Drummer, composer, producer, recording engineer and educator Benita Lewis was born January 13, 1971 in Los Angeles, CA. After relocating to Michigan with her family in 1980, she began playing drums at the age of 10 at her father’s mid-Michigan church. It was during a time when the sight of female drummers was scarce, yet she had a natural gift and an incredible determination to succeed in a highly male-dominated industry. It was her undying passion and unparalleled effortlessness behind the drums that led her through the doors that pioneers Sheila E. and Terri Lyne Carrington so graciously opened.

In her early years at age 16, Benita began recording and touring, sharing the stage with some of Gospel music’s most noted artists including, Grammy and Stellar Award winners BeBe & CeCe Winans, The Clark Sisters, James Moore, and Commissioned. Becoming a drummer in high demand in the Gospel arena and throughout the Midwest, Benita’s solid grooves would lend her the opportunity to cross into Jazz and R&B; touring and sharing the stage with Grammy Award winning artist Ramsey Lewis, Nancy Wilson, L J Reynolds, Bobby Womack, Marion Meadows, Marcus Belgrave, Dave McMurray and Randy Scott to name a few.

In 1994, Benita began touring and performing with a Gospel stage play called Lead Poisoning with singer/actress LaKisha Jones who most notably placed fourth on the 6th season of American Idol. This opportunity lead to her touring with other national Gospel plays such as Beauty Shop 2, Perilous Times and Perilous Times 2 starring actor Tommy Ford of the FOX hit television comedy “Martin” and TV One’s hit show “Who’s Got Jokes,” and Gospel artist William Murphy, Lord All Men Can’t Be Dogs starring Grammy Award winner Regina Belle and actor/comedian A.J. Johnson of the hit movies “House Party,” “Friday” and “The Players Club,” and Guilty Until Proven Innocent starring Grammy Award nominees K-Ci & JoJo (Jodeci), and then R&B artist and Billboard chart-topper Shirley Murdock (Zapp Band).

In 2004, Benita relocated back to her home town of Los Angeles, and continued her musical journey playing, recording and sharing the stage with Grammy Award nominee and soul artist Lalah Hathaway, Grammy Award winner and bass legend Marcus Miller, Grammy Award nominee and jazz composer/artist Gail Jhonson, jazz/soul violinist Karen Briggs, and soul crooner/keyboardist Frank McComb.

As a producer, composer and engineer, some of Benita’s most recent work can be found on the 4th CD release of Contemporary Jazz Saxophonist Randy Scott entitled “Breathe.” She co-wrote, produced and played keyboards on the 6th track entitled Imagine This, which features a guest appearance and piano solo by Frank McComb. Randy’s CD “Breathe” charted in the top 20 on the national Smooth Jazz Charts. Benita can also be heard playing drums on Randy Scott’s 2nd and 3rd Smooth Jazz chart-topping CD releases “Future” and “Words Unspoken,” respectively, in addition to recordings by Gospel artist Marcus Cole featuring Terrence Herd, and a live recording by her former church, the Dunamis Outreach Ministries.

Benita is a 2005 graduate of The Los Angeles Recording School, and 2009 graduate of Video Symphony where she studied Pro Tools engineering for music and film/video post production. She is Co-CEO of UltraMedia Studios; a full-service music recording and film/video post production studio in southern California.

Benita spends much of her time writing and producing. She has several studio projects in the making, two which include a solo CD set to be released in late 2011, and a collaborative effort with a jazz/fusion group she founded in 2008 called The Whole Truth. In her spare time Benita teaches drum lessons and is a Certified Take Lessons drum instructor in southern California. She can also be found performing with other various artists and bands in the genres of Rock, R&B, Acoustic/Alternative, and Free Funk/Soul.

Her groove and timing unmoved, Benita is a revitalizing force; commanding, yet poised. She is recognized as one of the most solid, refined drummers on today’s music scene, and the fact that such a solid foundation is coming from a female in a still highly male-dominated industry is quite refreshing and even more satisfying to the soul.

Benita plays Yamaha drums and hardware, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drum heads, Vic Firth drum sticks, and LP percussion.