How I Named Wizkid – Banky W Shares Story in New Video (Watch)
Nigerian singer Banky W recently shared in a viral video how he came up with the name Wizkid for the Grammy Award-winning artist now known as BigWiz. Banky W, who initially signed Wizkid to his record label EME before Wizkid established his own StarBoy Entertainment, described Wizkid's early days in the music industry.
Banky referred to Wizkid as a "studio rat," explaining that, for a long period, Wizkid couldn't afford studio time. He recounted how Wizkid would spend entire days at any studio that would let him stay, hoping the producer might eventually give him 15 to 30 minutes to record since he couldn’t pay for his own sessions.
Banky further explained that the name "WIZ" came from Wizkid’s ability to quickly create music. He noted that Wizkid could simply listen to a beat, and almost instantly, the song would be ready. "He doesn’t need to write it, he’s a genius," Banky said.
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In Banky's words: “Wizkid for a long time in his life was not fortunate enough to afford or pay for studio time... he was a studio rat as he will go to any studio where they will let him hang out... he would hang out all day... just wait, hope and pray for the end of the day for the engineers and producers to just take pity on him... He did not have time to think about what to write at the moment, so that became his process."
Banky praised Wizkid's remarkable songwriting speed, describing how Wizkid could listen to music, start freestyling a melody, and quickly create a song that the world would love. This spontaneous, genius-level creativity was what inspired the name "Wiz."