NICK FRIEND: A West Indies debutant at 20 years of age, these days - less than two decades later - Banks is an award-winning reggae artist with a story to tell. Cricket is his past, music his present; he knows the difference his song-writing can make
For fifty minutes, Omari Banks holds court from his Anguilla home. At one stage, he carries his camera to the window to show off the perfection of the blue skies and surrounding views. He is desperately proud of his island and, in turn, that sentiment is reciprocated.
Among a population of just over 15,000, Banks is one of its most famous offspring: the son of an acclaimed Caribbean singer; Anguilla’s first Test cricketer; and latterly, an award-winning musician in his own right.
It is eight years since he announced his retirement from professional sport as a 29-year-old, and it is a happy coincidence that England and West Indies are preparing to face off in a three-match series, beginning later this week. In truth, that’s immaterial with Banks, a fascinating, magnificent character. There is cricket to discuss, but so much more that isn’t cricket – topics that include systemic discrimination, activism through song-writing and the essence of leadership.
Conversation flits from Brian Lara, his childhood idol, to Jack Birkenshaw, the former Leicestershire coach who mentored Banks in his youth. The pair still speak today; Cardigan Connor, the former Hampshire seamer, is godfather to his oldest daughter, while his uncle Valentine captained Anguilla and his mother Donna worked for the local government.
And then it shifts once more – to Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill, two of the influences of his upbringing; and to John Mayer and Jon Bonamassa, to whom he listens regularly; and to Tupac Shakur and Carlos Santana, whose lyrics have inspired him; and to Bon Jovi, Billy Ocean, Luther Vandross, R Kelly, Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix and Prince. The list goes on.
He pinpoints instrumental music as a particular fascination, but he jumps between different genres in search of difference. Because that’s what Banks has always been: a cricketing trailblazer back in Anguilla, and now a ‘reggae blues rock artiste’, in the words of his Twitter profile. “Ultimately, I want to create something that sounds like I’m telling a story – I want it to have its own signature style,” he beams, via Zoom. “In years to come, that’s how you create a legacy – having your own unique style.”
Cricket is his life. He loves it for what it gave him and for what he gave to it. Everything, he insists. He only left it when he had nothing more to bear.
“Cricket has always been there, and you should never try to minimise what you’ve done before,” he smiles. “I think to do that would be crazy because I’ve learnt so much. I probably wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t played sport. I might have a different mentality.”
It has benefited his second chapter, too. “I’m a lot more disciplined and structured than a lot of musicians.”
But music is also his life. It has provided him with a freedom of expression that sport’s sense of regiment could never offer.
He writes love songs, songs that can inspire, songs that invite their audience to consider and reconsider. He recognises what he holds at his fingertips – an opportunity to make a difference through his lyrics. At this time more than ever, he feels the weight of that responsibility.
“That’s why I don’t just sing songs to make people feel happy,” he says. “I sing songs to challenge people’s perspective. With that responsibility, there comes some level of intelligence, where you have to be able to articulate what you’re saying.
“You want to make sure that when you deliver a message, that you’re not necessarily dividing people. It’s important that when you say that message, you’re able to articulate that message well enough and people can grasp the message, internalise it, in some ways try to help things to move forward in a better way.
“It’s important to know what you’re speaking about, to challenge the things that need to be challenged. But it’s also important to deliver that message in a way that can be received and understood accurately.”
It is why he is so taken by Jason Holder, the current West Indies skipper, a fine diplomat and a leader respected across an entire region. He spoke with characteristic eloquence on arrival in the United Kingdom ahead of this unusual tour, discussing both his side’s role in bringing normality back to cricket amid this coronavirus era, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement and his wish for global equality.
Holder may not be an artist and Banks not a captain, but they possess the same platform to lead through their words.
Banks – singer, songwriter and guitarist – has a new single coming out soon. It is called Like a King, centred around the notion of leading by example and setting the tone. It was not written for Holder, but it might as well have been; he fits the image that its author paints.
