Fonzworth Bentley
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| Fonzworth Bentley | |
|---|---|
 Bentely in December 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, record producer, actor, television host, fashion designer, singer |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | GOOD Music |
| Associated acts | Sean Combs, Outkast, will.i.am, Andre 3000, Kanye West |
| Website | fbentley.com |
Derrick Watkins,[1] (born 13 February 1974) in Atlanta, Georgia[2] and popularly known as Fonzworth Bentley or Farnsworth Bentley, is a musician and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs' former personal valet and assistant, as first seen in Making the Band 2, and is currently the host of MTV's From G's to Gents. His first single, "Everybody", features Kanye West and Andre 3000.
Contents |
Music
He first appeared rapping on Da Band's 2002 album Too Hot for TV, in the track "Cheers to Me, Mr. Bentley (Interlude)". In 2003, Bentley was featured on the "Good Day, Good Sir" skit on OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. In 2004, he had a part on the music video of Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan".
Bentley has appeared in several music videos, such as Usher's "Yeah", P. Diddy's "D.I.D.D.Y." and "I Need A Girl (Part Two)", Slum Village's "Selfish", OutKast's "The Way You Move" and "Roses", as well as UGK and Outkast's "International Player's Anthem". He made a brief appearance in the music video for "Grammy Family", by West, DJ Khaled, John Legend and Consequence.
In August 2006, Bentley was featured in Sprite's Sublymonal campaign.
Although his debut album, C.O.L.O.U.R.S., was originally scheduled to be released in 2007,[3] it was released via iTunes on April 26, 2011.[4]
He was also featured, playing the violin in the "Yes We Can" music video in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Other media work
Bentley was an executive producer for Borrow My Crew in 2005, in which he allowed one boy, Cory Cole, to borrow the entourage of P. Diddy for two days. Since 2008, he has been hosting the MTV series From G's to Gents.
In 2007, Bentley authored an etiquette book, Advance Your Swagger: How to Use Manners, Confidence and Style to Get Ahead.[1]
In May 2009, Bentley hosted one of the after parties following the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington DC.[5]
Public service
In 2007, Bentley contributed to KnowHow2GO, a national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage low-income and first-generation students to take the steps necessary to go to college. Bentley's involvement in the campaign has included creation of a radio public service advertisement ("Wanna Go?") and participation in the 2007 YMCA Black and Hispanic Achievers Teen Leadership Summit in Orlando, Florida.[6] KnowHow2GO is a joint effort between The Ad Council, Lumina Foundation for Education and the American Council on Education. Recently, Bentley sang as a member of the chorus for "We Are The World", a remake of the original for Haiti, in February 2010; it aired during the start of the Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Works
Television
- From G's to Gents (since 2008)
- Top Ten Gentlemen's Club (2008)
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2008)
- Confessions of a Celebrity Assistant (2006, the E! Channel)
- VH1 Fashion Rocks (2006)
- All Shades of Fine: 25 Hottest Women of the Past 25 Years (2005)
- P. Diddy Presents the Bad Boys of Comedy (2005, uncredited)
- 2005 Trumpet Awards (2005)
- Caleta Condor, Chile (2005)
- Before, During and After the Sunset (2005)
- 106 & Park Top 10 Live (2005)
- Kanye West: College Dropout - Video Anthology (2005)
- Borrow My Crew (2005)
- Jimmy Kimmel Live (2005)
- Fade to Black (2004)
- 2004 MTV Movie Awards (2004)
- Late Show with David Letterman (2004) - Uncredited
- Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '04 (2004)
- The 18th Annual Soul Train Music Awards (2004)
- MTV Video Music Awards 2003 (2003)
- OutKast: The Videos (2003)
- Making the Band 2 (2002–2003, series)
Films
- House Party (1991) - Uncredited
- Honey (2003) - Barber
- Fat Albert (2003) - Salesman
- Idlewild (2006) - Voice of Flask
- We Were Once A Fairytale - cameo appearance
References
- ^ a b Khan, Nida (2007-10-22). "Derrick Watkins is all about the etiquette". The Seattle Times (The Seattle Times Company). http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003963561_fonzworthqa22.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1347765/
- ^ "Fonzworth Bentley Shows his C.O.L.O.U.R.S. As Hip Hop Artist". vibe.com. http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2006/08/fonzworth_bentley_shows_his_colours_as_hip_hop_artist/.
- ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/c-o-l-o-u-r-s-by-derek-watkins/id434541161
- ^ Amie Parnes. "MTV host enters NW gate" Politico 44
- ^ "Teens from Minneapolis Take Home Top Honors in the KnowHow2GO Radio PSA Contest". http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=22914&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm.
