Nigerian music star and record label executive, Bankole Wellington better known as Banky W, has revealed how he discovered Afrobeats superstar, Wizkid.

The Empire Mates Entertainment boss clarified that contrary to speculations of him signing the ‘Come Closer’ crooner after discovering him on social media, he actually found him in the studio.

Banky W recalled that an old tweet from Wizkid asking him for a record deal was a joke, stressing that he had already signed Machala then.

The 42-year-old entertainer said that he found out about Wizkid’s musical talent when he was listening to some unsigned artistes songs.

What we must do now that producers require big bums to give role – Ebere Nwizu
Speaking in a video trending on social media, the singer turned politician urged fans to let God and their helpers find them working.

Banky W said;

“Let God and the helper that he would use find you doing something. For some people, God will only find you tweeting.

“Just a few days ago, I noticed my Twitter was going craazy. And I went on and I discovered that people found an old tweet from Wizkid where he said, ‘Hey, Mr Banky, my name is Wizkid. I’m upcoming artist. Please, I need you to help me.’ And then they found a reply that I said, ‘Okay, please send me your demo.’

“And people were pointing to that as the inception of the moment where Wizkid and I started working together. And I hate to burst everybody’s bobble, but that moment was just a joke.

“We have actually been working together for about a year. He has been signed, we have been making music and releasing music. We were just being playful at the time when those tweets were sent.

“I didn’t find wizkid from him tweeting, I found him while he was working. I heard his music when I was just listening to a bunch of unsigned artistes.

“Before he even started working with me, he had already recorded a chorus with M.I. The very first day I saw Wiz in person, we was a back-up singer for Kellz at an event. He was faithfully serving as Kellz’s hypeman.”

Banky W signed Wizkid to Empire Mates Entertainment in 2009. But the father of four exited EME after the release of his sophomore album, ‘Ayo’ in 2014.

THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, condemned the assassination of Nigeria’s traditional rulers last night.

The octogenarian preacher stated that anyone who attempt to interfere with the country’s monarchy will not find peace.

“The fire of God will consume all those trying to mess around with our traditional rulers,” the influential pentecostal preacher declared during the church’s monthly Holy Ghost Service programme tagged, ‘From The Mountain Top 2’.

“Because as far as God is concerned, traditional rulers are anointed,” said Adeboye, the convener of an annual convention for royal fathers in the country.

In a bizarre reaction to the country’s rising instability, bloodthirsty marauders murdered down three traditional rulers in only four days.

The Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Ogunsola, were assassinated on Monday while coming from a meeting in Irele-Ekiti, Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria.

Some students and instructors were also kidnapped in the coordinated attacks, with the gunmen making a comeback on Thursday with the brutal death of Koro’s Olukoro, General Segun Aremu (retd), in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara state.

On Thursday night, the retired army general was fatally shot at his palace.

Koro is the town adjoining to Ikole Ekiti, where two traditional rulers were mauled to death on Monday. The two towns overlap farm boundaries, raising concerns about the ominous nature of the execution of traditional rulers by stone-hearted gunmen.

Security services, including the police, have deployed a helicopter and armoured carriers to Ekiti, vowing to bring the criminals to account, as Nigerians continue to demand swift justice and an end to the country’s kidnapping and murdering plague.

[NaijaTimes]

Joeboy, the Nigerian singer, has announced his exit from emPawa Africa, a record label owned by Mr Eazi.

The ‘My Baby’ hitmaker also took to his social media pages to unveil his music label called ‘Young Legend’.

Joeboy accompanied the announcement with a documentary of himself which he described as the “dawn of a new era”.

The clip showed the singer being transformed from a wanderer into a state of calmness.

Joeboy also signed a record deal with Warner Music, the US-owned global music company.

Warner Music announced Joeboy’s arrival in an Instagram post.

“The new label will partner with Warner Music, which will globally distribute music from the artists on its roster,” it added in a blog post”.

“The partnership between Warner Music and Young Legend will be cemented over the coming weeks with a series of music camps to be held in Lagos, London and Los Angeles.

“The aim is to start releasing new music from the Young Legend roster within the next few months.”

Joeboy now joins the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Burna Boy, and Ckay at the label.

The development comes a few days after he shared a cryptic post on his social media pages.

He also deleted his online posts, leaving only a black background as his profile picture.

Born Joseph Akinwale, Joeboy gained prominence under emPawa Africa.

The singer has won several awards and recognition for his craft.

In 2019, he won the ‘Best Artiste in African Pop’ prize at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

The singer also snagged the ‘Best Pop’ category at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2020.

In November 2023, he released a 5-track extended play (EP) titled ‘Body, Soul & Spirit’.

Joeboy earlier said he knew he would be successful in the music industry after meeting Wizkid, the award-winning music star.

[TheCable]