Interview: Banye opens up about himself and music

On today’s edition of ‘Kandid with Kreef’, we have Banye aka Banso Boy. This is one very talented upcoming Cameroon aritiste who after his “Chorkoh” hit just vanished. Kreef had to link up with him to see what the “Banso Boy” had been up to.

KREEF: Heeey Banye. How have you been?

BANYE: Been good and you? Happy we could do this.

KREEF: Me too. Thank you for taking some time out of your very busy schedule to talk to us. So what has Banye the “Banso Boy” been up to lately?

BANYE: Been hustling and learning too. Doing a lot of music especially recordings. A few shows here and there.

KREEF: Ok. So I guess Banye is your real name. Why did you add the ‘Banso Boy'? You might be from Banso obviously, but why add it to your name?

BANYE: Hahahaha. Well, back in my Secondary School days Banso people were known for few things including our accent. It became somewhat a way of mockery so it was my way of saying I’m very proud of whom I am and encouraged my fellow Banso brothers and sisters to do same.

KREEF: Pretty inspiring. I like that! Is Banye signed to any record label?

BANYE: Nope. I actually co-founded one, which I hope to bring to prominence. But right now I am affiliated to another label but don’t wanna talk much about that yet.

KREEF: Ok that’s fine. So what inspired your first single ‘Chorkoh’?

BANYE: Until now I can’t point out anything in particular but in my mind I just wanted to make music that will make someone smile. If you listen to it carefully, you’d realise I’m tryna justify the little dirty things we do but will not say what they actually are like I stated in the song. That’s ma view of it.

KREEF: Oh ok. I get it now. Are there any artistes that inspired you?

BANYE: Yes. Nas, Damien Marley, Bob Marley, just to name a few.

KREEF: How can you describe your singing style?

BANYE: It’s funny because I have ventured into all genres. I’d like to look at myself now as an artiste just doing music. It could sound like anything but with my rap, I want to represent Cameroon with the right message. I wanna relate to all those listening to it all over the world because it’s not easy for youth to follow their dreams today.

KREEF: Absolutely. Does Banye have any favorite Cameroonian songs at the moment?

BANYE: Yes!! There are so many to choose from. I especially like what the girls are doing; Daphne, Gasha and Ewube. I also like what Jovi and Stanley are doing to keep the industry going and all the others too. I don’t have a favorite song. I have to add that there are too many to have a fav, a lot are happening and I love what I see. So to me, having a favorite song is limiting lol.

KREEF: True. Any Camer artistes at the moment you will love to do a collaboration with in the future?

BANYE: Yeah.

KREEF: Who?

BANYE: Gasha. I also did a remix of Daphne’s ‘Rastafari’. I also have songs with Mic Monsta and Jay Milly from Fluri Boys. I would like to work with Boudor too. I have several collabos I’ve been proposed but basically I’m open to collaborating with whoever is worth it.

KREEF: Ok. So should we expect any new music or album from Banye?

BANYE: Yeah. It’s been long you know. I have been recording here and there and have a load of stuff to serve the public. Not clear how this will be released, but if it’s taking time it is because I don’t want to do something mediocre. Even though I am eager to be out there, I’m keen to doing something worth it you know.

KREEF: Yes very true. ‘Chorkoh’ was a hit. You have to follow up with something worth it in order not to disappoint your fans. I get you.

BANYE: You understand 100%.

KREEF: Yes I do.

BANYE: And it is partly because of ‘Chorkoh’. I try not to be influenced by that pressure, but I wanna do something that would give you the ‘Chorkoh’ kinda effect. It could be any kind.

KREEF: OK. Well I guess this is it for now Banye. Thank you so much for talking to us. Do you have anything you want your fans to know? You’ve been Missing In Action (MIA) so I guess they want to hear from you. Anything?

BANYE: Yep. I have a single for the holidays. I have so many. I’m yet to decide because a lot of people are counting on me already. I also wanna take this time to thank platforms like Kreef and others that helped more people to know about me even though I have no releases for now. Thank you so much and thanks to those who have been fans from the start. Jah bless!

KREEF: You’re very welcome and thank you too. Stay well and we’ll be waiting for the next big hit from you. Thank you again.

BANYE: The pleasure is mine.