Benndrick C. Watson is a man of many worlds, each one as profound and determined as the next. A lawyer by trade, a hip-hop artist at heart, and an athlete by discipline, he has built a career that defies conventional labels and stereotypes. Now at 40, Watson’s sense of self is embedded in a mix of humility and pride. “I’m smart, I’m competent, and empathetic. That combination makes a difference when you’re helping people navigate complex moments of their lives,” Watson shares.
Watson began his career with a Sociology degree in his hand in 2009, but he never planned on becoming a lawyer. “Nobody in my family was a lawyer,” he reflects. “My first job after college happened to be at a law firm, and I stayed there for six years. I started as a paralegal, worked my way up as a clerk, and eventually took the bar.”
When he sat for the exam in 2016, he had passed on his first try with a striking score, and that same day, he revelled in the pride of walking into the courtroom not as an assistant but as a practicing attorney. “It wasn’t easy,” he admits. “I didn’t come from a big, fancy firm. I relied on grit, intelligence, and community trust.”
That grit has carried him through a decade of practice, where he now represents clients in contracts, entertainment, real estate, and insurance law. He primarily works in defense but has broadened his litigation portfolio. It’s not just his record that stands out, but his approach. “I’m down-to-earth. Clients can trust me. I walk them through the game plan. And I think my background in music and sociology helps me connect with people in a way that’s not typical for a lawyer,” he says.
Watson’s background in music, writing verses and compositions, goes long before he was filing briefs. In high school, he rapped, burned his own CD, and sold them to classmates. By the mid-aughts, he was entrenched in the underground hip-hop scene, performing and creating even before, as he points out, “content creator” was even a phrase.
“I was making music before there was social media,” Watson states. “That creative side, and passion to make art, has never left me.” Even today, as he walks through case trials and client meetings, he continues to write and perform, weaving artistry into advocacy, because to him, those two worlds have never been separate.
Music taught him rhythm, flow, and authenticity, which today are the very same qualities that he brings into the courtroom. “Clients need to know their lawyer is competent, but they also want someone who understands them. That’s where the artist in me comes through,” he says.
Apart from his roles as a lawyer and artist, Watson’s identity, rooted in discipline, passion, and humility, resonated with yet another field: sports. While not a professional athlete, he trains seriously, running 5Ks, practicing yoga, and advocating for health and longevity. “I just turned 40, and I want to extend my life as much as possible,” he shares.
Yet perhaps Watson’s most profound work lies in civil rights activism. After his own experience with racial discrimination at a bank, he began to focus on advocating for the civil rights of the Black community, bringing awareness to laws that were otherwise unknown to most. “It’s good to point out racism when you catch it because it could often live in the shadows,” he says.
That fight for justice ties directly to his sociology roots, where he studied racial dynamics and inequality, grounding his work as a lawyer who sees beyond the courtroom. “Civil rights advocacy makes space for truth, equality, and dignity,” he says. “That’s never not been important.”
Watson eschews narrowing down his identity through the multifaceted mastery he exhibits. He is as comfortable on a mic as he is before a judge, as committed to yoga as he is to contracts, and as devoted to truth as he is to art. And as a man of many trades, Watson continues to redefine what it means to live authentically.