Harvey Banks

Birth Name: Hays Barton Hayes

Born: July 20th, 1987 (age 25)

Origin: Glasgow, Kentucky, United States

Genres: Hip-Hop, Electronic

Occupations: Producer, Songwriter

Years Active: 2001 – Present

Hays Barton Hayes (born July 20, 1987), better known by his stage name Harvey Banks, is an American Songwriter from Kentucky.

Early life and career beginnings

Harvey Banks was born in Kentucky in 1987 as the oldest of a single mother. Although he grew up in a single mother home, he credits his extended family for picking up the slack and teaching him his southern values. In the early 90’s he was introduced to Hip-Hop by his uncle and older cousin. His earliest memories of rapping come from watching his older cousins rap into a tape deck. Secretly he would write his own lyrics to popular rap songs out at the time, admitting that he often had no idea what the content actually meant.

As he got older he began study artists and bands on MTV. At age 12 he began to pen his own lyrics over the music he owned. This method was especially vital to the growth and development of the artist he is today. Writing rap verses to popular songs by his favorite band The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the credit to his hailed versatility in genres today. Even still at this time, his love for sports came first and rapping was second.

At age 14 is when Harvey Banks recorded his first song at a local studio. Under the rap moniker “H.Beezy” he was featured on a song called “Get Low” with local rap group The Blue Mob. This was the experience that turned rapping for fun into rapping with ambition.

In 2007 he released his very successful mix tape “The Revival”. The fan feedback from this collection of original songs and freestyles motivated Harvey Banks to release a follow up (“The Revival 2”) in 2009. The second installment of the mix tape garnered the attention of record labels and other artist as well. The mix tape featured the popular singles “Young & Reckless” and “Across the Room”. The release also featured a freestyle over a slowed down version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit’. The freestyle was in reference to the death of  a cousin who was found dead around that time. This became a fast fan favorite.

In January of 2011 he formed the Harvey Banks Music Group. Under his label he linked up with Dj Dior of ### to release the “Fusion Mix tape” on August 4th 2011. Fusion featured a merger of Hip-Hop and Electro music. Popular songs from Fusion include “Hypnotize You (Caligula Remix)” and “Sometimes”.

Harvey Banks is slated to release his debut full-length album “The Revival (The Album)” in the Spring of 2015.