| Fonzworth Bentley | |
|---|---|
Bentely in December 2010 |
|
| 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.
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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.
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]
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.