My birthday wish...

By the time most people read this, I will probably be somewhere, 30 thousand feet above sea level, en route my hometown of Lagos, Nigeria. I'm thanking God in advance for journey mercies. I also want to say a very big thank you to everyone who posts/sends a happy birthday comment, an IG picture, a tweet, a facebook message, an email, a whatsapp, a text... etc. I'm really REALLY grateful. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you can imagine, it's not humanly possible for me to individually reply every single one. However, please know that I've read everything and I'm very, very grateful.

With that being said, as the birthday boy, I have one tinyyyy little request, if y'all would be so kind as to oblige me. Here it is...

I've made manyyy music videos in my life. Some great, some okay. Mostly, I try to make music & videos that are a little different; art that inspires or entertains or whatever. It just... causes you to feel something. A lot of times, I've been asked what my favorite video that I've ever done is... and I've never really been able to pick. That's because they all mean something to me, and I know exactly what I was thinking when we created them, and because they're all special to me, and different, I've never had a favorite. Until now.

Late last year, I attended a filmmaking class at NYFA, to hone my directing skills. My goal was to be able to at least have the option of directing videos myself when I felt like it (not that I wanted to become a full time video director, but still). My long term goal is to get into Directing, writing and producing films. In any case, I wrote, produced, and directed 3 videos while I was in film school. "Mercy" is my favorite of the three, and absolutely my favorite video that I've ever done.

It was my final film project in film school.. it was a lot of work, and I tried to push myself and the actors, like never before, to create something special; to tell a story that could speak to different people in different walks of life, and help make someone's journey a little better.

The problem with doing a video that's more inspirational, is, that it invariably never gets the attention/airplay in today's media space that say... a party video, or a love song, would get. I understand that... I love partying as much as anyone, and I've made a career of singing love songs... but I think there's room for something that's a little deeper, more thought provoking, and more powerful.

The "Mercy" video, in my mind, is my greatest work thus far. It's most powerful story I've ever told in a video, and it would mean a lot to me if more people just got to see it. It may never have the views of "Yes/No" or "Jasi" or whatever, but it's just as important.

So please... do this birthday boy a tiny favour of watching and sharing the "mercy" video. If I get it to 250,000 views, I'll be happy. If I get to 500,000 I'll be besides myself. Anything above that? God knows what I will do. Please watch it, share it, and let me know what you think about it in the comments here or on youtube. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKgPgwgNEto

Thanks,
~ B.W. 

Grateful, but never satisfied...

It's a few hours before my birthday, and I'm sitting in the lounge of another airport, waiting to catch a flight back to Nigeria. Birthdays are a great time to celebrate, but also a great time to reflect; on where you are, where you're coming from, and where you're headed. And that's precisely what I'm doing... sitting here, sipping on peppermint tea, and just reflecting.

God has been very, very good to me. I'm blessed with a great family that loves and supports me, friends that I will cherish forever, business partners that are more like brothers, and a fan base that is crazy and kind enough to allow me to do what I want, and still appreciate me for it. In the immortal words of Jay-Z... "only thing missing is a Mrs.." lol... but I'm confident, that even that will work out sooner or later.

Not many people wake up every day and are happy to go to work. I'm very blessed to be able to make a living off doing exactly what I want to do. I do not take it for granted at all. Sometimes it gets tough, and stressful... but in the long run, I can't/won't complain. I've had an incredible run... I started "doing music/entertainment" full time in Nigeria, on Valentine's Day 2008. That means it's been 7+ years, and I'm still going strong. I'm grateful for every fan and every critic.. for every song I've been able to release... for every video I've put out, and every album I've been able to drop. For every deal I've closed, and even for the opportunities I've lost. For all the flights I've been on, every road trip, every tour... in this day and age, simply coming and going in safety is not something we can take for granted.

It's been an incredible learning experience, and the memories are countless; too many to sum up in one column. At the end of the day, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to God, to my fans, family and friends. To my business partners, to my artists and staff, to my peers, colleagues and everyone I've ever crossed paths with. Everyone we meet, and everything we go through, plays a part in shaping who we become. I wouldn't be the man I am today, without the experiences I've had. I'm extremely grateful.

For anyone that I've ever wronged, or hurt, or disappointed... I pray that you find it in your heart to forgive me. I always mean well, even if I'm not always able to live up to it.

I hope to continue along this path... I pray that I grow to become a wiser, better, stronger, more successful and fulfilled man.  These days, I have more job descriptions than I can count. Singer/Rapper/Songwriter, Record Label Exec, Chef-in-Training, Actor & Filmmaker, Advertising/Marketing Mogul-in-progress, Events Planner, Promoter & much more. The reason being, I'm never really satisfied with where I am. I'm always reaching for more... Trying to grow and expand my horizons. Trying to set goals, conquer them, and then set new ones. Success is not a destination, they say... it's a journey. I believe that, and thus far, mine has been incredible. I pray that it continues.

