| Ben Hoffman | |||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Benjamin Isaac Hoffman | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 13 December 1974[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Other Names: | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Years Active: | 2005–present | ||||||||||||||
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Benjamin Isaac Hoffman (born December 13, 1974) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and musician.[2] Hoffman is well known by his country musician alter ego Wheeler Walker Jr., as whom he has released five studio albums.
His first album as Wheeler Walker Jr., Redneck Shit, debuted in 2016 at number nine on the Billboard Hot Country Albums chart and number one on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart, making it the first album in over a decade to debut in the top ten on both those charts simultaneously.[3] Despite no FM radio play, Hoffman found success with streaming and social media.
Reception to Hoffman's music has been mixed, largely due to the raunchiness of his lyrics and themes.[4] Some have called the Wheeler Walker Jr. character an "experiment in free speech" and "a platform to speak out against censorship and bias in the music industry".[5] Hoffman has been vocal about his use of the character as a means to express his displeasure with the modern state of the country music industry, particularly the rise of the bro-country subgenre.[6]
Hoffman was born in Lexington, Kentucky.[7] He is the older brother of Scissor Sisters bassist Babydaddy (Scott Hoffman).[8] Hoffman is Jewish and attended Tulane University.[9] He graduated from the University of Kentucky.
Hoffman created and hosted The Ben Show, which premiered on Comedy Central on February 28, 2013. The show was broadcast for one season.
He was a writer and correspondent for the Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, and has written for the MTV Video Music Awards, Archer, and The Late Late Show with James Corden. He has appeared in acting roles on Arrested Development, New Girl and Drunk History and has produced content for and appeared on InfoMania.[10]
In 2020, Hoffman created the Netflix adult animated comedy series Hoops. In addition to writing, he provided voice talent and was also an executive producer alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Seth Cohen, and Jake Johnson.[11] The show was cancelled after the completion of one season.[12]
Hoffman debuted an early version of the satirical country music artist Wheeler Walker Jr. character on a skit for The Ben Show in 2013 where he performed his song "Eatin' Pussy, Kickin' Ass".
He recorded and released his first album, Redneck Shit, on February 12, 2016, via Thirty Tigers and Pepper Hill Records. The album was produced by Dave Cobb out of Nashville and originally premiered via stream on the pornographic website PornHub.[13] It debuted at number nine on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, number one on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart, and number 127 on the US Billboard 200.[14] It was the first album to debut in both the top ten of the comedy and country charts. It sold 5,900 copies in its first week.[15] [16]
Rolling Stone called it "Unfathomably obscene and undeniably offensive, the debut album from Nashville never-was Wheeler Walker Jr. is also goddamn funny. But Redneck Shit is far from just an X-rated novelty record."[17]
The Wheeler Walker Jr. persona has been compared to other artists such as Chinga Chavin, Andy Kaufman, and David Allan Coe.[18] [19] The character's fictional biography outlines his history as an unsigned Nashville talent too crude for mainstream radio due to his desire to revamp the classic outlaw country style by playing songs that would have "gotten him yanked off the Grand Ol' Opry broadcast in a matter of seconds", although he finally found success with the rise of uncensored satellite radio and the internet.[20]
On April 16, 2016, Hoffman appeared as the character on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode #786.[21] He has been a guest on a number of other podcasts including Your Mom's House with Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky,[22] The Church of What's Happening Now with Joey Diaz,[23] The official Podcast and Bertcast with Bert Kreischer.[24] He also appeared and performed live on The Howard Stern Wrap Up Show on May 25, 2017.[25]
His second album, Ol' Wheeler, was released on June 2, 2017, and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, with 7,800 copies sold in its first week.[26] It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart where it remained for three consecutive weeks, and peaked at number five on the Billboard Country chart. Prior to the album's release, crowd funding music site PledgeMusic removed the album's pre-sales and refunded fans due to obscenity complaints. Upset, Hoffman claimed censorship and angry fans responded by trolling a page promoting the band 311.[27] The album was originally going to include a duet with Grammy Award-winning artist Maren Morris on the song "Fuckin' Around", but it was pulled by Sony Music Nashville.[28] Hoffman had previously performed alongside Morris and Jake Owen at a party following the 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2016.[29] The duet was instead recorded with Nikki Lane, credited as "Kacey Walker".[30]
Hoffman toured throughout the United States from 2016 through 2018.[31] During the summer of 2018, he toured with Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert in the Red Blooded Rock n Roll Redneck Extravaganza Tour.[32] He also performed his song "Sit On My Face" alongside Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson at Hinterland Music Festival in 2018.[33] Hoffman, outfitted as Wheeler, presented an award to Childers at the Americana Music Honors & Awards that same year.[34] Hoffman concluded his tour on December 8, 2018, with a final concert at The Rave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[35]
His third album, WW III, was released on November 30, 2018.[36] The album topped the Comedy chart and also sat at number one on the iTunes Country chart. He released first greatest hits compilation entitled on May 1, 2020. It features material from his three studio albums along with two new tracks, "Drunk as Fuck" and "Go Big or Go Home".
