Reekado Banks has a handsome net worth of $2 million to show for his six active years in the Nigerian music industry. The singer, songwriter, and record label boss started his music career during his formative years. He launched it professionally in 2014 as a signee of Mavin Records under the mentorship of Nigerian music great, Don Jazzy. Banks’ years as a member of the imprint saw him produce a plethora of songs, which contributed to launching him to fame.
Today, Reekado is considered among the popular singers in Nigeria as the artist has continued to make waves in the industry. As his fame grew, the cost of hiring his services also advanced and presently, people who wish to invite him to a show must be ready to part with at least N700,000. The young record label boss has been earning from album sales, shows, tours, and he has since added endorsements to his sources of income.
Breakdown Of Reekado Banks Net Worth Calculated In Excess of $2 Million
On the 21st of February 2014, the same day he inked a deal with Mavin Records, Reekado Banks dropped his first official single titled “Turn It Up” and needless to say, that was the beginning of fame and fortune for the Nigerian singer. When his net worth was reviewed five years later in July 2020, it came to an admirable $2 million, an equivalent of about ₦900 million.
The Afro-pop star has since diversified his sources of income, extending his fingers into entrepreneurship and the likes.
He Has Made A Fortune From Album Sales
Fans who have closely followed the afro-pop singer’s progress from the inception will agree that he earned a majority of his fortune through his singing career. For one, his album sales were boosted with the release of tracks such as “Oluwani”, “Standard”, “Sugar Baby”, and many more. Secondly, he has been constantly featured in music videos, which has boosted his popularity a great deal.
Live Performances Will Take The Credit For A Digit Or Two
Reekado Bank’s career earnings also extend to include what he makes from live performances. Going by what we gathered from recent reports, the Marvin Record’s alum charges above N700,000 for his performances. Obviously, this amount used to be shared with the singer’s imprint during his days as a signee of Marvin Records according to their afore-stated sharing formula. However, since he founded Bank’s Music imprint, the entire money goes to him.
He Earns Some Cool Bucks As The CEO of Banks Music
Since the singer became the chief executive officer of Bank’s Music, he opened other inroads of making money as an entrepreneur. Now, instead of taking just a percent of his subsequent earnings, Reekado Banks no longer needs to share. Besides, recording and producing songs for upcoming musicians has also contributed to his bank balance.
Reekado Has Already Started Scoring Endorsement Deals
Just one year after he launched his career in a professional capacity, the Afro-pop singer started attracting the attention of A-list brands who wished to leverage his fame in boosting sales. In July 2015, Nigeria’s heavy-weight telecoms company Globacom became the first to sign him on as one of its brand ambassadors.
Though the exact amount for this deal has never been mentioned publicly, it is believed to be a multimillion naira contract. One aspect of this deal that we cannot omit to mention is the fact that fans believe Banks was only able to get it thanks to his connections with Don Jazzy, but it must be noted that he still enjoys the deal even after separating from the boss of Marvin Records.
Reekado Banks Came From Humble Beginnings
The youngest in his family, Reekado Banks, whose real name is Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon, was born on the 6th of December 1993. Though he has always avoided mentioning his father’s name in public, it has been established that his dad hails from Ondo State in Nigeria and works as a preacher while his mum (name unknown) earns a living as a caterer.
The only relative of the singer whose identity is known is his big brother Temi who is also in showbiz as a music producer. Both share a sister (name unknown) who currently functions as a gospel singer. With a pastor as a father, it comes as no surprise to learn that the Afro-pop star spent his childhood in a disciplined household, and in fact, he started his music career in the church.
When he launched his career, the artist received enormous support from his parents who gave him all the backing he needed to succeed. In appreciation, Reekado Banks reciprocated the love, care, and parental affection as soon as he came into his own by gifting them a house in 2015. That same year, Banks equally acquired and moved into his own house, expressing profound gratitude to God as he recounted when he used to live in a house with a pit toilet. According to him, he passed through all those years with the hope that he would one day live in a house with toilet facilities so clean that one could eat in it and his dream did come true.
The artist didn’t forget to appreciate his big brother for all his support and encouragement all through. He included Temi in his personal management team which gives him the right to a percentage of the singer’s earnings from albums, tours, shows, and events.
He is an Alum Of The University Of Lagos
Growing up in the Ikorodu part of Lagos State, Nigeria, Reekado Banks acquired his basic academic qualifications in that area. Going by what we got from the reports, he finished secondary school before hitting the age of 15 in 2001 and proceeded to the University of Lagos for further education.
At UNILAG, the emerging artist joined the department of History and Strategic Studies. He was awarded a Second Class Lower division degree upon graduation in 2014. His graduation from the university happened the same year he launched his music career under the auspices of Mavin Records.
How Reekado Banks Launched His Music Career
Reekado Banks came from a family deeply rooted in music. As mentioned, Temi is a music producer and their sister is a gospel singer. At 14 years of age, Reekado started creating his own songs and had a lot of help from his big brother who started functioning as his producer. Temi did not just produce Reekado’s songs, he also became the official adviser for the up and coming star.
The singer, who was formerly a rapper performing under the moniker ‘Spicy’, was advised by Temi to put more focus on singing. For his present stage name, the vocalist coined it from the Spanish word Ricardo which means “Strong Ruler”, adding Banks at the end. Together, both names mean “being very rich” in the musical context. Temi also tutored his brother on the rudiments of songwriting, singing, and producing. He would later play a big role in Reekado’s rise to prominence.