“He’s a star and he’s a leader,” Banks says. “I’m so impressed with his efforts on the field as an allrounder, and I’m just impressed with how he’s conducted himself as a human being, as an individual and as a black man. I’m really proud that he’s a positive example.
“And he’s a very good example of what it means to be like a king – to be able to lead by example, but not only that – to be able to pass on the messages that the people need to hear. To be able to say what you say, which is very necessary, but also to lead not only by what you say but what you do.
“I think what he’s doing is going to continue to raise awareness to the issues that us as Caribbean people, as black people, as people oppressed all over the world are going through. The class that he’s able to articulate what he’s saying with speaks volumes for his family and who he is as a person. It speaks volumes for the culture and environment that he grew up in back in Barbados.
“He’s inspiring not only a region, but people all over the world with the great things that he’s done. He’s kind of similar in some respects to what Viv Richards meant to the Caribbean back in the 1970s and 1980s, and the stuff that he stood up for – for black people all over the world, against apartheid and these kinds of things.
“To be able to go out there and not only perform in the team, but to be internationally one of the best allrounders in world cricket, when you can do stuff like that and you have the personality where you can articulate yourself, I think you’re going to be listened to and heard. He’s a stand-up guy, he’s a balanced guy.”
Omari Banks made his Test debut as a 20-year-old
From the age of eight, Banks wanted to be an international cricketer – a mountain he would climb in 12 years, making his debut as a 20-year-old in Bridgetown against Australia. One match later, he would play an integral part in the highest chase in Test history, making an unbeaten 47 as West Indies successfully hunted down a total of 418 for 7, a record that still stands. “It gave my career another breath of air to push forward,” he recalls. “I remember that game like it was yesterday.”
There is a great deal of pride in his first vocation – he points to the man of the match award from his penultimate one-day international appearance that still holds pride of place on his shelf. In 2003, he was one of three nominees alongside Graeme Smith and James Anderson for Wisden’s young cricketer of the year. “I’m very proud of everything I accomplished,” he adds. “When you look at life and the record that I had in my 10-match Test career, no one can look at that and say I gave a bad representation of myself.”
He carries a wisdom in his answers and even more so in the silent ponderings that precede them. He looks back on his cricket with a nostalgic satisfaction, the kind perhaps that only comes with having found happiness and fulfilment elsewhere.
The more he reminisces of his upbringing, the less surprising it is that we are at this point, with Banks’ fingers swapping spinning for strumming.
The son of Bankie Banx, a legendary figure of the Caribbean reggae scene, who once upon a time performed with Bob Dylan, Banks was born into music. A cliché perhaps, but you sense that he knows that this was his destiny, even if he couldn’t let himself believe that on his sporting ascent. “I was totally obsessed with the game,” he insists. “You can’t have any second play, I would say. You can’t be thinking when you get for a duck or you bowl badly that you’re going to play some music. That’s not the mentality to achieve that success.
“But I’ll put it this way: from the moment I started to question whether it was worth getting up every morning and going to the gym, hitting 100 balls, sacrificing time with my family, that was when I decided I had to move on.
“I think in life, to reach a high level of success, you have to be totally in that. There’s nobody who’s really achieved anything great without really committing themselves to achieving that goal.”
On his fifth birthday, he had hijacked the stage on which his father was performing in Milan, clambering up mid-gig as a toddler, not shy to show off his exhibitionism and sing along with his dad. He performed at primary school, in choirs and in church, winning talent shows and representing Anguilla in competitions. Even as an international athlete living his other dream, he would carry his guitar to wherever he toured.
“The Caribbean itself – we are a musical people,” he reflects. “Music plays a big part in everything that we do. It’s a big part of our culture. I was kind of expected to follow in the same vein as my dad.
“My dad at his highest musical point was back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Socially, he’s not as relevant in terms of the entire Caribbean and in terms of what is being listened to. But in terms of the elders of reggae music back in the 1970s and what he means to the people of Anguilla, he represents a period of music when Anguilla had a voice. He represented that early period.”
