Announcing the World Premiere of “The Real DC: Go-Go & Ben’s”
Over the past 63 years, Ben’s Chili Bowl has had the honor of welcoming countless guests, whom we now consider to be family. With all the ups and downs that we’ve experienced, we’ve always had a lot of fun with our community. We have so many wonderful memories!
In recent years, we thought it would be nice to do a Ben’s song that reflects the true spirit of DC culture, and as ideas were being tossed around, many friends and guests reminded us that two things are integral parts of DC: Go-Go and Ben’s.
Kamal and Nizam started writing the lyrics about Ben’s and the things that made DC unique to its longtime residents, and then they teamed up with a few local Go-Go artists and musicians (DJ Mello T, Roy Battle, Doug Crowley, Sydney Battle), so the result of this collaboration is our new song, "The Real DC: Go-Go and Ben’s"
Once the song was recorded, we thought it would be fun to do a DC Community-based video to showcase local aspects of DC. Soon after, Vida was at Ben’s U Street and happened to meet two young guys (T.L and Mike) standing in line to order. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that they had a film production company called Mecca Films. They asked if there might be any opportunities for their company to work with Ben’s. Vida loved their personalities and immediately thought of a music video. The idea of supporting a young DC company fit perfectly with the spirit of the project, and before long a video was created.
We chose June 13th to release the song and video to kick off Juneteenth week and celebrate Ben Ali’s 95th birthday. We are dedicating this song and video to our founder, Ben Ali, and to legendary hip-hop music producer Chucky Thompson, two beloved individuals who have contributed to our beautiful city. Chucky Thompson, as you all know, was one of the kindest, most talented human beings who came from DC and touched the world with his creativity. He so lovingly returned to Ben’s to be a part of our video. Sadly, only a few months later, he unexpectedly passed.
We want to THANK our wonderful DC family for making this song and video possible! We hope this song makes you want to dance when you hear it. Also, we hope it inspires you to dream big and to be yourself as Ben and Chucky did. Ben always said: Be Yourself…Be Original!
All profits from downloads of “The Real DC: Go-Go & Ben’s” will be donated to The Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation to give back to the community.
Song (audio): https://youtu.be/abXrJ6RJ7yg
Video: https://youtu.be/iUSRv26yDjQ
For additional information, please contact Vida Ali at (310) 859-4730 or vida@benschilibowl.com
Special Thanks To:
DJ Mello T, Roy Battle, Doug Crowley, Sydney Battle, Sugar Bear, Big Tony, DJ Kool, Body of Evidence, Shorty, Bravo Reds, Issa Grey Beard, Uncalled 4 Band, Stinky Dink, Rock Steady Project, Garry Clark Sr., Nico Hobson, Howard Ross, and our wonderful DC Family!
Directed by: T.L. Benton
Produced by: Vida Ali, Tamika McCormack & Mecca Filmworks
About Ben’s Chili Bowl
Ben’s Chili Bowl began as a dream of Ben & Virginia Ali, and with their $5,000 life savings, the young couple first opened the doors of their restaurant on August 22, 1958. For over 63 years, Ben’s has been an iconic institution in Washington, DC serving locals, celebrities, presidents, and tourists from around the world. Ben’s is seen worldwide as a business that represents a community, a city, and a culture.