Bennie K

Bennie K
Origin	Japan
Genres	Urban J-pop
Years active	2001 - present
Labels	For Life Music
Website	http://www.benniek.jp
Members	Yuki Cico DJ Hi-Kick

Bennie K (often stylized as BENNIE K) is an Urban Contemporary female duo formed in 1999 that consists of vocalist Yuki and rapper Cico. They met while Yuki was in Los Angeles undergoing voice training with Roger Burnley. They made their debut in January 2001 with the single "Melody," released on the For Life Music label.

Bennie K's 8th single "Sunrise" reached the top 10 of the Oricon singles chart in 2004, and their 9th single "Dreamland" reached #2 in 2005. Their 4th album "Japana-rhythm" debuted at #1 on the Oricon albums chart.

Bennie K's songs usually combine Japanese and English. Their sound is primarily urban, but they often use a variety of diverse musical styles, including Latin and country.

Yuki was born in Osaka Prefecture, but grew up in Kashima (鹿島市), Saga Prefecture, located in Japan’s Kyūshū region. She has a brother who is 4 years older than she is. Yuki is a graduate of Kashima City’s westside public junior high school. At the age of 14, Yuki successfully passed an audition as her graduation date approached. She subsequently did not appear at her junior high school graduation ceremony so that she could go over to America. While living in Los Angeles, California, she went back and forth between attending a local prep school, formal voice training, and dance lessons.

Cico grew up in Suita (吹田市), Osaka Prefecture, located in Japan’s Kansai region. She has an older brother and sister. Her alma mater was Osaka Kunei Senior High School. At one time, she was enrolled in Ritsumeikan University’s college of international relations, but dropped out mid-semester. Cico eventually went over to Los Angeles to begin producing rap and hip-hop.

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