Lloyd Banks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lloyd Banks | |
|---|---|
 Lloyd Banks on the set of the "Rider Pt.2" video.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | April 30, 1982 Queens, New York, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 1999 – present |
| Label(s) | G-Unit |
| Associated acts | G-Unit, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, G-Unit recording artists, Eminem |
| Website | www.lloydbanks.com |
Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name, Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Born in Queens, he dropped out of high school and joined G-Unit in 2003 with fellow rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight) in 2008. Banks released his first solo album The Hunger for More in 2004 with the top ten single "On Fire". He followed with Rotten Apple in 2006 and left Interscope Records in 2009.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Lloyd was born in South Jamaica, Queens to a Puerto Rican mother and African American father.[1] His father spent most of Lloyd's childhood in prison,[2] leaving his mother to raise him and his two siblings, Anthony and Damion.[3] Lloyd attended August Martin High School[4] but dropped out at age 16.[2] For his stage name, he took his great, great grandfather's name, "Banks", which was passed on by his uncles who also shared it.[1] Banks was shot twice in September 2001, by what is believed to be stray gunfire in his neighborhood.[5]
.jpg)
[edit] Career with G-Unit
Tony Yayo, being an older and more experienced rapper, joined 50 Cent on the Nas Promo Tour, the Cash Money Tour and the Ruff Ryders Tour. As Banks remained at home waiting for 50 and Yayo to return, he started rapping around the neighborhood to further increase his buzz on the streets. He then hooked up with neighborhood producers and made tracks for local mixtapes. Lloyd Banks has a renowned reputation on the mixtape scene.[5]
G-Unit was founded when childhood friends, Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo decided to make a group with each other.[2] They met Young Buck when Cash Money group came to New York and 50 Cent heard Young Buck rapping. After 50 Cent signed his contract with Aftermath Entertainment they took Young Buck in the group and signed him. Tony Yayo was later sent to prison on weapons charges.
Fronted by 50 Cent, G-Unit quickly redefined the urban music industry back to gangsta rap. They produced a series of mixtape albums with original numbers and high quality artwork, making the discs something more than a bootleg, but not quite an independent release.
50 Cent was soon granted his own record label by Dr. Dre and released the album Get Rich or Die Tryin', Lloyd Banks was featured on the song "Don't Push Me". Soon after the group had established their own record label, G-Unit Records, G-Unit released their first official group album Beg for Mercy in November of 2003, which went on to be certified 2× Platinum. [6][7]
During August 2005, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and their entourage were traveling in a van, when the vehicle was pulled over after passing through a red light in midtown Manhattan.[8] Officers said they discovered a loaded handgun and another weapon in the van. Prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss the charges after an investigation determined that neither Lloyd Banks nor Young Buck were in possession of the weapons. Felony gun charges against Lloyd Banks and Young Buck were dropped on November 8, 2006.[9]
G-Unit's second album, T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight, was released in July 2008. Its lead single was "I Like the Way She Do It".
[edit] Feud with The Game
Lloyd Banks tries to keep the lowest profile in the G-Unit camp but feuds willingly to support his "crew". Feuds initially involving 50 Cent have caused him to engage in this Hip-Hop practice. The most well known of these feuds involving Lloyd Banks is the feud between him and The Game which started publicly after The Game left G-Unit under perturbed circumstances. The Game and Lloyd Banks were rumored to not get along during the Game's tenure in G-Unit. Lloyd Banks speculates that The Game had jealous insecurities involving the attention he received after the success of his debut album The Hunger for More and Banks winning a lyricist title. [10] After leaving the group, The Game released a series of diss songs against G Unit with most of them featuring Lloyd Banks' name in them. Lloyd Banks nationally replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle booth session. The Game quickly released a "diss" record called "SoundScan" where The Game pokes fun at Lloyd Banks' album Rotten Apple falling thirteen spots on the Billboard 200 chart and disappointing second week sales. Lloyd Banks replied on his mixtape Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues with a song called "Showtime (The Game's Over)". Lloyd Banks states that 50 Cent wrote half of The Game's first album The Documentary and pokes fun at The Game's suicidal thoughts.
[edit] Solo career
[edit] The Hunger for More (2004)
Lloyd Banks released his solo debut album The Hunger for More in June 2004. The first single was the summer smash hit "On Fire" which featured 50 Cent, however he was uncredited.
