Lay Bankz
American singer (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Layia Watkins (born June 11, 2004), known professionally as Lay Bankz, is an American singer and rapper. After signing a record contract with Artist Partner Group (APG) in 2022, she released the singles "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)", "Na Na Na" and "Ick" the following year. Her 2024 single, "Tell Ur Girlfriend" became popular on TikTok and marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
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June 11, 2004
- Singer
- rapper
Lay Bankz | |
|---|---|
Bankz in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Layia Watkins June 11, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2019–2025 |
| Label | APG |
Life and career
Layia Watkins[1] was born on June 11, 2004, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Southwest Philadelphia.[2][3] Her stage name is derived from her first name, Layia, shortened to Lay, Along with an acronym: "Billionaires Attract Natural Kinetix Zen".[4] She is of Eritrean descent from her mother's side and African American from her father's.[5][6][7] She started writing raps at age 10 and released her first song, "Passion", in October 2019 when she was 15 years old. She signed to Artist Partner Group in 2022 and released her debut single with the label, "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)", later that year. She was featured on the "dance mix" of Ciara's song "Da Girls", released in May 2023.[8] She also appeared on NLE Choppa's song "It's Getting Hot" in July 2023.[3]
In August 2023, Bankz released the single "Na Na Na". Both "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)" and "Na Na Na" went viral on TikTok. Her debut extended play, Now You See Me, was also released in August 2023.[9] Her jersey club single "Ick" was released in September 2023 and also became popular on TikTok and on streaming services.[10][11] She followed that success with the R&B, hip hop and synth-pop infused single "Tell Ur Girlfriend" in February 2024,[12] which became her first song to chart in the US and multiple other countries aided by a viral dance trend.[13][14] It followed her debut studio album, After 7, which was released in May 2024.[15] Lay Bankz posted a video to her YouTube channel on December 17th, 2025, titled "RIP Lay Bankz" where she announces an end to her music career.
Musical style
Bankz has described her music as "every kind of genre you could ever think of".[16] Kenyatta Victoria of Essence wrote that she "merges club and R&B music".[10] Billboard's Kyle Denis described it as Jersey club. Pitchfork's H.D. Angel identified her music as East Coast club and pop rap, writing that her voice had an "elegant, almost synthetic quality" to it and that her instrumentals were "busy".[11][17]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| After 7 |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Now You See Me |
|
| Freshman Grad. |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [21] |
US R&B /HH [22] |
AUS [23] |
CAN [24] |
IRE [25] |
NLD [26] |
NZ [27] |
UK [28] |
WW [29] | ||||
| "Passion" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Can We Talk" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Fly" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "No Trippin" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Personal" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Anxious" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "In My Bag" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "IDFWY" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "No More Crying" (featuring Maiya the Don) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Deserve" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Throw Dat" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Da Girls" (Dance Mix) (with Ciara) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Na Na Na" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Aint Mine" (with Journey Montana) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Woah" (with Kyle) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Smyle Again | ||
| "Reason" (Remix) (with Moxie Raia) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Off the Wall" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ick" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now You See Me | ||
| "Sloppy Seconds (Ick, Pt. 2)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Girls Just Wanna" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Diamondz n Roses" (with VaporGod) |
2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | After 7 | |
| "Choosin U" (with Skai) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Tell Ur Girlfriend" | 58 | 17 | 26 | 33 | 16 [31] | 22 | 19 | 15 | 40 | After 7 | ||
| "Good Luck" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Would You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Graveyard" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Baddie Decisions" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Vitamin P" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Penny Pound" (with Sturdyyoungin) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Cmonnn (Hit It One Time) [Pt. 2]" (5star featuring Lay Bankz) |
2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Mobbin" (Brock featuring Lay Bankz, Bril, PGS Spence, JMoney, and D Glizz) | ||
| "Past Due" (Killadell featuring Lay Bankz, Clout PRG, and Ghost Underworld) | ||
| "Self Esteem" (Lambo4oe featuring Lay Bankz and 2Rare) | ||
| "Get Back" (Bumble Bee featuring Lay Bankz) |
2023 | |
| "Bad" (Lil Ricco featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Just My Friend" (Reagan's World featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Nana vs. Dada" (Mini Boom and D4M Sloan featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "Broke My Heart" (Kino featuring Lay Bankz) |
2024 | If This Is Love, I Want A Refund |
| "Run!" (Odetari featuring Lay Bankz) |
Valorant Sounds Vol. 1 | |
| "Everybody Ate" (Cleotrapa featuring Lay Bankz) |
Supernova Girl | |
| "Pretty Girls Cry Too" (Culture Jam featuring Lay Bankz, Saweetie and Flo Milli |
Non-album singles | |
| "Fabulous" (Blac Chyna featuring Lay Bankz) | ||
| "5, 4, 3 (Pretty Woman)" (S.Coups X Mingyu featuring Lay Bankz) |
2025 | Hype Vibes |