Banky’s Grass To Grace Story:” ‘I begged to sell CDs in US salons to survive’

Banky’s Grass To Grace Story:” ‘I begged
to sell CDs in US salons to survive’
on october 27, 2013 at 6:47 pm in entertainment
BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA
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.”