Jacob Banks is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary UK R&B, and in recent years he has made his powerful, soulful timbre and his profound, cinematic storytelling his unmistakable trademarks. In his music, he also blends genres ranging from soul, alternative, and electro with African influences. The result is songs that are characterized above all by emotional honesty, rich visual imagery, and a fundamental refusal to be confined by genre boundaries. Some of these songs have appeared on soundtracks for games such as Dirt 4, FIFA 15, and FIFA 19; TV series such as Suits and Redemption; and films such as The Equalizer 2—which, along with collaborations with artists like Nick Breweg, All About She, Uppermost, Wretch 32, Chase & Status, Sigma, and Diztortion, WIDE AWAKE, Seeb, Seinabo Sey, and Gaël Faye. He has already celebrated his music with fans around the world through performances at major festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, SXSW, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and Pinkpop Festival, as well as serving as a tour support act for Imagine Dragons, Alicia Keys, Sam Smith, Emeli Sandé, and Chase & Status, and on his own headlining tours. This spring, Jacob Banks will come to Germany for three concerts as part of his next headlining tour, performing in Munich, Berlin, and Cologne.
Jacob Banks was born in Nigeria and grew up in Birmingham starting at age 13. It wasn’t until he was 20 that he began his musical career by writing songs and recording his debut EP, “The Monologue,” which was released in 2013. The track “Worthy” from that EP was discovered by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and played on his “Next Hype” show, quickly bringing Jacob Banks to prominence in the UK. After his first live shows, his first support tours, and the two EPs “The Paradox” (2015) and “The Boy Who Cried Freedom” (2017), he turned his attention to his debut album “Village,” which was released in 2018. The two album tracks “Unknown (To You)” and “Chainsmoking” have since become his most-streamed hits to date and cemented Jacob Banks’ international breakthrough, which he consolidated in the following years with the EP “For My Friends” (2021) and his second album “Lies About The War” (2022). Starting in 2024, Jacob Banks focused on “Yonder: Book I” (2024), “Yonder: Book II,” and “Yonder: Book III,” a series of EPs that he compiled into an 18-track album in 2025 with three live versions. Following a collaboration with Kofi Stone on the song “Thorns” (2025), Jacob Banks began a new chapter in 2026 with the single “Love Like This,” which, after three more singles, culminated in the April 10 release of his latest album, “Limerence.”