Enter 50. "Yeah, well our situation kind of started off before (the)music," Lloyd answers, when posed the question as to how he initially hooked up with the G Unit General. Reflecting, "I mean, just as far as me, 50 (Cent), and (Tony) Yayo, we all grew up together. The only thing that was separating us a lil bit was age difference. It's kind of weird when you have a 12, 13 year old (kid), and his peer group is twenty year old(s). But, that's kind of how it was with 50. Through that situation, 50 always knew I rapped, it's just I was in junior high (school) rapping, so the subject matter was a little different (then). So, it wasn't until I actually left school, and started going through similar situations, that the lyrics became relevant to each other. After awhile, when I was 17, 18, I was doing little mixtapes in the neighborhood, and then before you know it I built a name up. Tony Yayo actually was the one who influenced me not to sign with anybody else, and to wait 'til 50 got the deal with Shady/Aftermath -- Ever since then we've been rockin' & rollin'."
Following the release of 50 Cent's multi-platinum, chart topping debut, Get Rich Or Die Tryin', the crew, which also includes Young Buck, who replaced a, then, incarcerated, Tony Yayo, assembled to form a collective union. The end result was the platinum plus, G Unit group effort, Beg For Mercy. This particular release, accompanied by a flood of the mixtape market, earned Banks a rightful spot as a revered lyricist known primarily for his quick, and witty, wordplay. In June 2004, Lloyd Banks finally stepped out on his own by dropping his highly anticipated solo offering, The Hunger For More. Fueled by a string of hit singles ['On Fire,' 'I'm So Fly,' and 'Karma'], The Hunger For More would eventually go on to sell over two million copies.
"It's a brand new style," Da Boy Wonder says, trying to come up with an accurate description of the type of music that he creates and performs. Defining, "My voice is distinctly different, and, two, my music selection isn't your typical beats. I don't have an A&R, you understand, so I'm getting 100's of CD's at a time, and I'm going through all these CD's, (and) I might throw away 99 (of 'em) and find one beat on one CD -- So, that's the work process."
On comparisons between The Hunger For More, and its' more introspective follow-up, Rotten Apple, Lloyd believes, "If you ask me, I don't think it's really a comparison, because it's me after my growth, and development. (The first album,) I started writing that project when I was 19, 20 years old. It's like I'm at a different space. I've been around the world four or five times, (and) I'm broader as a person, and as an artist. So, my perspective, and the way I see things, and the way I can get my ideas across to the people, are a little more advanced. I think people are gonna see the difference, and hear the difference from my first project to my second project, because, like I said, 'I'm a bigger person, and a bigger artist (now).'"
Rotten Apple features guest appearances from, Scarface, 8 Ball, the legendary, Rakim, labelmates, Mobb Deep, as well as the rest of his G Unit brethren [50 Cent, Young Buck, Tony Yayo]. The Eminem laced, 50 assisted, 'Hands Up,' is the project's explosive lead single. "(Rotten Apple) has significance also. When the twin towers came down, I was actually in the hospital 'cause I had got shot around that same time," Banks somberly remembers. Relaying, "Yeah, the same morning I was shot (too), so I woke up (in the hospital) seeing the buildings come down on TV, and thinking I was watching (the movie) Independence Day or something like that, and it was actually happening (for real). They were actually [transporting via helicopter] survivors and stuff over to the hospital I was in. So, it just has another kind of significance to me. I actually have the tattoo of The Statue Of Liberty on my forearm. I have a Statue Of Liberty pendant on my neck (too). So, I'm just trying to really stand up for New York City, and represent New York City Hip-Hop."
