“Wizkid started as a ‘studio rat’, coined the name ‘Wiz’” – Banky W
Music executive Banky W recently shared insights into how Grammy-winning artist Wizkid built his career from the ground up, transforming himself into one of the industry’s most successful brands.
In a video circulating online, Banky W reflected on his early days with Wizkid, whom he signed to his label, Empire Mates Entertainment (EME), well before the artist launched his own label, StarBoy Entertainment.
He recalled Wizkid’s unwavering dedication to music, describing him as a “studio rat” who, despite facing financial struggles and often being unable to afford studio time, spent countless hours perfecting his craft in any studio that welcomed him.
Banky W also explained the origin of Wizkid’s stage name, saying it was inspired by the artist’s remarkable speed in songwriting, which earned him the nickname “Wiz.”
“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.”
