The theory that when a Nigerian male singer goes off the market, he automatically loses a chunk of his female fan base, is about to be tested again. R&B heartthrob Banky W is the latest subject, his very public engagement announcement to Adesua Etomi is the possible point of inflection and the commercial performance of Songs About U, his latest studio album, could either prove or disprove the theory.
But we need to be careful here, the performance of this album might not paint the complete picture because Banky W is an artist in transition – there’s almost as much change happening in his professional life as there is in his private life. The talent roster at EME hasn’t been this thin in years, while Mr. Wellington has been in the news these days more for hosting events and for his acting skills than for CEO’ing and actually singing – so do not expect The W Experience kind of numbers for Songs About U, that album was peak Banky.
His collaboration with the fast-rising Nonso Amadi therefore feels strategic, like a passing of the R&B torch or at least the sharing of it. But the part-dancehall, part-Rap&B result “Running After U” comes up short and doesn’t deserve 3 flame emojis. That said, the duo sound promising on the record, so if Banky ever wanted to take a backseat and start EME 2.0, I couldn’t think of a more exciting flagship artist.
This album is an interesting test for Banky W’s female audience because it is entirely, or almost entirely, about the singer’s wife-to-be. So, for the first time in a career where he serenaded them for more than 10 years, Banky’s female fans cannot fantasize that they are the ones the singer wants on “All I Want is U” or that the brilliant “Made For U” was actually made for.
Mr. W is not talking to a mysterious girl, in a mythical world, these songs are about one very special person and they are very real. So whereas on “Past My Past” – off the R&BW project – the public didn’t know who the singer was pleading with to overlook his bad boy ways and accept the new and improved Banky, on “Better for U” – off the new album – we know that person, right now, to be Adesua. Similarly, “Yes/No” – off the same R&BW project – felt like an open-ended marriage proposal that “Be My Lover (Yes/No Pt. 2)” only prolonged, but “All For U” from the SOU album came in to close out years after.
Yes/No:
Are you gonna be my lover? Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes
Are you gonna be my lover? No, Yes, No, Yes, No
Be My Lover:
Only you will be my lover (Owe oh, titi lai lai)
And I willl love no other (No way oh, no be mai mai)
All For U:
Are you gonna be my lover? Yes
Are you gonna meet my mama? Yes
Maleek Berry produced this track in 2014 when he was still primarily known as a music producer. He didn’t produce the original “Yes/No” but he switched up 90% of the production, quickened the tempo, infused more synths and weightier drums and introduced the new record. That said, if “All For U” was to have been positioned as the final sequel in the “Yes/No” trilogy, it would have been the weakest link, but one that at least showed us that Banky’s proposal ended the same way on record as it did in real life.
If a proposal is the starting point of a couple’s life together, till-death-do-us-part is the most ideal end. But on “Heaven”, loverboy Banky has offered something even more ideal – eternal life. “Heaven” is a very romantic, acoustic ballad specifically dedicated to the singer’s wife-to-be where he declares his undying love for her, to be continued in the afterlife, hopefully. It’s more sweet than it is splendid and forms the footnote for the rest of the Songs About U album.
Love is a beautiful thing, especially when it’s new and crispy. Just like any other powerful human emotion it can engulf a singer and inspire them to make the most beautiful but also the most 1-dimensional music of their entire life. Banky W is uncharacteristically uninterested in exploring any other phases of love and life on this album, nor should he be – he is in love and has every right to express how he feels musically. Unfortunately, this single-minded focus on singing sweet nothings creates a project rich in romance and sentiment but distinctly average in quality.