Bankole Wellington, better known as Banky W, is one of the leading musicians in Nigeria.The musician, who relocated to Nigeria from the United States of America, has consistently proved his mettle in the industry and has even started to mould new talents under his label known as EME. He recently speaks with Tunde Ayanda about his dream and other interests. Excerpts:
The EME concert was a success, what was the
idea behind the concert?
We felt people were getting bored with concerts in Nigeria and we believe the experience was beginning to look the same, it was as if the people were going for the same kind of show. Furthermore, we see situations where a company would bring foreign artistes and pay them millions of dollars for a show and then turn around and haggle with Nigerian artistes and almost beat them down to nothing.
So, all of these were in our minds and the reason this happened is because we are not giving value-added performances. Here you pay a million dollars to Jay Z or Chris Brown but then the sound is a little bit better than what other Nigerian artistes are doing and the stage show and what they bring are not so different. So, we thought we needed to put on a real concert, something that is better and different, something we need to invest in as business so that we can start to know the revenue base, give the fans a better experience and have them legitimately excited.
I’ve attended shows across the world by other artistes and I’ve seen what’s happening and I feel why is it hard to deliver the same kind of experience in Nigeria? But nobody is going to spend if they don’t feel like it’s worth it. That was really what was on our minds and we got a company, R28 which has done some events and they have similar dreams to what we had and that was it.
As a company, we always strive to do things differently. If you look at the music we make, the videos we shoot, you’lI see what I was driving at. Remember, when I was shooting the videos of Strong Thing and Don’t Break My Heart, people had the experience of what we put there. So, in terms of shows, we are once again trying to change the standard and live up to the expectations of the people. When you talk about a show where you used live band, DJ, dancers, special guests, lightings and all other stuffs, obviously, you’ll see the difference.
2012 was a good year for EME, the awards and the sold out tours, did you expect that?
In EME, we believe in dreaming extremely big and starting small, we are very grateful to God and our fans for a fantastic year. We dream so much bigger than this, I was on the internet some days ago where I saw that P Square went to Ghana or so and performed to a large number of people. So, there is always something to aspire to. Steve Jobs said ‘stay hungry stay foolish’. We should never rest on our laurels and feel we are there, we don’t believe in that.
We don’t feed into the hype because we know there is always more to achieve, we can always be better, bigger and work a little bit hard to achieve more. We had a great year but that doesn’t mean we are satisfied with where we are, we are still pushing harder to achieve more. We had a great tour, which we may need to take out to other countries.
Again, we had the best concert, which we may want to take to Abuja or Ghana, maybe today, we’ve performed to about 5000 or so audience and somebody else gets 40,000 crowd. You must be prepared to work harder. But when you get 40,000 crowd in Ghana, you have to set out and do more in South Africa. You have to be able to do it in United Kingdom, United States and in China. When you get those numbers, you also again have to look at Michael Jackson , who sold 30 million records from one album and you will like to do that. There is always something better to aspire to. We are grateful and we also hope that 2013 will be a better year than 2012.
How have you been managing your role as EME Chairman and your musical career, has there been clashes?
I don’t think so. If you look at the people I look up to, people like Dr Dre and Jay Z, Eminem and P Diddy, these are people who are great artistes and are able to still manage other people’s careers and make them successful. Even outside that, they’ve been able to venture into other businesses and establish success as well. Those are the people that I really look up to and I think because you are an executive, that shouldn’t take away anything from you being an artiste. These are the people I look up to and I try to emulate, so there hasn’t been any clashes sort of.
When is your new album coming out?
At the moment, we have a tentative date of February 14, 2013, but I’m not really sure again of the date because it has to do with how fast I’m able to get out the materials. We just shot and released the video of Yes/No produced by Cobhams, we shot it with Clarence Peters. The song is really doing well and we have the second single produced by Spells that we need to do a video for and we need to do more before the album comes. It’s tough to see if I would get it in before February 14 but that’s the date on my mind.
Why did you choose Valentine’s date for the release of the album?
It’s an R n B album, it’s for lovers and that’s the day of love.
Are you doing something outside music to make EME different from other labels around?
I think that’s something we are definitely looking to do.This year, you will see EME and its artistes branch out of music and get involved in other ventures. I can’t say too much on that at the moment because a lot of the ideas are still in their early stages and we don’t want anybody to steal them. We know music is a good platform, so we should be able to take the platform and spread into other businesses, not only businesses but other charitable works as well to give back to the people and the fans. You’ll definitely see that from us, just expect it.
Seems you put a lot of efforts in developing Wizkid, who is about the company’s cash-cow, how are you going to build-up the other artistes signed on the label?
