Review Fix Exclusive: Byron Bank Talks ‘The Withdrawal’

Review Fix chats with emcee Byron Bank, who discusses the inspirations and creativity behind his most recent album, “The Withdrawal” as well as his process and goals for the future.

Review Fix: What inspires you to perform?

Byron Bank: I get inspired to perform because there’s nothing that can explain the excitement and energy level of a song than a live performance. The thought of knowing that people don’t expect me to get on stage and blow them away drives me to push harder. Eminem said you only get one shot and I believe it, so I give it my all! You never know who’s watching.

Review Fix: Make makes you different from other artists?

Bank: The fact that I know what I’m capable of and I’m not afraid to go against the grain (think outside of the box). I’m always challenging myself and wanting to do more and better. I rather be great than good, any day.

Review Fix: What did you grow up listening to? How has it affected your creativity?

Bank: I grew up listening to Tupac, Biggie, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Digital Underground, Nas, Scarface, UGK, Too Short and etc. The music I grew up on teaches me how to be creative and have fun while making music. I’ve learned that you have to be able to touch people in ways they can relate whether it’s through storytelling or just the ways of life.

Review Fix: Where do you expect to be in a few years?

Bank: I expect to be on tour with other fellow iconic emcees opening and closing shows worldwide. Hopefully signed to Roc-Nation or Maybach Music Group.

Review Fix: What do you do when you’re not performing?

Bank: I’m working on more music for my upcoming EP, “Change,” looking for more gigs and trying to find other community based activities that me and my team can be apart of.

Review Fix: Tell us about a song of yours that you feel connects the most to your audience. What is it about. How was it written?

Bank: That song would have to be “Love N Regrets.” It’s about falling in love with someone who’s basically not really into you no matter how much they may say they are. Until you realize, no matter how much you love them you’re only hurting yourself. It was basically written from personal experiences and situations. Let’ just say I had my share of heartbreaks, next question.

Review Fix: What is your creative process like?

Bank: I will listen to various beats until the track begins to talk to me. I know it may sound crazy to some but it’s true. Once that happens then the rest is easy. I will either get in the booth and pre-draft the song by freestyling for a bit or establishing a catchy hook then the rest is history.

Review Fix: How do you want to affect your audience?

Bank: I want to affect my audience by letting them know that there’s a lot of unheard artist out there who can deliver great music as well. I want them to be able to see and know that hip-hop is still alive and that chasing a dream requires dedication, consistency and passion.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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