For anyone that reads this.... I'm a living testimony to the fact that if you dream it, and work hard, and never take no for an answer, and believe in God and yourself... nothing is impossible, and dreams do come true.

Love always,
 ~ B.W.

#AtTheMoviesWithBanky

I've been thinking... I've been thinking... #BeyonceVoice.

Okay no seriously, I've been thinking about how I could, in my own small way, show some gratitude to my biggest fans. I'm the luckiest guy in the world because y'all put me here. I would be nothing without the grace of God and the love that my fans show me, and for that I'm eternally grateful. 

Anyway, people that know me know I'm into movies, so I've decided to treat 50 of my biggest fans to see a movie this Sunday night. Sadly this will have to be restricted to fans that are resident in Lagos only, because that's where I'm based. (For those outside of Lagos, we will figure something out for you real soon). 

In any case, if you live in Lagos, and you're a big Banky W fan, AND you're available to catch a movie this Sunday January 11th at the Genesis Deluxe Cinema in the Palms Mall, Lekki, I need you to let me know. The spaces are limited... we're only selecting 50 fans who'll get to attend, so please don't waste time. We're looking for the biggest Banky W/EME fans too... 

For each of the 50, I'd like to treat you and a friend to popcorn, drinks and a movie. I also have a special small gift to say thank you that I'd like you to have. The way to qualify is to send an email to BankyWFanMail@gmail.com  asap. Tell us why you're the biggest fan... prove it in your email and we'll select the 50. My good friends at Diamond Bank will be selecting some as well. 

So there you have it... this Sunday January 11th... you and a friend of your choice, can be #attheMoviesWithBanky. 

Don't delay... send an email to BankyWFanMail@gmail.com ASAP and tell us how/why you're a fan of Banky W's music and personality, and you can be at the movies with us. Pls also include your phone number, and twitter/instagram handle ( PLEEEEASE remember that this is only for fans that are in LAGOS and are available to come to the theater this sunday night). 

Much love, 

~ B.W. 

New Year, New Blog

Hellooooo Ladies & Gentlemen,

My name is Banky W. I used to have a blog, some of you may have been avid readers. Then Twitter happened. I stopped blogging and started tweeting. And posting on Instagram. Now while that has been fun, and while I appreciate all the followers I have, I've kinda missed blogging. And I occasionally get requests from people who enjoyed this part of me.

Soooooo I'm back. New Year, New blog. And I vow to do my best to keep this updated with my most random thoughts, points-of-view, and/or anything else that I hope would interest you. So please bookmark the page, and check back often.

In any case, a few weeks ago, I hosted an exclusive premiere of my "Music Film Experience" in the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas in Lagos. There, audience members were the first to see my work as a Director/Filmmaker; we previewed 3 Music Videos which I wrote and directed while attending the New York Film Academy (http://www.nyfa.edu) late last year. We've just released the 1st of the videos online, for a song called "Mercy". This video (or music film, as I like to call it), was actually my Final Film Project in my 2 month class at NYFA. It was shot in-and-around NYC, and features a cast of upcoming actors, NYFA film students, and models. Some are Nigerian, all are now friends of mine, and all are incredibly talented.

In a little over 24 hours, the video has amassed close to 20,000 views online. I realize these aren't Nicki-Minaj-Anaconda-type of numbers, but then again I do not have Nicki's-type-of-ass... just kidding. But I feel like it's a great start for a musician-turned-upcoming-filmmaker like myself. I'm hoping that by God's grace and with your support, we can get the views into the millions eventually. I can't lie... I've been tempted into bribing more of y'all into watching it by lying that I have some baaaad chics twerking in it... but I have reconsidered. Hehehe. No twerking, but hopefully it's as good a piece of film/music as you have heard in a while, and hopefully something that will resonate with you and your life's journey. At the end of the day, I've always been a story teller. I enjoy writing... whether it's songs, articles, poetry.. whatever. I enjoy expressing my thoughts this way. And with this video, I tried to tell a story that was different, and unique, and inspiring. Hopefully it makes you feel.. SOMETHING.

So this is how we'll kick off the new year and new blog... please watch my #MercyMusicFilm embedded above on the youtube link. And if you like it, please share it with your friends and/or redirect 'em here to my new blog. I tried to communicate a strong message, and I realize that isn't what's popular right now, but if I can get at least 1 million views on this video, I'd be beyond happy. Here's hoping you will help me do that. And here's hoping and praying that God will have mercy on us, our families, our countries, and that 2015 will end up being our best year so far.

Cheers,
~ B.W.

PS: Please feel free to give me some feedback on the video... I'd love to hear your thoughts!