Benjamin Lerner, the great-grandson of Irving Berlin (composer of such iconic tunes as “God Bless America” and “White Christmas”), started writing poetry at the age of eight and playing piano at the age of nine. A prodigy, by fourteen, Benjamin was playing full classical concerts. At fourteen he also fell in love with rap music.
But the pressure of living up to the expectations of his family's musical legacy proved too much for him. Benjamin began using drugs and alcohol as a means of self-medication. In his early teens, it was limited to binge-drinking and habitual marijuana-use. At twenty, Benjamin was prescribed oxycodone for dental surgery and became addicted. Within two years, his opiate addiction had progressed into a full-fledged IV heroin and crack cocaine addiction. After multiple stints in rehab and years of on-again/off-again maintenance medications, Benjamin sought help for his addiction in June 2016. He has remained sober ever since.
