Banky W was pivotal in launching Wizkid’s career through his record label, Empire Mates Entertainment (EME)
By Kehinde Okeowo
Afrobeats singer and music executive, Olubankole Wellington aka Banky W has hailed Wizkid’s rise to stardom, saying the talented artiste started his career as a “studio rat”.
He praised the ‘Ojuelegba’ crooner in a now-viral video on social media, while reflecting on Wizkid’s early struggles before fame.
Banky W, who was pivotal in launching Wizkid’s career through his record label, Empire Mates Entertainment (EME), disclosed that Wizkid spent hours hanging around various studios because he couldn’t afford studio time.
He went on to say the Afrobeats star later became one of the fastest songwriters in the Nigerian music industry and acknowledged his commitment.
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Speaking via his verified social media page, Banky W wrote, “Wizkid for a long time in his life was not fortunate enough to afford studio time.
“So he was a studio rat as he will go to any studio where they will let him hang out and he will hang out all day waiting, hoping and praying that engineers and producers to just pity him and say oya, come and record for 15 or 30 mins because he could not pay for his session.
“So, all day long, he would be working on hooks and melodies and just coming up with things in case he was given the opportunity to jump on the mic for five minutes.
“He didn’t have time to think about what to write at the moment, so that became his process.
“And now he is one of the fastest songwriters that I have ever encountered in my life, he will just sit, listen, and start freestyling a melody that would become a song that the whole world would want to sing. That is where the name Wiz started from.”