that moment on, I fully believe I was/am saved. A firm believer in Christ and that he did die for our sins, and God did send his only son up on that cross for us. Truly believe that.
At this point I had one song out on the streaming platforms, and I had taken it down. I decided if I was going to release music, it was only going to be about God and glorifying Him. I used to spend months to write a song, now it takes me days. I have heard reviews from people who heard my old stuff to hear my new stuff, and they hear and see a change. It’s a completely different vibe. There’s more intention with my music now. To me, it’s not about he music though, it’s about sharing my story and sharing the Word and love of God. God really does love everyone, everyone, He really gives you a choice to chose him.
Because of Him, I want to live a better life, and I do. I don’t cuss anymore, I don’t sin anymore, yes I still struggle with those things, but he is always on my mind. I do feel like I am a completely different person, mindset wise. I’m still me, I’m just me with the knowledge of our Lord in savior. I know I can’t do any of these things without having Him in my mind. It is all Glory to God that we are all here on his Earth. My name is Benjamin Parent and I go as the93rdfloor, on all streaming platforms, for Psalms 93: The Lord Reigns.
Don’t give up. He was the light in my darkness that I followed, He was there, when I was crying and struggling and losing it. He was always there and he still is with me and my family daily. I am so much happier than I used to be. I still struggle, sometimes daily, but I know God is always with me, and that makes me feel truly so much better about my life. I hope this has brought you insight on who I was and who I became.
Just know I don’t ever want you to give up. I don’t know any of your situations, but you might feel empty inside, lost, confused, mad, angry… I felt all of those…and now I don’t feel those as much as I did because of Him. I read the Bible almost daily, pray almost multiple times a day. I’m no where near perfect, but I am walking a life with Jesus, when I used to not even truly know him. I am proud to say, I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and I love my story.
Let him be the light that guides you out of your tough situation.
God Bless.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road to where I am currently. I used to drink way too much, almost daily, and now I have cut that dramatically down to socially drinking, or if the family and I are celebrating something!
Honestly, the Bible is my standard. I don’t cuss anymore. I don’t sin anymore. I just live a very different life, than I used to live, And all the glory for that goes to Jesus Christ.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Christian Pop/RnB Artist based out in Franklin, Tennessee… and I go on the93rdfloor. I sing, produce and mix my stuff. I either write alone, or I have a few people I write with, one being a good buddy of mine, Sam Fink… I also work with a few producers who understand the sound and vibe I am going for… the main one being a guy from Dallas named Ramen.
I am known for my sound. I keep getting the same feedback from people. They say it’s the raspiness in my voice when I sing and that they are shocked and amazed that they have never heard anything like this coming out of the CCM world.
I’m most proud of the first single I dropped, which was called “Reward.” And with little to no marketing, we hit 10k plays on Spotify in the first two months out, and we are currently almost 12k!
I believe my sound set’s me apart from others. Like the raspiness, a lot of feedback from people is that they haven’t heard anything like the sound I am producing and coming out within the CCM world. And I truly LOVE hearing that. I love that my talents in music, can touch a lot of people, but also be so new that not that many people has heard the type of vibe I bring, to the CCM world.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I hope to see that the streaming services and the payout’s for those DSP’s change. As artists, we get paid so little for our music on the DSPs, which I think is a shame.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/the93rdfloor
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the93rdfloor/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@the93rdfloor?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Image Credits
Meaghan Parent
