Born and raised in Winston Salem, NC, at the age 11, Sir Banks realized he wanted to pursue music as a career. “As a child, I only listened to Michael Jackson. As a teenager, my older brother introduced me to the sound of the WuTang Clan, 36 Mafia and UGK. From there, I knew rapping was in the cards for me”, states Banks. “I first really took my music seriously in 2009. My best friend and I were a rap duo called Fly Luminati. His name is Chill”. During their freshmen year in college, the two shot random videos and dropped random songs on Facebook. They had become known for their consistency around the city. Why the name Sir Banks? “My mom used to work at Dilliards, a well known department store. She would always buy name brand, fly, and conservative clothes for me. I was always dressed up more than the average person. My friends teased me and called me “Carlton Banks” from the show, “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. But as I came into my own, that style of dress stayed with me so I coined the name, Sir Banks. He lists established acts such as Kanye’ West, Andre 3000, Common, Pimp C, and Pharrell as musical influences. At the age of twenty-two, Banks went solo and has dropped four projects. In 2014, he dropped his debut mixtape, CRUISIN. “I developed this EP while cruisin around in my car. The words to every beat came out of me driving around in my car”, recalls Banks. In 2015, Sir Banks came with his sophomore tape, BANKUET. “It was a mix of all of unreleased tracks and skits based off of Carlton Banks from ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’. “I see myself on that “Top 5: Dead or Alive”; however, I will be alive. When asked to describe his personality as an artist, Banks states, “I am more of a modern day old school artist. People think I am from up north, but I am southern. I see myself as the musical modern day Picasso”.