Banks, who cites, in no particular order, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, and, the aforementioned, Rakim, as a few of his biggest influences, has recently been getting his feet wet, in a very big way, with his DVD contribution(s) to the adult film industry. "I have my own production company, Bank Shot Productions, (and) I produce adult films," Banks confesses. Projecting, "I was actually nominated four times at the AVN (Awards), (and) I won two awards. I'm now casting, (and) getting ready to start this second project which will be titled, Groupie Love Part II. (It'll be ready) for the actual release of the new album just to add more value to the album. It's business, (and) a new way to just stay relevant and make (more) money. Outside of that, I got a deal right now that's in the works, (but) I don't want to drop no names until the paperwork is signed and sealed. Put it like this, I'm trying to be the number one 'Playboy' in Hip-Hop, and I just want to take it to that level because I have an angle. I have an open lane for that. I don't have any kids. I don't have a wife, or anything like that. I'm 24 years old, and I'm having a good time. So, that's part of the reason why I can actually do the adult films, (because) I have nobody to answer to. My mother told me to go get the money, and I went to go get it."
With the release of Tony Yayo's less than impressive selling debut, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, followed by Curtis 'Interscope' Jackson's all bark, no bite, semi-autobiographical movie, and its' accompanying soundtrack, Get Rich Or Die Tryin', along with, most recently, Mobb Deep's lackluster, Blood Money, G Unit Records, as an entity, seems to be, to say the least, faltering. In addition, questionable artist roster acquisitions (MOP, Pastor/Murda Mase, Lil Scrappy, and Olivia's oft delayed sophomore disc) have left many people skeptical of 50's professional antics. Not to mention, long drawn out industry beefs [see Ja Rule, Fat Joe, The Lox, Nas and Game], that should've been deaded quite some time ago, continue to plague the G Unit leader, and his faithful conglomerate. Lamborghini Lloyd weighs in heavily, "The best way for me to answer that question (is to let you know that) the world is designed to build you up, and break you down. And, it's not just with the music (either), it's with everybody. It's with Kobe Bryant. It's with Michael Jackson. It's with Mike Tyson -- It's everybody. People love to see you win. They love you, (then) they hate you, and then they love you again. What happens is if you win so much, you seem invincible. Sometimes you have to just defy the odds over and over again." Playing devil's advocate, he continues, "(Plus) sometimes I think it's a cry for new material. I think people they want to hear you, so they say, 'C'mon, I don't think you can do it again!?!' It's kinda like if you made a basketball shot, and I'm like, 'You can't shoot it again!?!' It's kinda like that. Nobody liked the (Los Angeles) Lakers when they were winning (either). C'mon, man, if you weren't relevant in Hip-Hop, nobody would talk about you."
"I just feel like I want to put New York City Hip-Hop, I can't even say back where it's supposed to be, because I don't feel like it fell off. It's been so much controversy that people actually forget we're artists at the end of the day. So, we all have hood ties. We can all fight. We can all shoot. (But,) at the end of the day, this is what we do. This is how I feed my family," the self professed Blu Hefner mentions, before concluding, "I'm a loyal person, and that's part of the reason why I think the people embrace us so much is because that's one thing the people always gonna be able to relate to when they can't relate to nothing else. When they can't relate to the diamonds, or the money, or the fast cars, and the big houses, you're always gonna be able to relate to trust. Everybody wants somebody to trust. Everybody wants loyalty, and honor, and things like that. And, those are things you can't buy -- You can't buy that. It doesn't matter how much money you put into something, if you're not in someone's best interest, and vice-versa, it's always room for mistakes. I think that's the one thing they need to know (about us), is that it doesn't matter what 50 (Cent) (did), 'cause 50 could be 102% wrong, (and) I'm still gonna be behind it. Yayo could be 102% wrong, Buck could be 102% wrong, (and) I'm still gonna stand behind that because that's all we have. At the end of the day, when we were in the street(s), all we had was each other. So, I think that's what we bring to the music, and I think people need to know that. At the end of the day, the music that you hear from our experiences in the neighborhood, and it's not fabricated, it's not watered down, just accept me for who I am -- A good lyricist, and a great artist."
http://www.craveonline.com/music/articl ... avior.html
lol, never knew he was puerto rican..