We put the same efforts into all of our artistes, Wizkid was the first artiste I signed and the first that we released his album. We are very grateful for the success and also the success that I also had as an artiste before he came on board. The cycle continues and Skale is almost at that point where he is about to become very successful, that’s the reason the EME album is very important.
I could have released my album early last year and ask them to hold on a little longer but I felt even for Skales, his audience were not quite ready for his album and people didn’t understand how great he is .
And all the things he could do, this also applies to Shady and Niyola. So, the EME album served as a launch pad for people to see that all of them are so talented, It’s necessary for people to understand them and to also give them a chance to shine. We’ve set them up to be successful and now they are ready to achieve their goals. This year, Skale will definitely have an album and it’s the same effort I put into my solo career and Wizkid’s career that I will use for all of them.
From the success recorded so far with the running of EME, you really showed your dedication to work, how are you able to instil such discipline in your artistes?
We believe strongly in being different and having a recognition of who you are, we stick to that. If you come out trying to copy another artiste or what is hot on radio, we won’t allow that. It is important for us musically to be different, to do things differently from others. We look for artistes that are unique and fresh, artistes that are talented.
We have a Skale who is nothing like Shady, nothing like Niyola, nothing like me or Wizkid and that’s really what we look for and they all know this, they know the reason we are here. We believe in uniqueness, they know they are not under any pressure to sound like someone else, they just have to be themselves.
Have you at any time felt you wanted to just concentrate on doing only your music and not running a label or grooming artistes?
I don’t know if I could ever step away from making music, I really love it. You don’t start making music just for money, you must first be passionate about it and then the money would come. The passion has always been there for me making music. I think I also have other interests and things to do but I know I will always have something to sow into music and I will always do that, it’s what I love doing.
For a ladies man, one would have expected Banky W to be long married, what’s delaying that?
Yes, I will say it’s been long overdue, but marriage is not just as easy as you wish it should be. I’m really taking my time and when I think I’m ready for it, I will. Even there were pressures for me to get married, my dad would always ask me when I’m getting married anytime he sees me.
You sing about love, how romantic are you?
I’m a complete romantic guy, from opening the car door, giving roses and chocolates, I know I’m very romantic and that’s why its easy for me to compose love songs.
I overheard you telling someone that you cook, how true is that?
Yes I cook, I was the cook on the tour.
Where did you learn that?
From books and the internet, I read a lot of culinary books where I learn how to mix recipe and don’t be surprised if that interest one day leads to a new investment where you see me having a restaurant where I would be the one in the kitchen making the dishes.
We felt people were getting bored with concerts in Nigeria and we believe the experience was beginning to look the same, it was as if the people were going for the same kind of show. Furthermore, we see situations where a company would bring foreign artistes and pay them millions of dollars for a show and then turn around and haggle with Nigerian artistes and almost beat them down to nothing.
So, all of these were in our minds and the reason this happened is because we are not giving value-added performances. Here you pay a million dollars to Jay Z or Chris Brown but then the sound is a little bit better than what other Nigerian artistes are doing and the stage show and what they bring are not so different. So, we thought we needed to put on a real concert, something that is better and different, something we need to invest in as business so that we can start to know the revenue base, give the fans a better experience and have them legitimately excited.
I’ve attended shows across the world by other artistes and I’ve seen what’s happening and I feel why is it hard to deliver the same kind of experience in Nigeria? But nobody is going to spend if they don’t feel like it’s worth it. That was really what was on our minds and we got a company, R28 which has done some events and they have similar dreams to what we had and that was it.
As a company, we always strive to do things differently. If you look at the music we make, the videos we shoot, you’lI see what I was driving at. Remember, when I was shooting the videos of Strong Thing and Don’t Break My Heart, people had the experience of what we put there. So, in terms of shows, we are once again trying to change the standard and live up to the expectations of the people. When you talk about a show where you used live band, DJ, dancers, special guests, lightings and all other stuffs, obviously, you’ll see the difference.
2012 was a good year for EME, the awards and the sold out tours, did you expect that?
In EME, we believe in dreaming extremely big and starting small, we are very grateful to God and our fans for a fantastic year. We dream so much bigger than this, I was on the internet some days ago where I saw that P Square went to Ghana or so and performed to a large number of people. So, there is always something to aspire to. Steve Jobs said ‘stay hungry stay foolish’. We should never rest on our laurels and feel we are there, we don’t believe in that.
We don’t feed into the hype because we know there is always more to achieve, we can always be better, bigger and work a little bit hard to achieve more. We had a great year but that doesn’t mean we are satisfied with where we are, we are still pushing harder to achieve more. We had a great tour, which we may need to take out to other countries.
