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Reekado Banks speaks about life outside Mavin, Nigeria

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5 years ago

May 30, 2020

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Trapped by Covid-19 in Gabon, Reekado Banks (who doesn’t have the virus) had a live chat on Twitter. He talked about his 73 days lockdown and life in this Covid-19 season. He also talks about life outside Mavin music as well as his new song.

Excerpts

How are you doing at the moment? I understand you are stranded in Gabon, how long has this been and how did that come about?

I came to Gabon to shoot for the video for OPTIONS when the lockdown happend. I’ve been here for 73 days. Although I really miss home, Gabon has been accommodating and nice to me.

73 days?! You suppose don get Gabonese passport and name now o. What’s your state of mind though? The state of the world seems messed up at the moment, how are you keeping sane with everything going on everywhere right now?

I’ve just been staying positive and hoping to be back home soon enough. FIFA and movies have been helpful. I’ve seen like 2 billion movies. By the way, I need new movie recommendations.

*See “13th” and “When They See Us” on Netflix, @ava goes *HARD! I am sure your fans have other recommendations. Lol. Talking about OPTIONS, how was it received? How did you decide it had to be with Parker Ighile?

OPTIONS has been doing so well on radio but fans online are still catching up – understandably so because its a very different sound. The chemistry with @parkerighile was seamless &we knew it was right to put it out. But I’ll tell you, OPTIONS is the best song in the world right now.

When you say OPTIONS is a different sound, what is the most telling change between your sound when you broke out under Mavins and the sound you are experimenting with at the moment?

The difference is that I’m not trying to make hit songs — I’ve already proven that. Right now, I am just putting music that I’m happy with and experimenting a lot more. Anyone that has an appreciation for thorough art will respect what I’ve been putting out.

Are you making music at the moment while in Gabon? And what has been the most rewarding part of transiting from Mavin Records to your own label, Banks Music? Conversely, what has been the biggest challenge?

Right now, I’m not making music. The same challenges that people face when starting a new venture is what I faced. We’ve gone through the gestation period, we have put structure in place.The pandemic has caused some delays bt everything else is falling in place.

*You said your sophomore album (still titled “Daddy to Many”?) would be out last *November, that didn’t happen. What’s the latest with this and what should we expect to see when?*

There’s no date for the album yet. But I can promise you this; you will never lack music from Reekado Banks (laughs). As soon as I can confirm the date, I’ll let everyone know.

I’ll hold you to that. You’ve paid your dues and continue to do so. Do you feel disrespected by the culture/fans, that when they mention the top three biggest acts, your name doesn’t appear beside the likes of @davido and @wizkidayo ?

Everyone will eventually get what they deserve as long as they keep putting in the work. For some, it’ll happen quick, for others it may take some more time.