FULL NAMES: Olubankole Wellington [Banky Wellington]
STAGE NAME: Banky W
ALSO KNOWN AS: Banky, Mr W, Mr Capable, King of the Lagos Party
DATE OF BIRTH/AGE: Born March 27, 1981[currently 36 years old]
NET WORTH: ($9.0million)
OCCUPATION: R&B Singer-songwriter, actor, rapper, mentor
MARITAL STATUS: Married
STATE OF ORIGIN: Lagos State
SIBLINGS: Funmi Wellington, Temi Wellington
PARENTS: George Bankole Wellington
RECORD LABEL: Empire Mates Entertainment [E.M.E]
WIFE: Adesua Etomi [Nollywood Actress]
His real name is Oluwabankole Wellington but preferred to be called Banky Wellington or simply Banky W . Oluwabankole Wellington or simply Banky Wellington a.k.a Banky W is a Nigerian singer, rapper and actor. The top Nigerian entertainer who is widely recognised with his signatory bald head is one of the most successful singer, rapper and actor from this part of the world. He has made some top Nigerian stars talking about the likes of Wizkid the CEO of Star Boy Records and Skales who is now doing very well for himself.
Early Life , Background, Childhood And Growing Up
Banky Wellington better known as Banky W was born in the US to Nigerian parents. His family returned to Nigeria after spending many years in the States when he was five years old . He began singing in his church choir at the tender age of 8. After completing his elementary and secondary school education at Home Science Association Secondary School, he got a scholarship to study at a college in Newyork. Banky W bagged a degree in Engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute.
He was also given the opportunity to participate in a competition called ‘Albany Idol’ and fortunate emerged the winner of the competition which helped shot him to fame . After winning the Albany Idol competition, his passion for music kept growng stronger and stronger , he was able to overcame many life trials and obstacles to become highly sought after artist on the local music scene; performing alongside major acts on tour. His advantage was his smooth voice that appeals to his female fans as well as his dancing skills. Banky later established the Empire Mates Entertainment(E.M.E.) in other to project his music more.
Career Beginning And Rise To Fame
After launching his record label Empire Mates Entertainment(E.M.E.) , he dropped his first EP titled “Undeniable” in 2003, this Ep was sold on the internet and from the trunk of cars. The massive acceptance of this music and success of his marketing strategy attracted the attention of Fox 23 News New York . The company quickly dispatched a reporter with a camera crew to investigate project . Getting to know more about E.M.E Records and their projects, they were amazed that it was a three person company executing a highly successful grassroots marketing campaign. The attention later earned him a distribution deal with Trans World; one of North America’s largest music distributors. It gradually became one of the top selling independent records, won him the 2003 R&B/Soul Artist of the Year at the Urban Independent Music Awards.
Banky’s career was for a while threatened by cancer in the shoulder, but he managed to make a recovery from the illness. Unfortunately, the cnacer came back in October 2017 few months after getting engaged to Nollywood actress Adesua Etomi. He recently undergone a surgery and thank the LORD that is now doing fine but he has lost a lot of fresh as a result of the operation he underwent. That was by the way though , continue reading Bank W biography after the cut.
Banky W dropped his debut album titled “Back in the Building” in the year 2015 supported by the award-winning song “My Regret”. The R&B/Soul album was released to critical acclaim; he had crafted a classic record and solidified his status as ground breaking artist. The album produced the award winning song‘My Regret’ and on the strength of this enduring single he became an urban-underground-yet-international icon. His awards and accolades include “US Songwriting Award, 2006 Nigerian Entertainment Award, R&B/Soul Artist of the Year” and“2007 International Single of the Year” and many more that i will be listing at the wrapping up stage . He also won other prestigious awards including“John Lennon Songwriting Award in the R&B Category”and signing a lucrative US Publishing deal. Banky was featured on AOL and Cingular Wireless Hip Hop Superstar with MTV’s Xzibit, graced many magazines covers, as well as touring North America Africa & Europe.
After the completion of his latest album “Mr Capable” under the name Banky W, he moved to Nigeria with the sole mission of showcasing , introducing and f exposing African music to the world and bringing a high profile presence to the industry. He is an active social media personality and has over 1 million song plays on MySpace, has hundreds of thousands of views for his videos onYouTube, and has a Facebook fan page he created not long ago, the page now has over 447,705 registered fans which is fast growing with over 600 new fans per week.
Banky W released his highly anticipated second album titled “The W Experience” in December 2009 . The album was a strong contender for the best album of 2009/2010 in Africa, it features production from Nigeria’s finest producers. He combines global R&B/Pop with African rhythms and influences to create an entirely unique and impressive sound. The 15-track album features guest appearances from Interscope-signed artiste, Verse Simmonds; then E.M.E acts, Wizkid and Skales. As at the time this album was dropped, Wizzy and Skales was newly signed to Banky W Empire Mates Entertainment(E.M.E.) . Fast forward to the year 2013, Banky released his new album “R&BW” with a concert tagged the “The Grand Love Concert” held at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos. The show pulled out several other artistes including MTN Project Fame winner Iyanya, Waje and many more in attendance. He later released the follow up visual for the lead singles “Lowkey” and “Yes/No” .
