Ms Banks. Get to know the name before 2020 because South London’s Bad B is destined to have a huge year. After writing her first bars at the age of 11 and truly focusing on music since 15, Ms Banks (real name Thyra) has gone on to share the stage with some of the biggest acts in the world since shaking up the scene in 2016, where she became a very high in demand feature artist. Late that year she appeared on a track with Stormzy and Tinie Tempah… not a bad slot to find yourself in while on your come up, but it gets better. In April of 2017 she joined Cardi B on stage during her tour and now has a fan in none other than the Queen herself, Nicki Minaj. Nicki has tweeted out lyrics from Ms Banks, commented on her instagram photos and most recently while on Capital Xtra, leaked that the two have a song together staying, “All I’m saying is…when it drops, it drops. It’s amazing. We’ve spoken about it a lot, and a lot of things are happening.” With such an easily identifiable tone and flow, Ms Banks always delivers and makes whatever beat it is her own. Originally writing to downtempo trap beats, her latest album The Coldest Winter Ever 2 features more hints of Afrobeats, whilst still keeping the playful lyrical content she’s known for. The album dropped on 12th December and is definitely worth checking out, but for now, here’s three must-hear tracks.
Bad B Bop
“Step into the dance like a Bad B, ginger bread man couldn’t catch me.” Even on the delivery of the opening line, you can tell this is a Ms Banks tune. With a great video and some cheeky lyrical content over a Iggy ‘Fancy’ type beat, this track is definitely one that makes you want to move. This is the new direction of music it would appear Ms Banks is taking and it’s certainly a crowd-pleaser.
Gun Lean (Remix)
Remember this one? Well Banks found herself on one of the U.K.’s biggest tunes of the year and once again, made it her own. Even the higher pitched singing vocals just add to how hard her verse comes in on top of the iconic Russ beat. Originality on a remix track like this is so important to stand out and Ms B certainly has that.
My Size
Another Across The Pond artist, Ambush, recruited Banks for his own Afrobeats rhythm which is currently blowing up airwaves in the U.K. Neither artist is a stranger to chart success, but the chemistry between these two resonates so naturally, it was bound to do numbers. There’s even a dance competition currently being run for this track, so get your entries in now if that’s your thing!
Having dropped her album so recently, it will be interesting to see what moves Ms Banks makes next year but at the very least, we can all hope to hear this Nicki Minaj collaboration. Perhaps a collaboration project is in the works, it will be very interesting to see as it could be the biggest overseas alliance since Drake and Giggs.
