Ben first gained notoriety in late January of 1991 with the release of his first hit single "Luvmate" which debuted on radio stations in the San Francisco bay area. That single, which quickly became a most requested song, featured vocalist D'layna, singing the chorus. His first album titled "Just A Matter Of Time"was released in early March of 1991, selling briskly from the exposure of the first single. The songwriters worked in teams and quickly came up the second hit single "Special," which featured Kirby Coleman and D'layna on vocals. Program director Russ Allen, who had debuted the first single on advice from his Music Director Dave Morals, went on heavy rotation with "Special" from a cassette. The single "Special" took off and was added to CHR stations 106.1 KMEL FM by Keith Naftaly and Hosh Gureli.