Jacob Banks
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Jacob Banks (born 24 July 1991) is a Nigerian-born English singer and songwriter from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. Banks won the 2012 MOBO UnSung regional competition in Birmingham and the
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
"Are You In" music competition. His music is influenced by a range of genres including
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
, R&B and
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. Banks is currently signed with American label
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
.


Music career


2012–present: Breakthrough

In October 2012 he recorded his debut EP titled ''The Monologue'' which was released in January 2013. The second release from ''The Monologue'', titled "Worthy", was played by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
DJ
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...
as his "Next Hype" record on his Radio 1 show and received additional plays on
1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and Urban contemporary music, urban music, including Hip hop music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, ...
,
XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...
, 6Music and Annie Nightingale. In April 2013, Banks played his first headline show at the London
St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...
. He supported Emeli Sande on her April 2013 UK tour. Banks features on
Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...
's song " Doing OK", the second single from Wretch's forthcoming third studio album. Banks features on
Chase and Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...
' "Alive" from their album, ''Brand New Machine''. He also supported them, on their Brand New Machine 2013 UK tour. Banks announced he was to release a joint EP featuring himself,
Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...
and George the Poet titled ''Gambling Man'' in 2013. However, this did not occur. On 1 May 2014, his collaboration with
All About She All About She are an English band from High Wycombe, England. The band consists of record producers James Tadgell and Jon Clare, and singer Vanya Taylor. They were signed to Tinie Tempah's record label Disturbing London and have worked several ...
, "I Can't Wait", was released for free download as part of their debut
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
''Go Slow''. Banks has also worked with other artists such as Bondax,
Jake Gosling Jake Nathan Gosling is an English record producer and songwriter. Best known for his production work for English singer Ed Sheeran, he has also been credited on releases for acts including Lady Gaga, The Libertines, James Bay, Shawn Mendes, A ...
, Knox Brown, Plan B and
Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...
. On 21 July 2015, Banks' second extended play entitled ''The Paradox'' was released. It features a guest appearance from Odd Child Recordings rapper Avelino on the track "Monster". In 2016, Banks was featured on Norwegian production team
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's release, " What Do You Love". The song reached number 2 on
VG-lista VG-lista is the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from Norwegian and international artists. It is presented weekly in the newspaper ''Verdens Gang, VG''. The data is collected by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Soundscan Inte ...
, the official Norwegian singles chart. On 9 March 2017, Banks premiered his two-part narrative video, written and co-directed by himself, for his single, "Unholy War". The single is off his EP, 'The Boy Who Cried Freedom'. In November 2018, he released his new album, "Village", which made No. 1 on new and upcoming albums on Spotify.


In popular culture

Banks' song, "Monster 2.0" was featured in the
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...
game, '' Dirt 4''. "Move With You" was featured in the
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
game, ''
FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and Australia and 26 September in the ...
''. In 2013, "Worthy" was played on the American TV series ''Suits'' in season 3, episode 9. "Unknown" was featured in the Season 3 finale of the Starz TV series ''
Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...
'', and received viral attention for his tremendous voice. This attention led to the song "Monster" featuring in the first episode of season 4. In 2021, “Unknown” was featured on A spinoff of the Power Series Power Book 2: Ghost Season 2 Episode 5. In 2018, "Unknown" was featured during the TV Series '' Suits'' in season 7, episode 13. "Monster" was used during the TV series "Quantico" in Season 1 Episode 2 which aired in October 2015. "Monster" was also sampled to create rapper Flawless real talk's song of the same name. In 2017, "Unholy War" was featured in the season finale of the TV series '' Redemption'', Season 3 Episode 3 of the TV Series ''
Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...
'' and in the reveal trailer for the 2017 Need for Speed game, '' Need for Speed: Payback.'' In 2018, "Unholy War" was featured during the season 1 finale of the TV series ''
Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
''. It was also featured on the Starz TV series ''Power''. In 2018 Banks penned and performed the song "In The Name of Love" for the movie ''
The Equalizer 2 ''The Equalizer 2'' (also promoted as ''The Equalizer II'' and ''EQ2'') is a 2018 American vigilante action-thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua. It is the sequel to the 2014 film '' The Equalizer'', which was based on the TV series of t ...
''. "Love Ain't Enough" was used in the
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
game, ''
FIFA 19 ''FIFA 19'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and released by Electronic Arts on 28 September 2018 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. It is the 26th install ...
''. Banks' collaboration with
X Ambassadors X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York, that consists of lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member who plays guitar and bass. Their m ...
, "Baptize Me" was featured in the '
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
' soundtrack. In 2018, "Unholy War" was used in the TV series "Queen of the South" in season 3, episode 5. In 2019, "Every Age" was featured in a commercial for the gum brand
Extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
. In 2020, "Slow Up" was used in the second season of the British series "Save Me". In 2021, "Slow Up" was used in the Netflix film ''
Fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...
'', "Found " was featured in the final season of Lucifer, and "Something Beautiful" was featured in the feature film '' Tom & Jerry''. In 2019, "Unknown (To You)" was used in the TV series '' The Resident'' in season 2, episode 20. In 2023 "Monster" was used in the final installment of the Equalizer franchise, The Equalizer 3. In May 2024, “Slow Up” was featured at the end of episode 6, season 2, of The Responder, which aired on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and on Britbox in July 2024.


Discography


Albums


Extended plays


Singles


As lead artist


As featured artist


Other appearances


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Jacob 1991 births Living people Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom English people of Nigerian descent British hip-hop singers 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers Interscope Records artists Singers from Birmingham, West Midlands