Banky W eventually became the most successful R&B singer in Nigeria and also accomplished in several other fields. He also became a writer who published articles on his blog (http://bankyw.blogspot.com) . He was also featured in numerous Nigerian Newspapers, magazines and websites. He is also widely known as a philanthropist, he launched the “I AM CAPABLE” scholarship fund, which provides tuition, room & board at private universities for youth who are in need and meet the grade requirements. Banky is also on the board of trustees of the “LightupNigeria” Project, which is focused on achieving constant electrical power supply in Nigeria, as well as various other charitable society building and empowering projects. He has also participated in many Corporate Marketing Campaigns like Etisalat’s 0809ja Launch, Cocacola-Nigeria’s World Cup Theme Song, Microsoft’s Anti-Cyber Crime Initiative and many others. He is also a reputable Master of Ceremonies/Host, he was featured in The HipHop World Awards (2009) as the anchor of the show. He has also anchored for other numerous high profile events such as The Gulder Ultimate Search Celebrity TV Show Launch and Nigerian Breweries Legend Extra Stout Product Launch.
Personal Life And Relationship
In February 2017 , Banky W proposed to popular actress Adesua Etomi and she said yes. The engagement of the two broke the internet and it the latest gist in town . The two is set to wed legally and they have started selling their invitation cards. I know must of you would be surprise upon hearing the word “SELLING” What do you expect from a high profiled celebrity like Banky and Adesua.
The R&B singer, who took to Instagram to express his deep affection for her, ever since they met officially in 2015, disclosed that in February 2017, he asked (Adesua Tolulope Oluwaseun Etomi) to be his wife and she said Yes.
His post read in part, “Dear Susu, we crossed paths 2 or 3 times since 2012, but I wasn’t paying enough attention.
“Destiny was staring me right in the face and I was too caught up in my own hustle and paper chase, to know it. In June 2015 however, God brought you my way again, and this time, I really SAW you. I was smitten by your grace, aura, and beauty.
“I asked one or two people about you.. your manager Isioma, who I’d worked with previously, and then I did some research myself. Googled you, stalked your Instagram.. the whole 9 yards, and the more I found out, the more you seemed like a breath of fresh air.”
The singer also made reference to his music video, “made for you” in which he got engaged to Adesua, as well as their roles in hit movie, “The Wedding Party”, describing both experiences as pure coincidence. “Real life will now imitate art,” he, added.
In a bid to put away any doubts that this is indeed true, Banky said: “The timing of this, may make some people think this is promo for another video, or a movie. It isn’t.
“Ironically, everyone who has seen us together in art, or in life, always insists that we have amazing chemistry. I guess you can say we have been hiding in plain sight. I fell in love with an Actress. Now my life is a movie.”
Banky W is a die hard Arsenal fan, he has been known to take to whining on Twitter when his beloved club side loses. Banky is a master chef in the making (ok maybe not quite), Banky W makes no bones about the fact that he loves to cook and constantly uploads photos of his latest cooking experiment on his social media pages.
He is a self-confessed lover of writing, Banky is an accomplished writer often penning the lyrics to his songs. He also has a blog ‘The Bank Statements’ where he puts down his thoughts on varied issues. Also not forgetting the highly articulate article he wrote in response to Reuben Abati a few years ago.
Endorsements
- He and Sasha P were the first official ambassadors of Samsung electronics in Nigeria
- He is also a brand ambassador for Ciroc ultra-premium vodka.
Albums
- 2003: Undeniable (EP)
- 2005: Back in the Building
- 2008: Mr. Capable
- 2009: The W Experience
- 2013: R&BW
Compilation Albums
- 2012: Empire Mates State of Mind
Banky W: Singles
- 2013 Jasi
- 2014 Jaiye Orimi
- 2015 High Notes
- 2015 All I Want Is You Feat. Chidinma
- 2015 Cash Only As featured artiste
- 2016 Made for You
- 2016 Onyeuwaoma As featured artiste
- 2016 Mi Re Do (Cocoloso) Feat. Stonebwoy and Shaydee
Filmography (Movies)
- The Wedding Party (2016)
- The Wedding Party 2 (2017)
Awards And Nominations
- Best R&B Artiste, Nigerian Entertainment Awards 2006
- Best R&B Video, Nigerian Music Video Awards 2008 for ‘Don’t Break My Heart’
- Best Male Vocal Performance, Hip hop World Awards 2009 for ‘Don’t Break My Heart’
- Best Male R&B Artiste, Urban Independent Music Awards, USA, 2006
- Best R&B Singer (Male) and Best Music Video 2010 City People Entertainment Awards
- Best International Album, Nigerian Entertainment Awards 2007 for ‘Mr Capable’
- John Lennon Song Writing Award 2006, R&B Category, for ‘My Regret’
- R&B Single of the year, 2010 Hip Hop World Awards for ‘Strong Ting’
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