Nigerian music executive Banky W has revealed that afrobeats superstar Wizkid began his career as a “studio rat,” spending hours in recording studios hoping for short recording sessions he couldn’t afford.
Banky W shared this while reflecting on Wizkid’s early career in a now-viral video on social media. He described how Wizkid would linger at various studios, waiting for engineers and producers to let him record for 15 to 30 minutes out of sympathy.
The EME label boss, who played a pivotal role in launching Wizkid’s career, praised the singer’s dedication and talent, noting that Wizkid’s relentless practice became part of his songwriting process.
He stated, “Wizkid for a long time in his life was not fortunate enough to afford studio time.
“So he was a studio rat as he will go to any studio where they will let him hang out and he will hang out all day waiting, hoping and praying that engineers and producers to just pity him and say oya, come and record for 15 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 didn’t 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 start freestyling a melody that would become a song that the whole world would want to sing. That is where the name Wiz started from,” he added.