Worldwide, Hoffman was the third most streamed country artist in 2021.[37] On March 8, 2022, Hoffman, outfitted in the Wheeler Walker Jr. persona, was removed by security from the Country Music Hall of Fame property in Nashville after protesting the Florida Georgia Line exhibit. He held a picket sign reading "FGL does not belong here", citing a belief that the duo's music is pop and not country.[38]
On April 14, 2022, Hoffman commenced his "2022 Comeback Tour" when he headlined the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, his first live performance since 2018.[39] [40] He promoted the concert by joking about his desire to get "cancelled".[41] The concert sold out, and broke records for alcohol and merchandise sales at the venue.[42]
On April 15, 2022, he released his fourth album, Sex, Drugs & Country Music.[43] It debuted at number one on the iTunes chart and number two on the Comedy albums chart.[44] On May 1, 2023, Hoffman announced the "Spread Eagle Tour", with thirty-three concerts across the United States.[45]
On July 19, 2023, Hoffman released the single "Money 'N' Bitches". That same day, he also announced his fifth studio album Ram, which was released on September 15, 2023. The album features a more rock-oriented sound than his previous albums.[46]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [47] | US Country [48] | US Indie [49] | US Comedy [50] | |||
| Redneck Shit |
| 127 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
|
| Ol' Wheeler |
| 88 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
|
| WW III |
| 187 | 20 | 3 | 1 |
|
| Sex Drugs & Country Music |
| — | — | — | 2 | |
| Ram |
| — | — | — | 2 | |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2007 MTV Video Music Awards | |||||
| 2008–2011 | InfoMania | 47 episodes | ||||
| 2011 | Sports Show with Norm Macdonald | 7 episodes | ||||
| 2012 | The Jesse Miller Show | |||||
| 2013 | Comedy Central Roast of James Franco | |||||
| 2013 | The Ben Show | 8 episodes | ||||
| 2014 | Archer | Episodes: "Southbound and Down", "Vision Quest" | ||||
| 2015–2016 | The Late Late Show with James Corden | Wrote 38 episodes | ||||
| 2020 | Hoops | Series creator |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arrested Development | FBI Guy #1 | 1 episode |
| 2005 | MovieMania | Spider-Man | 1 episode |
| 2008, 2013 | Drunk History | Doctor (2008), Newscaster (2013) | Episode: "Drunk History Vol. 4: Featuring Paul Schneider", "San Francisco" |
| 2012 | New Girl | Sherman | Episode: "Injured" |
| 2020 | Hoops | Time Bomb (voice) | 9 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Fuck you Bitch" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Redneck Shit |
| 2015 | "Drop 'Em Out" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Redneck Shit |
| 2016 | "Redneck Shit" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Redneck Shit |
| 2017 | "Pussy King" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ol' Wheeler |
| 2017 | "Finger up My Butt" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ol' Wheeler |
| 2017 | "Summers in Kentucky" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ol' Wheeler |
| 2017 | "Puss in Boots" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ol' Wheeler |
| 2017 | "Pictures on My Phone" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ol' Wheeler |
| 2018 | "I Like Smoking Pot (A Lot)" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | WW III |
| 2018 | "Rich Sumbitch" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | WW III |
| 2018 | "All The Pussy You Will Slay" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | WW III |
| 2020 | "Go Big or Go Home" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | |
| 2022 | "Fucked by a Country Boy" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Sex, Drugs & Country Music |
| 2022 | "She's a Country Music Fan" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Sex, Drugs & Country Music |
| 2022 | "God Told Me to Fuck You" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Sex, Drugs & Country Music |
| 2023 | "Money 'N' Bitches" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ram |
| 2023 | "Dumptruck" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ram |
| 2023 | "Fingerblast" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ram |
| 2023 | "Fuck This Job" | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Wheeler Walker, Jr. | Ram |