Again, we had the best concert, which we may want to take to Abuja or Ghana, maybe today, we’ve performed to about 5000 or so audience and somebody else gets 40,000 crowd. You must be prepared to work harder. But when you get 40,000 crowd in Ghana, you have to set out and do more in South Africa. You have to be able to do it in United Kingdom, United States and in China. When you get those numbers, you also again have to look at Michael Jackson , who sold 30 million records from one album and you will like to do that. There is always something better to aspire to. We are grateful and we also hope that 2013 will be a better year than 2012.
How have you been managing your role as EME Chairman and your musical career, has there been clashes?
I don’t think so. If you look at the people I look up to, people like Dr Dre and Jay Z, Eminem and P Diddy, these are people who are great artistes and are able to still manage other people’s careers and make them successful. Even outside that, they’ve been able to venture into other businesses and establish success as well. Those are the people that I really look up to and I think because you are an executive, that shouldn’t take away anything from you being an artiste. These are the people I look up to and I try to emulate, so there hasn’t been any clashes sort of.
When is your new album coming out?
At the moment, we have a tentative date of February 14, 2013, but I’m not really sure again of the date because it has to do with how fast I’m able to get out the materials. We just shot and released the video of Yes/No produced by Cobhams, we shot it with Clarence Peters. The song is really doing well and we have the second single produced by Spells that we need to do a video for and we need to do more before the album comes. It’s tough to see if I would get it in before February 14 but that’s the date on my mind.
Why did you choose Valentine’s date for the release of the album?
It’s an R n B album, it’s for lovers and that’s the day of love.
Are you doing something outside music to make EME different from other labels around?
I think that’s something we are definitely looking to do.This year, you will see EME and its artistes branch out of music and get involved in other ventures. I can’t say too much on that at the moment because a lot of the ideas are still in their early stages and we don’t want anybody to steal them. We know music is a good platform, so we should be able to take the platform and spread into other businesses, not only businesses but other charitable works as well to give back to the people and the fans. You’ll definitely see that from us, just expect it.
Seems you put a lot of efforts in developing Wizkid, who is about the company’s cash-cow, how are you going to build-up the other artistes signed on the label?
We put the same efforts into all of our artistes, Wizkid was the first artiste I signed and the first that we released his album. We are very grateful for the success and also the success that I also had as an artiste before he came on board. The cycle continues and Skale is almost at that point where he is about to become very successful, that’s the reason the EME album is very important.
I could have released my album early last year and ask them to hold on a little longer but I felt even for Skales, his audience were not quite ready for his album and people didn’t understand how great he is .
And all the things he could do, this also applies to Shady and Niyola. So, the EME album served as a launch pad for people to see that all of them are so talented, It’s necessary for people to understand them and to also give them a chance to shine. We’ve set them up to be successful and now they are ready to achieve their goals. This year, Skale will definitely have an album and it’s the same effort I put into my solo career and Wizkid’s career that I will use for all of them.
From the success recorded so far with the running of EME, you really showed your dedication to work, how are you able to instil such discipline in your artistes?
We believe strongly in being different and having a recognition of who you are, we stick to that. If you come out trying to copy another artiste or what is hot on radio, we won’t allow that. It is important for us musically to be different, to do things differently from others. We look for artistes that are unique and fresh, artistes that are talented.
We have a Skale who is nothing like Shady, nothing like Niyola, nothing like me or Wizkid and that’s really what we look for and they all know this, they know the reason we are here. We believe in uniqueness, they know they are not under any pressure to sound like someone else, they just have to be themselves.
Have you at any time felt you wanted to just concentrate on doing only your music and not running a label or grooming artistes?
I don’t know if I could ever step away from making music, I really love it. You don’t start making music just for money, you must first be passionate about it and then the money would come. The passion has always been there for me making music. I think I also have other interests and things to do but I know I will always have something to sow into music and I will always do that, it’s what I love doing.
For a ladies man, one would have expected Banky W to be long married, what’s delaying that?
Yes, I will say it’s been long overdue, but marriage is not just as easy as you wish it should be. I’m really taking my time and when I think I’m ready for it, I will. Even there were pressures for me to get married, my dad would always ask me when I’m getting married anytime he sees me.
You sing about love, how romantic are you?
I’m a complete romantic guy, from opening the car door, giving roses and chocolates, I know I’m very romantic and that’s why its easy for me to compose love songs.
I overheard you telling someone that you cook, how true is that?
Yes I cook, I was the cook on the tour.
Where did you learn that?
From books and the internet, I read a lot of culinary books where I learn how to mix recipe and don’t be surprised if that interest one day leads to a new investment where you see me having a restaurant where I would be the one in the kitchen making the dishes.
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