Growing up in California, singer/songwriter Ben Harper loved reggae and the blues, but by the time he released his 1994 debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, his music had expanded to include soul, rock, R&B, jazz, gospel, and more. The prolific artist released more than 10 albums between 1994-2013: solo records, work with his band The Innocent Criminals, and collaborations with gospel's Blind Boys of Alabama and bluesman Charlie Musselwhite. He continues to pump out genre-melding, often-political material, working with everyone from John Mayer to Willie Nelson to ?uestlove of The Roots.