Many see the glamour but are ignorant of the
hard work and pains that preceded the fame of
Nigeria’s rhythm and blues, R&B, superstar,
Banky W. From an undergraduate begging for
audience at salons in the United States, US,
where his musical career started, 32-year-old
Banky has built a musical empire that has
produced internationally acclaimed artistes like
Skales and Wizkid. Christened Olubankole
Wellington, the Empire Mates Entertainment –
EME- boss was born in the US to Nigerian
parents who later relocated to Nigeria when he
was five. It was after studying at the Home
Science Association Secondary School, Lagos
that he moved to New York to study industrial
engineering on scholarship. With several
albums to his credit, the manifold award-
winner shares his story.
Starting small
His appearance bellies his personality and
generally gives the illusion of a young man with
a history devoid of sweat. But no, Banky did
not only pay his due but also mastered certain
principles which he wouldn’t forget in haste.
“One of such is to think big but start small”, he
said.
“Everybody knows me to be the Chief Executive
Officer, CEO, of EME, but what people do not
know is that EME started when I was in my
third year in university in New York. You see,
we all dream dreams, but it is important to
think very big and start where you are because
God never gives you everything but gives you
enough to start. At that time, I knew I wanted
to do music, but of course I understood nobody
starts by selling a million CDs or the big
screen!”, Banky stated.
Menial jobs
Indeed his tale solidifies his emphasis on little
beginning because to achieve his dream of
becoming a music superstar, Banky had to take
up to three jobs while also in university!
He said: “I worked in fast foods outlets, clothing
stores and as a knife salesman, selling knives
from door to door. That way, I gathered money
to pay for studio recording time. I was
recording with a close friend at that time.
Begging at saloons
“After making that music, we printed a
thousand CDs though we didn’t have any fan. I
had one battered car that broke down virtually
everywhere, so, we would print black and white
posters, stick them on the sides of the car, sell
from the car’s trunk and drive to salons to do
marketing. We would walk to the owners of the
salons, greet politely, and ask them to let us
entertain their customers. Sometimes, some
would kick us out and sometimes some would
say yes. If told yes, after singing for a minute or
two, we would sell our CDs to the customers!
That was the beginning!
Banky W
“A lot of people see you on stage and see the
success but do not know what you had to go
through! I never had one really big break; it was
always two steps forward and a couple
backwards. But I just decided that I was going
to make music work for me. That was why I
moved on to a new salon each time any salon
rejected me! I just kept going because I believe
failure is when you give up. Albert Einstein said
he tried a hundred times to make the light bulb.
When he was asked what kept him going
during the 99 times, he said: ‘I didn’t consider
those 99 times as failure; rather, I considered
them 99 ways that it didn’t work!’ We went
about selling CDs and, on the days we couldn’t
sell much, we would sit down and be broke
together. I remember my friend was a member
of a church that usually served food after
service. So, on the days we didn’t sell CDs and
were too broke to buy food, we would attend
service in that church so we could pack rice
and store in the fridge.
Work, school, music
“At a point, being a student of industrial
engineering, I was working for an engineering
company and was recording as well. I would go
to work from 7am till about 2pm and then go to
school till about 8pm, and then drive two and a
half hours to New York City where the studio
that would let us record for less was, and
record until about 2am. I would then drive two
and a half hours back home to be back at work
at 7am the following day. One day, I was
driving home from work and was so tired that I
fell asleep while on a bridge. I would have
driven off from the top of the bridge to God
knows where, if not for an on-going
construction work. God really saved me!”
After a while, Banky’s hard work began to pay
off and, even while in school, he began winning
awards, beginning with the ‘Albany Idol’
competition. Other international awards soon
followed.
Returning to Nigeria
In 2008 when he decided to move to his home
country Nigeria after the completion of one of
his albums, Mr Capable, Banky was
consistently told his genre of music ‘would
never appeal to Nigerians and therefore
wouldn’t ‘sell’. As he turned down pressure
mounted on him and his manager to change
their genre of music, Banky strongly held on to
another long-standing principle which had
taught him to stand out by being unique rather
than trying to imitate anyone’s skill. He
therefore insisted on sticking to R&B, and this
paid-off as he soon became a household name
in the Nigerian entertainment industry!
Lessons
He advised: “You cannot say enough about the
grace of God and I therefore do not want to
claim any form of glory. Falling down is
inevitable but getting back up is optional!
Frankly, you can’t appreciate sunshine if you’ve
never been through a heavy rain. Yes, life is
tough, but what do you do in those tough
moments? Do you learn the lesson, stand up
again, consider yourself stronger and keep
going? Or do you sit down and feel sorry for
yourself? The graveyard, they say, is the richest
place in the world because therein lies so many
who died with their dreams. So, my advice is,
do not give up! If Banky can be where he is
today, you can be where you want to be if you
put to mind to it.”
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