Layia Watkins (born June 11, 2004), known professionally as Lay Bankz, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. After signing a record contract with Artist Partner Group (APG) in 2022, she released the singles "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)", "Na Na Na" and "Ick" the following year. Her 2024 single, "Tell Ur Girlfriend" became popular on TikTok and marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lay Bankz | |
|---|---|
 Bankz in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Layia Watkins |
| Born | June 11, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Labels | APG |
Life and career
editLayia Watkins[1] was born on June 11, 2004, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Southwest Philadelphia.[2][3] Her stage name is derived from her first name, Layia, shortened to Lay, Along with an acronym: "Billionaires Attract Natural Kinetix Zen".[4] She is of Eritrean descent from her mother's side and African American from her father's.[5][6][7] She started writing raps at age 10 and released her first song, "Passion", in October 2019 when she was 15 years old. She signed to Artist Partner Group in 2022 and released her debut single with the label, "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)", later that year. She was featured on the "dance mix" of Ciara's song "Da Girls", released in May 2023.[8] She also appeared on NLE Choppa's song "It's Getting Hot" in July 2023.[3] In August 2023, she released the single "Na Na Na". Both "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)" and "Na Na Na" went viral on TikTok. Her debut extended play, Now You See Me, was also released in August 2023.[9] Her jersey club single "Ick" was released in September 2023 and also became popular on TikTok and on streaming services.[10][11] She followed that success with the R&B, hip hop and synth-pop infused single "Tell Ur Girlfriend" in February 2024,[12] which became her first song to chart in the US and multiple other countries aided by a viral dance trend.[13][14] It followed her debut studio album, After 7, which was released in May 2024.[15]
Musical style
editBankz has described her music as "every kind of genre you could ever think of".[16] Kenyatta Victoria of Essence wrote that she "merges club and R&B music".[10] Billboard's Kyle Denis described it as Jersey club. Pitchfork's H.D. Angel identified her music as East Coast club and pop rap, writing that her voice had an "elegant, almost synthetic quality" to it and that her instrumentals were "busy".[11][17]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| After 7 |
|
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Now You See Me |
|
Singles
editAs lead artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [20] |
US R&B/HH [21] |
AUS [22] |
CAN [23] |
IRE [24] |
NLD [25] |
NZ [26] |
UK [27] |
WW [28] | ||||
| "Passion" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Can We Talk" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Fly" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "No Trippin" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Personal" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Anxious" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "In My Bag" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "IDFWY" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "No More Crying" (featuring Maiya the Don) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Deserve" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Throw Dat" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Da Girls" (Dance Mix) (with Ciara) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Na Na Na" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Aint Mine" (with Journey Montana) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Woah" (with Kyle) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Reason" (Remix) (with Moxie Raia) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Off the Wall" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ick" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Sloppy Seconds (Ick, Pt. 2)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Girls Just Wanna" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Tell Ur Girlfriend" | 2024 | 58 | 17 | 26 | 33 | 16 [29] |
22 | 19 | 15 | 40 | After 7 | |
As featured artist
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Cmonnn (Hit It One Time) [Pt. 2]" (5star featuring Lay Bankz) |
2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Mobbin" (Brock featuring Lay Bankz, Bril, PGS Spence, JMoney, and D Glizz) | ||
| "Past Due" (Killadell featuring Lay Bankz, Clout PRG, and Ghost Underworld) | ||
| "Self Esteem" (Lambo4oe featuring Lay Bankz and 2Rare) | ||
| "Get Back" (Bumble Bee featuring Lay Bankz) |
2023 | |
| "Bad" (Lil Ricco featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Just My Friend" (Reagan's World featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Nana vs. Dada" (Mini Boom and D4M Sloan featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Broke My Heart" (Kino featuring Lay Bankz) |
2024 | If This Is Love, I Want A Refund |
References
edit- ^ "Layia Watkins Trademarks :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
- ^ @laybankz (June 11, 2023). "happy birthday 2 me🌸" – via Instagram.
- ^ a b Davidson, Adam (August 15, 2023). "'Nobody in Philly takes you seriously unless you make them' — rising star Lay Bankz is here to stay". Metro. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: LAY BANKZ". vipermag. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Esomnofu, Emmanuel (May 20, 2024). "Meet Lay Bankz, the Eritrean Artist Climbing the Billboard Charts". OkayAfrica. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
- ^ Denis, Kyle (May 16, 2024). "Lay Bankz Talks 'Tell Ur Girlfriend' Success, Taking Notes from Beyoncé & Repping Eritrea". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
- ^ Lay Bankz [@bankerrz] (September 11, 2023). "Heritage is my birth right, I'm Eritrean and African American so I will forever walk and represent both cultures with pride and determination.
Despite your ignorance 💖
I LOVE BEING ERITREAN/AMERICAN 🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷" (Tweet). Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Twitter. - ^ Rashad (May 11, 2023). "New Songs: Ciara - 'Da Girls (R&B Slow Mix)' [featuring Derrick Milano] & 'Da Girls (Dance Mix)' [featuring Lay Bankz]". That Grape Juice. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Ech, Joey (December 7, 2023). "The Break Presents: Lay Bankz". XXL.
- ^ a b Victoria, Kenyatta (October 27, 2023). "Get To Know Lay Bankz, The Creator Of Viral Hit 'Ick'". Girls United. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Andrew; Lipshutz, Jason; Denis, Kyle (October 4, 2023). "Katy Perry Bathroom Performance Goes Viral, Results in Big Gains for Four-Year-Old Single". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Unterberger, Kyle Denis,Jason Lipshutz,Andrew (2024-04-10). "Eclipse & Earthquake Songs From Soundgarden, Bonnie Tyler, Carole King & More Way Up in Streams After Wild Week". Billboard.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Zellner, Xander (2024-04-23). "Hot 100 First-Timers: Philadelphia Rapper, Singer Lay Bankz Debuts With 'Tell Ur Girlfriend'". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin (2024-05-02). "Lay Bankz's 'Tell Ur Girlfriend' Spends Second Week Atop Billboard TikTok Top 50". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
- ^ Blake, Cole (2024-06-03). "Lay Bankz Marks Her Debut With New Project, "After 7"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
- ^ Garrett, Ural (September 25, 2023). "Lay Bankz Is Dancing To The Top With Her Own Soundtrack". BET. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Angel, H.D. (October 11, 2022). "Lay Bankz: 'In My Bag'". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "After 7 - Album by Lay Bankz". May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024 – via Apple Music.
- ^ "Now You See Me - Album by Lay Bankz". August 9, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Apple Music.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of April 27, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Week of May 4, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of April 27, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ^ "Discografie Lay Bankz" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ [s.com/artist/lay-bankz/ "Lay Bankz songs and albums | full Official Chart history"]. Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of May 11, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles, Week Ending 26 April 2024". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
- ^ "British certifications – Lay Bankz". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 25, 2024. Type Lay Bankz in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.