So, what is it like, then, following a cultural icon? And what is it like stepping into an industry so competitive, having already made it to the top of another?
“It takes a lot of confidence in yourself,” he laughs. “Not a bit, a lot of confidence. And probably a lot of naivety as well. The kind of person that I am, once I put my mind to something, I go into it wholeheartedly.
“I always tell people this, that I’m still fighting my own way to make my home in music. It’s good to be able to go to Jamaica or the rest of the Caribbean and people say: ‘Oh yeah, that’s Bankie Banx’s son.’ At the end of the day, in music, you have to be presenting something that people think is worthwhile. We’ve seen so many gimmicks in the past in music – people want something that’s real and organic.
“When it comes to my music, I always pride myself on that. Once you hear me perform, it’s the done deal. I put a lot of effort into actually developing my skill and my product, which is the music. That’s how I look at it.
“I always believed in myself. You have to believe in yourself and you need that confidence that what you’re bringing here, you’re sharing with the people – you’re not necessarily seeking the validation of others, but you’re really showcasing who you are and giving them a piece of yourself. That process in itself relieves you of the pressure of actually feeling like you have to perform for someone, but really and truly you’re sharing yourself with them.
“I had to build my whole reputation. But what I always had was a talent.”
Banks has made a name for himself as a reggae artist
In the years since, he has performed in the US on multiple occasions, played at several festivals throughout the Caribbean, been named Anguilla’s artist of the year and toured Europe with Morgan Heritage, the Jamaican band that won the 2016 Grammy for best reggae album.
I ask Banks what he thinks of himself – whether he still recognises the Test cricketer, a teammate of Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who spent two summers at Somerset and another in Lancashire playing for Carnforth in the Northern Premier League. He is no longer actively involved in the game, focusing instead on making something of his music, though he cannot resist casting a reminiscent eye over youngsters playing in the park.
He seems so engrossed in this new sector of his life. His first-class career lasted just over a decade; in three years, this second stage will have spanned the same amount of time. Only, it feels like this one is bound to continue long into the future.
He pauses for a moment, as if to gather all that has happened and to retrace the steps of a fascinating life. “I would say I’m both,” he muses.
“Right now, I’m definitely a musician and I have a musician’s mentality in terms of how I see life and stuff like that, but I think that’s all part of growth. I think in life we go through different stages.
“I would definitely say that where I am right now is who I always have been in the sense that I was always going to go towards being a more artistic and creative person. That’s just how my mind works – I’ve always been a very philosophical person, a deep thinker. I always have my own ideas and views on life. That leads more to the creative arts, whereas with sport there’s a hierarchy that you have to follow.”
He returns to an earlier comment – his desire to use his influence as a force for good, to challenge the minds of his audience. “I’m not your typical artist who’s going to go out there, saying: ‘Shake your booty, jump in the air.’ I love social commentary. I love songs which I believe that can have a positive impact.”
Back home, he has played his part in a rally to raise awareness of a case in which a US citizen came to Anguilla and killed a local, only to return to the US in order to avoid standing trial on the island.
Freedom of expression, he calls his opportunity as a respected voice – and a freedom to better society.
“I think that’s what I find very liberating about music: especially as an artist, you can speak your word,” he explains. “Within music, it’s understood that you see life through its totality – not just in boxes. I live my life outside the box, I’ve always been that kind of person. I think ultimately, my music is about the principles of respecting people, loving people, appreciating life and just embracing each day and growth for what it is.
“That’s how I see myself; I’ve grown throughout my journey and I think there’s more to happen. I just want to continue to share a bit of myself with the world, and I think that the best way to do that is to be honest and who you are.”
It brings him to the obscenity of racism.
Of his own cricket career, he says: “I’ve been helped by so many people – white people and black people. They have been very supportive, but throughout there have been instances where you’ve had the rows and you feel like there is a sense of prejudice or racism or whatever. But for the most part, it has been okay.”
On the wider world, however, he goes further. Attitudes must change, he believes, and education must come to the fore.
