We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Reggie “BANGA!” Williams Jr.. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Reggie “BANGA!” below.
Reggie “BANGA!” , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I first knew I wanted to be a professional drummer back when I was a freshman in Robichaud High School and decided to join the drum line. At that time before joining I hadn’t did anything musically since I was 6 years old. But being a part of the drum line at that time lit a whole new kind of fire in me because I was inspired by all the dope musicians that came before me and the musicians in my class that I wanted to compete with. From then on I started doing research on different drummers, different genres of music and different styles.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Reggie Williams aka BANGA! I’m from the Westside of Detroit, Michigan. I’m a drummer, a dancer and a producer.
I’ve been drumming since I was 2 but I didn’t start professionally until 2014 when I was already a year in as a student of Henry Ford College. My first gig was when one of my music directors needed a drummer for a small trio gig at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. That night I got paid $75 and whole bunch of cake and fruit. Ever since high school I’ve had this dream that I’m sure every aspiring musician/artist had when they were growing. Which specifically for me is the career of being a professional drummer. One that would just be on tour and be in the studio recording different beats and working with different artists. But like any other person that’s had dreams of living primarily for the arts, there was always people around me including family that would tell me how that road will always be a dead end. Which is all to basically say that from my first few years of doing different gigs, my focus was never about the money. It was always about me trying to prove something to everybody but more importantly to myself. Prove that I am actually good enough to be successful in this area and that I can in fact hang in the same space as the greats that we all tend to look up to when it comes to the people who were in this game before us. But since then, I’ve played for a lot of upcoming artists (Apropos, Maraj Virtuoso, Julia Rose, Ryan Neal etc.), done big local and out-of-town events, been on tour with a big jazz band in France, opened for other artists and also been a part of some interesting projects too. And of course, this has all helped me financially in many ways too. But all this comes from making sure I do my job which is to simply give people “that good feeling” every time I sit down behind that kit. I love music and I love to showcase that everytime I play. Even when I’m hearing someone else playing whether it’s drums, piano, sax, guitar, bass, trumpet etc. I love to hear/watch them play so I can hear what they’re feeling and see what kind of colours would come from that feeling. That thing that says “this is my mood in this current moment and I’m gonna play it unapologetically”.
I’ve been dancing basically all my life and I was always intrigued by anything when it came to movement. I played around in a lot of different styles: waving, tutting, animation and even breaking. But it was something about this dance style called Krump that really gravitated towards me. Back when I was a freshman in high school, my friends told me about this guy named Tight Eyez. I never heard of this dude so they told me to look him up when I got back home. Immediately after school I looked him up on YouTube and was amazed by his style and everything that he was doing. All I wanted to do was watch him and any other kinds of Krump videos that were on YouTube. Back then there were a lot of Krump compilations to look at, especially from a particular channel called fitzjudar and that also became my real introduction to the Krump music too. The person that made me want to actually Krump was this guy named Solow. Everything he did was so captivating to me, not to mention that he was also a big guy pulling off all of these ridiculous killer moves and combos. So I decided to try Krump, I wanted to look like him. So by then Krump became a heavy influence on my life and then when I began to do mime ministry with my lil brother, that energy became part of our style as mime dancers. In 2018 I got invited to a Krump session by a guy named Jerwaun Sudden aka Renegade. When I showed up I was amazed and got to see real Krump here in Detroit. A lot of different people with what I saw as “different auras”. Everybody’s style within Krump looked so different from each other, it was amazing. I didn’t jump in until the end but I was simply happy to be around that energy. That became the start of my journey as a krumper. Learning the basics, learning the history, the culture, everything about Krump I was way more tapped in to know more than I could ever imagine and it even became a part of my growth as a person. Eventually months later I ended up finding my name in Krump in which I believe was completely God given, “BANGA!”
In 2019 I had already been learning and training a lot in Krump. At the time same, I had already been listening to a lot of different Krump producers too like Deathman, Lil Roxxdamus, BravoDomo, Big Rulez, YLN, Sleek etc. and they really inspired me to create my own sound in Krump. So that year I went and purchased a laptop, had one of my homies hook me up with Ableton and then I started to just explore from there. 5 years later I now have 3 albums, a loop project, features in other albums, a beatmaking championship from the Desert Storm 4 event, and a now released EP called “4 Da Culture” a project dedicated to the event that recently took place in Texas called Wasteland: Southside Edition.
Are there any resources that you know of now that you wish you had known about before?
There are quite a few historic places within the city of Detroit that hold some of the greatest jam sessions with some of the greatest musicians involved. While I know about the spaces now, I only wish that I knew about them sooner when I was in college.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission is simply for music to be my primary source of income. I’m already happy doing it because it’s my first love. Now all I need is the monetization that comes with it. But everything is all within God’s timing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://banga02.bandcamp.com/album/mind-of-a-madman
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banga_theregman?igsh=MWgwOHBlb3V2ZTZ3cQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reggie.w.williams?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Other: My Krump album “Mind Of A MADMAN” as well as all of the other albums I’ve made can be found on all streaming platforms. Hope you guys enjoy and vibe to it, however it makes you feel.
Image Credits
Jasmine Williams Jerwaun Sudden Tiera Knaff Henry Ford College