Without the singer’s consent, Temi secretly forwarded some of his younger brother’s recorded songs for a Talent Hunt Competition organized by Marvin Records music label. This happened during his final year at UNILAG in 2013. Out of 5,000 entries, Rekaado’s talent shined out and he was picked by Don Jazzy who went on to make him a signee of the imprint. Before this time, Bank’s says has always listed his key models as Don Jazzy, 2 Baba, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Ycee, and Olamide. Needless to say, he was elated to work with one of them.
The date for the release of his debut single “Turn It Up” coincided with the day he inked a deal with Mavin Records on the 21st of February 2014. The song, which featured the queen of the Nigerian music industry, Tiwa Savage, was well received by the public and Reekado Banks has never looked back ever since.
Reekado Banks Songs
Reekado Banks, who commenced his music career on the 21st of February 2014, has really come a long way – breaking new grounds, broadening his horizons, and forging new collaborations, the boy from the little town of Ikorodu is now listed among the famous Nigerian musicians.
A year after the release of his debut single, the singer dropped the single “Katapot” on the 13th of February 2015. The song, which was produced by the Mavin record label boss Don Jazzy, soon became an object of speculation. Fans and the general public concluded it to be a targeted diss at both Wande Coal and D’banj. In a bid to save the reputation of his imprint, Don Jazzy wasted no time in denying and laughing off the allegations through his Twitter handle.
By the first of September 2016, the Katapot crooner already compiled and dropped his debut studio album entitled Spotlight which went ahead to debut at #10 on the list of the Billboard World Albums. It was a 21-track album that included duets with the likes of D’Prince, Falz The Bahd Guy, Vanessa Mdee, Patoranking, and Sarkodie. Since its release, the album has received a plethora of positive feedbacks.
Produced by veterans like Don Jazzy, Altims in-house, and Babyfresh, it came as no surprise that Spotlight recorded an incredible accomplishment within 24 hours of its release by topping the iTunes Chart.
With other artists in his record label, including Don Jazzy, Dr. SID, Di’Ja, Korede Bello, D’Prince, and Tiwa Savage, Reekado Banks featured in the popular song, “Dorobucci”. In collaboration with some of the aforementioned stars, Banks released tracks like Arise (with Di’Ja and Don Jazzy), Adaobi (with Di’Ja, Don Jazzy, and Korede Bello), and Looku Looku (with Don Jazzy, Dr. SID, Tiwa Savage, D’Prince, Di’Ja, and Korede Bello).
His other tracts include “Chop Am”, “Corner, “Sugar Baby”, “Tomorrow”, “Oluwa Ni”, “Standard”, “Easy”, “Kiss Me”, “Like”, “Pull Up”, and “Bio Bio”. Others are “Blessing on Me”, “Yawa”, “Maria”, “Rora”, “In Put In Pressure”, “You Dey Mad”, “Speak to Me”, “Need More”, and “Happy Yourself”.
Apart from his own songs, the vocalist contributed to the works of others like Tiwa’s single entitled “My Darling” as well as Pasuma Wonder’s single “Ife” which also featured Tiwa Savage.
Reekado Banks Left Marvin Records After Five Years Of Success
During his five-year stint with Mavin Records, Reekado Banks enjoyed tremendous success. The beginning of his success story began when he won the 2015 Next Rated Headies award. For the aforementioned award, he was nominated alongside others like Lil Kesh, Cynthia Morgen, and Kiss Daniel. At the end of the day, he emerged winner as two music heavyweights – Don Jazzy and YBNL boss Olamide, went head to head afterward.
The YBNL record label boss came out with a strong condemnation of the award given to Banks. According to Olamide, it should have been given to Lil Kesh, one of his signees. Many opined that Kiss Daniel would have been a better candidate for the same award.
While on stage at the Headies, Olamide did not only condemn Reekado’s award, he equally went overboard in his anger by accusing Don Jazzy of securing the award for his protégée through dubious means. Don Jazzy, who felt highly insulted by Olamide’s action, came out to give a comeback speech before storming off with his crew. A fracas was subsequently caused but no one was injured. Both parties have since mended fences. From what is obvious, there seems to be no bad blood between the two record label bosses as they have since collaborated on several projects.
Reekado has since carried on with his music career. Truth be told, he has since proved to the world that he merited the award and deserved to cruise in the Hyundai iX35 prize attached to it. After five successful years under the mentorship of Don Jazzy and the Mavin Record Label, the vocalist made the conscious decision to exit from the imprint on the 7th of December 2018 to launch his own company called Banks Music.
Comparing Reekado Banks Net Worth and Career To Other Artists of Similar Ilk
Compared to other artists of his ilk, Reekado Banks appears to be the one with the upper hand as the likes of Naira Marley are yet to hit the $1 million dollar milestone in net worth. The last estimation of his fortune pegged it at $250,000. There are still other musicians in the same category whose wealth portfolios are way lower – a good example is Zlatan Ibile who is said to have a fortune of $100,000.
The reason why Bank’s story is different may be the fact that he learned from one of the best music producers that Nigeria ever produced. Besides, he was quick to score a multi-million naira endorsement deal, just one year after his debut.