Benton James keeps a photo of his dad beside his bed.

The photo is black and white, circa 1970s. His dad is wearing his work clothes from his day job as a security guard with the Philadelphia school system. He’s surrounded by his friends, all members of his band, The Happening. Benton’s dad sang and played percussion. Benton loves that photo. It keeps Benton grounded, especially now.Benton is a protégé of Billy Mann, one of the most gifted entrepreneurial minds in the music business. Benton will partner with Mann in a new multi-company venture that will help musicians grow their own dreams.

The opportunity is not lost on Benton. He spent early years as a struggling musician in North Carolina, a band leader living in a cold apartment, surviving on beans and rice and chasing his own dreams.

The photo by his dad helps him remember that. It also helps him remember what his dad did for him.

“I’m a big legacy person,” Benton says, “and Pops put so much effort and energy into me and my younger brother to help us become men. He talked to us constantly about having integrity and character and faith, and I don’t want to lose that mission statement.

“All the things I’ve been able to accomplish in my career are great, but I think about what he did for me. He taught me about what’s important –– your relationship with people, my wife’s happiness and contentment, and to be there for my mother.

“I carry that with me with my last name.”

Benton was 17 when his dad died of colon cancer.

“My dad is so important to me,” he says. “All I have left now are symbols like the picture next to my bed.”

Benton is now 41. He and Mann will run Proof of Concept Media, a music management and consulting company that will guide the careers of songwriters and producers and connect them with movies, TV shows and commercials as well as create music for consulting clients used in large social media projects.

Elizabeth Balog, Mann’s partner at the time, introduced Benton to Mann in 2014. Benton and Mann hit it off. Mann hired Benton as an A&R representative for Green & Bloom/Topline, Mann’s publishing company for songwriters.

Benton has a good ear. He signed hip-hop producers Supah Mario and Twhy Xclusiv among other great songwriters, producers and artists. Benton also was personally tasked with creating projects alongside Kelly Rowland, Raekwon, Paul Wall and Jordin Sparks.

What made it all work for Benton was his knack for building authentic relationships with people. He got that from his father, a tall, gregarious man strong in faith and full of stories.

Benton later joined Mann and Balog at Red Bull. Mann built music publishing business for Red Bull Songs and hired Benton to head up Red Bull’s urban music division where he worked on everyone from Drake and Jay Z to Trippie Redd, Yo Gotti, Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert.

Today, Benton and Mann are partners in a creative endeavor that will include a partnership with Warner Music with a record label known as Icons + Giants.

“Working alongside Billy is an honor and privilege and also empowering to be trusted as his partner,” Benton says. “I don’t take that lightly. There is a lot of work in front of us, but there is something about being able to cast a vision and see it through.”

Benton knows a thing – or two – about casting a vision.

He and his younger brother, Aaron, three years his junior, fronted their own hip-hop band, Urban Sophisticates, and they played everywhere. Then, in 2008, they created their own company to help musicians with their careers.

They called their company Boyd Allen Music Group after their dad.

“My dad was a big fan of Proverbs, and he would always say, ‘What’s the wisdom in this?’” Benton says. “Today, I say that a lot. I do wonder what my father would think about what I’m doing if he were alive today. But there is wisdom in it. My brain tells me I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel blessed to be where I am now.”