Reekado Banks: Interesting Facts You Should Know Ahead of His Visit to Kenya
By: Absalom Mulama
Posted on Friday, November 6, 2020
The Afropop song Rora was one of the biggest club bangers in Kenya late last year and even into this year. What did you like most about it? The beat? The guitar? Reekado voice? Well, whatever it is, you now have a chance to listen to it live! Yes, Reekado Banks is set to make an appearance at this years NaiFest, on Saturday November 7th at the Ngong racecourse.
But before you get overwhelmed with excitement, how much do you know about the Nigerian musician? Here are some interesting facts about Reekado you can use next time this Afropop talent comes up in your conversation.
His Brother Helped Him Launch His Music Career
Born on December 6th 1993, Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon AKA Reekado Banks is the lastborn in his family. He is the son of a pastor and has an older sister and brother. His sister is a gospel musician and his brother a music producer.
Reekado’s older brother, saw talent in him, taught him how to sing better and produce his own music. It is said that in 2014, his brother uploaded some of Reekado’s singles on an online talent website to enter him in a talent competition. Veteran music producer Don Jazzy listened to Reekado’s singles and liked them then offered Reekado a record deal with his production company Mavin Records.
He is a Certified 'Strategic Historian'
It is a common stereotype that most artists are dropouts. Banks however, was able to complete high school and attend University of Lagos where he graduated with a degree in History and Strategic Studies. Banks was making music on the side since High School and after his studies, decided to pursue music full time.
Awards Galore
At 26, Reekado has won several awards that reflect his exceptional musical talent. As a new boy in the music scene, he was named Rookie of the Year at the Headies Awards 2014. He also went on to win the Next Rated Award in 2015's Headies Awards. In the same competition, Don Jazzy won the Producer of the Year award for the song “Dorobuchi”, which Banks featured in as his first major project.
In addition, Banks won The Most Promising Act, male category in 2015's People City Awards.
He is Endorsed by Globacom Telecommunications Ltd
Through recommendation from Mavin Record label, Banks was able to bag his first endorsement worth millions of Naira from the telecommunications company- Glo. Globacom Limited, popularly known as Glo, is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company that sponsors several sporting events in Africa as well as CNN’s African Voices.
One of His Fans Bought Him a Car as a Gift
How often do you hear of a fan buying their favourite artist a car? Well, back in 2017, Reekado once received not just any car but a Mercedes Benz C300 as a gift from a passionate fan. The fan claimed that he was giving him the car just for the love of the music Banks makes in a video shared on social media. He shared the short video on Instagram with the caption “For the love of Mavin and Reeky’s jam, I decided to give this C300 to my Bro @Reekadobanks before leaving Nigeria. God bless your music.”
