Dre Banks is a fast-rising American artist who has been a staple in the midwest rap scene, hailing from Grand Rapids Michigan. He started like many other young men in the inner city. He was pulled into the allure of the streets and then, unfortunately, found himself caught up in the system.
After being caught in this revolving door he knew it was time for a change. “I knew I had to break it and make the change myself. I knew I had to start from scratch and get back to just the music,” he says. With a clean slate and a new focus, Dre Banks hit the studio to prep his freshman release entitled “Check” which hit streets in October of 2015, again featuring Amil as well as another New York hip-hop legend, AZ, and was co-executive produced by Dre’s childhood friend of many years, Baby Paul aka BpZy (formerly of “Da Beatminerz”) – producer for talented artists like Nas, AZ, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Dj Clue, Consequence, others.
In 2018, Dre followed up with a street album released on the internet for promotional purposes entitled, “Coke Iz It” hosted by legendary Queens NY mixtape staple, Dj Mr. FX. The project featured Jay-Z protégé Amil, Nature, of the New York supergroup, The Firm, and Roc-a-fella Records/State Property veteran Omillo Sparks (of Oschino and Sparks). Currently Dre Banks is an independent artist who has a distribution agreement with XMG (Xxelulous Music Group) which is under 300ENT/Sparta.
In support of the release, Banks performed several show dates along a mid-Atlantic and northeast tour with various artists at each venue. Striving to stay consistent with his music, Dre Banks is already putting the finishing touches on his next project “Checkmate” for release in the 2nd quarter of 2022, the new album will include the HIT single, “Boyfriend, Girlfriend” ft. Trina of “Love and Hip Hop” fame.
This song was released in 2020 and streamed over 1.5 million plays on Spotify along with the catchy street anthem “Off the Chain” which is currently streaming at over 2.5 million plays on Spotify.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
Dre Banks – I believe the opportunity to meet the legendary female rap star Trina to collaborate on my record, “Boyfriend, Girlfriend” was an interesting moment for me, we had so much fun together shooting the music video in Miami.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Dre Banks – I would say the funniest mistake was agreeing to do business with an independent label called “Real Life Music” based in Kansas, the owner had fewer resources and financial backing to support my music releases than I did on my own previously but I had to discover this after the fact!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Dre Banks – I am currently working on my album “Checkmate” which will feature legendary artists like Styles P of the LoX, Trina, AZ, Ms. Toi, and singer extraordinaire Ne-Yo all coming this year in 2022!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Dre Banks – I would say I met Benzino of LHH “Love and HipHop” fame, we got to tour together in the midwest and also made a song and video together – It was a crazy time on tour with Benzino, we were driving on the highway doing 90 mph, and the Ohio state police who are notorious for pulling people over stopped us on the road and gave us a ticket for having a half-ounce of marijuana and for speeding!
IG: @iamDreBanks