In a new video circulating online, renowned Nigerian singer Banky W shared how he came up with the name “Wizkid” for the Grammy Award-winning artist now known as Big Wiz.
It’s worth noting that Banky W was the one who signed Wizkid to his record label, EME, before Wizkid eventually left to establish his own label, StarBoy Entertainment.
In the interview, Banky W described Wizkid as a “studio rat,” explaining that, for a long time, Wizkid couldn’t afford studio time. Banky shared that back then, Wizkid would spend entire days in any studio that allowed him to hang around, hoping the producer would eventually take pity and give him 15 to 30 minutes since he couldn’t pay for his own sessions.
Speaking further, Banky W said the name ‘WIZ’ comes from the fact that he’s the fastest songwriter he’s ever met. He noted that Wiz only needs to listen to the beat, and the next thing your song is ready. because he doesn’t need to write it, he’s a genius.”
In his words; “Wizkid for a long time in his life was not fortunate enough to afford or pay for studio time and so he was a studio rat as he will go to any studio where they will let him hang out and he would hang out all day and just wait, hope and pray for the end of the day for the engineers and producers to just take pity on him and say oya, come, come and record for 15 mins or 30 mins because he could not pay for his session.
So, all day long, he would be working on hooks and melodies and just coming up with things in case he was given the opportunity to jump on the mic for five minutes. He did not have time to think about what to write at the moment, so that became his process.
And now he is one of the fastest songwriters that I have ever encountered in my life, he will just sit, listen, and listen to music, he would start freestyling a melody that would become a song that the whole world would want to sing and that is where the name Wiz started from, his genius-level creation of melodies is at the spur of the moment.”
See reactions below;
daddy_marvel: That’s true, back then, he used to hang out beside the canal at OJB studio in Gbaja Street, Surulere, waiting and hoping for studio sessions after Soubd Sultan n co. . Every hustler has a story and humble beginnings. RIP to OJB and Sound Sultan.
blxi001′: Them suppose put big wiz history for Netflix ❤️ man is a ⭐️.
iam_jaykrid: I can see that from the video behind the studio work with 2baba how dey recorded the song for that alcoh*l drink den.
stylebyranking: This is the more reason why we love him and he can’t go wrong came from nothing to something with pure talent ❤️.
adenike.ashaolu: Hope una don hear now, no be una wey go dey jump upandan 🐸🐸🐸😂😂.
captain_mavins: Why you go hate wizkid tell me 😢❤️🦅.
dammy_prodigy: 30bingos no go school,dem no know the meaning of WIZ,it means IBRAHIM nah WIZARD.