“I’ll put it this way,” he starts. “Systematic racism exists in everything which is around us. I think it’s less prevalent in terms of in your face. But like anything else, wherever you go in the world, there will be traces of that. On a personal level, you don’t find it as much. I think as a society, we have come a long way. There is still a lot further to go.
“It’s not just: ‘I hate you because you’re black or I hate you because you’re white or whatever.’ Sometimes, it’s the system and the tones that are underneath everything that is happening on the surface. That is what drives and what makes it harder for people sometimes, or easier for people to be marginalised.
“Ultimately we have to continue as human beings to hold each other accountable. You are my brother, I’m your brother. We have to be our brother’s keeper. I think what’s missing and what needs to be continually enforced is that we’ve all got to have empathy. Empathy means we have to understand the situation we’re at, we’ve got to understand how we need to see life sometimes through the eyes of someone else. I think that’s important. I think we have to be conscious and cognizant of history and of what took place in the past.
“Sometimes, when we try to communicate, a lot of times, you hear: ‘Okay, it’s in the past. You should let it go.’ Yeah, to move on you have to let it go, but to move on there also has to be a justice that needs to take place. Equity, in a lot of matters, needs to come to the forefront. That’s the way, even psychologically, people who have been oppressed can move on to that better place. A lot of people in minority communities are psychologically oppressed for years and they have a mindset which is not even good for their own self-development.
“It’s going to happen through education, it’s going to happen through a conscious effort of people and through institutions of government making these things aware and putting policies in place to just ensure that people work towards finding better solutions for the future. It’s going to take time. I mean, we’ve come a long way and people just have to continue to push the envelope and believe that every generation has an obligation to continue to further the cause.
“Life will never be perfect and, as individuals, we have to take a bit of responsibility to continue to better our own individual cause. If you better yourself, you can continue to work towards who you are. And by that, if you have something you’re filling your cup with, you’re able to share with others. In a nutshell, no system is perfect. There are things that definitely need to be improved on.”
Banks celebrates after his 47* led West Indies to a world record chase
Banks’ debut album was a presentation of his life to that point. Move On, he coined it – the story of one door’s closure and another’s opening. He had long-since announced his retirement, but this was a more tangible sign-off.
‘Find peace in knowing you gave it your best, be true to yourself and have no regrets,’ reads one verse.
Emotionally, it was a struggle, but also straightforward – his way of reaffirming his next move: an exercise in self-honesty, an acknowledgement that this was his new beginning. “You have to go through a certain period of writing that song,” he reflects, “where you have to leave yourself vulnerable and open to the truth of where you are in your life.”
He looks back on it all as a reinvention. His Twitter following sits as a flock of little over 1,900; if that seems a slight figure, then remember that Banks’ international career had come to an end a year before the social networking site had even launched.
On most days, he shares philosophical thoughts of humanity from his account – the kind at which you’d be inclined to turn your nose up if they didn’t seem so in tune with Banks’ character, a self-confessed deep thinker determined to use his influence as a force for good.
There is no mention in his bio of cricket, while the dreadlocks in his photos bear no resemblance to the 20-year-old Test debutant, who had Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist caught for his first two Test wickets.
And yet, despite all that has happened since, the game has never been far from his mind. Only Jahmar Hamilton has since followed in the footsteps of Banks as an Anguillan Test cricketer, playing a single game last year against India.
His feat remains one that brings him immense pride.
“I was a dreamer as a child,” he says with a glint in his eye. “I said to myself when I was eight years old that I wanted to play for West Indies, and I dedicated every second and every minute of my life to doing that.
“From a very early age, I knew what I wanted to become, and I worked actively every single day, coming from a small country with not many facilities. But I had a passion and a desire to really push myself to get to the heights where nobody had ever gone before that time.
“The first will always be the first. That’s something that is part of history.”
And so too is part one of the Omari Banks tale.
The sequel is well underway. He clasps his hands together and smiles once more. “I think there’s a bigger story to tell and a bigger cause to inspire people if I can show them the successes that you can have in something completely different.”
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