5th October, 2021
Nigerian R&B singer cum politician, Olubankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W has revealed that he has finished recording his forthcoming album.
Banky W who has not released a studio album since his 2013 cult classic ‘R &BW’, made this known during a conversation on the YouTube channel of Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo.
The singer revealed that the title of his next album would be ‘The Bank Statements’.
“I’ve taken some years off. I heard somebody once said that artists never retire; they just stop when they no longer have any stories to tell.
“And I’ve just lived a lot of lives in the last few years that I have been quiet in the music scene. I have a lot of stories to tell, about love, relationship, about God, about country, about life,” Banky W said.
“I have recorded what I feel is a life about; it’s called ‘The Bank Statements’. If you think about your bank statement from January to December, it’s kind of a snapshot of your life.
“What is important to you, what you are spending on. If you look back to your bank statement of last year, it will just give you what your life is.”
Banky W further explained the concept behind the album, which has a song for every month of the year.
“So the album is called the Bank’s Statement one because it’s Banky’s statement and also conceptually, and there is a song for every month of the year,” he said.
“So there is a January and December song because you have to start and end the year with God. There is a February song, which is Valentine’s Day so it is a love song to my baby.
“My birthday is March, so there is a turnup kind of song for my birthday. “The ninth song of the album is for our son because pregnancy takes nine months and it’s called ‘Champ Song’.
“It’s a very intentional, thoughtful, creative and powerful album. It’s actually my favourite record because now I can sing about love from a place of currently experiencing it.”
The 40-year-old former record label owner also spoke about the evolution of his former record label Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E. Music) from a record label to a media agency.
“E.M.E. stopped the record label business in 2017. We actually pivoted into a media and marketing agency. We work with corporates, influencers, advertisers,” he said.
“What people don’t know is that we are worth so much more as an agency than we ever were as a record label, even at the height of our success.”
Banky W who was on the episode of Okonkwo’s YouTube show with actor Williams Uchemba, had a long conversation, as the trio discussed fame, family, and their faith in God as Christians.
“I’ve seen people chase fame till it kills them, money doesn’t change a man, it reveals him,” the singer said.
“That kind of captures my mindset with this fame thing. Fame is a drug, it’s as powerful a drug as any other substance that you can think of.
“These days you might not be addicted to cocaine, heroin or anything like that but we are all kind of addicted to our phones, and to Instagram and to likes and to showing off. Everybody is addicted to fame on some level.”
The singer revealed that his relationship with God has helped him manage fame better than his peers.
“There is a God-shaped void in everyman. Fill it with God. Knowing God is really what has grounded me. Tiring to be extremely self-aware,” he revealed.
“The number one tool for me in coping with fame is remembering to stay humble, remembering that everything you have was a gift. It doesn’t belong to you, you are just in charge of it while you are here. Use it in service for others and in service to God.”