Banks explained the reasoning behind the album's title:
| “ | When I say The Hunger for More, it could be referring to more success. It could be more money. Or Respect. More power. More understanding. All those things lead up to that hunger for more, because my more isn't everybody else's more. I feel like I made it already, because I got already what everybody on the corners of the neighborhood I grew up in is striving to get.[11] | ” |
The album was a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reviews, it debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts with 433,000 copies sold in the first week. The album has since sold over two million copies and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. [12][13]
During an interview, Lloyd Banks commented on his first week sales:
| “ | That's the kind of debut that veteran artists have," says Banks. "That showed me that following 50's moves and studying the way that he played the game had put me in an incredible position. | ” |
Two other singles were also released from The Hunger For More, "I'm So Fly" & "Karma", the latter was a hit reaching number 17 on the Hot 100, number 9 on the R&B charts and number 6 on the rap charts. "I'm So Fly" received little attention only reaching 102 on the Hot 100 and peaking at 32 & 21 on the R&B and rap charts respectively.
[edit] Rotten Apple (2006)
The Big Withdraw was intended to be Lloyd Banks's second album. The album was leaked to the internet after Banks had a ménage à trois encounter with two women and left the CD album behind.[14] The leaked version of the album contained 23 tracks.[15]
During an interview, Lloyd Banks commented on the issue, he said:
It's truth to that rumor. That comes from me doing too much. I was just lost in my ways, fucked two women at one time. It's the little things you don't pay attention to. I had the CD in an actual DJ Whoo Kid mixtape cover. It was just a blank CD with just tracks. I got over 70, 80 tracks, so you can't get them all on one CD. So I might have had 14 tracks of the last two weeks or something like that. Next thing I know, [I] can't find the CD. I'm assuming it had to be from one of those situations when you got too much going on around you. Maybe I'mma just stick to one girl from now on. That's the only explanation that makes sense. Sticky fingers.[14]
Due to the leak, Lloyd Banks began work on Rotten Apple. "Rotten Apple" is a play on New York City's nickname "The Big Apple". It was released on October 10, 2006. The album debuted at #3, selling 143,000 copies in its first week. Rotten Apple was not considered as a commercial success because his debut album sold a significantly higher number of copies in its first week. He has released three singles from Rotten Apple: "Hands Up", "The Cake", and "Help".[16]
[edit] Departure from Interscope
[17] [18] He is still signed to G-Unit Records, which will release his new album.[18] Banks released a mixtape on his 27th birthday, which fell on April 30, 2009.[19]
[edit] Awards
In 2004, Banks was awarded 2004's Mixtape artist of the Year at the Mixtape Awards. Lloyd Banks commented on this award in an interview with AOL Sessions:
When I won the mixtape artist of the year 2004, after that I didn’t want to get away from it because that right there is where I got my satisfaction, from the fans giving me that award. It wasn’t like an award show when you got some big fat guys in suits on the podium that never even heard my album giving me a rating or judging what I deserve... that's actually my most proudest trophy right now.[20]
- BET Awards
- 2006, Best Collaboration ("Touch It [Remix]") with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX [Nominated]
- BET Hip-Hop Awards
- 2006, Hip-Hop Video of the Year ("Touch It [Remix]") with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX [Nominated]
- 2006, Best Collaboration ("Touch It [Remix]") with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX [Won]
- Grammy Awards
- 2005, Best Rap Solo Performance ("On Fire") [Nominated]
[edit] Discography
- The Hunger for More (2004)
- Rotten Apple (2006)
- Third studio album (2009)
[edit] References
- ^ a b admin. Lloyd Banks - Hunger For More. Sixshot. Accessed August 31, 2007.
- ^ a b c Monger, James Christopher (2006). "Lloyd Banks > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0cfoxqr0ldae~T1. Retrieved on 2009-06-06.
- ^ Alexander Fruchter Still Hungry. SoundSlam. Accessed September 24, 2007.
- ^ "August Martin High School". New York City Department of Education. http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Directory/school/?sid=1326. Retrieved on 2009-06-06.
- ^ a b Lloyd Banks. Askmen. Accessed July 29, 2007.
- ^ Lamy, Jonathan (December 18, 2003). 2003 Ends With a Bang!. RIAA. Accessed July 10, 2007.
- ^ 50 Cent Biography: Contemporary Musicians. eNotes. Accessed July 18, 2007.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2005-08-09). "Young Buck, Lloyd Banks Arrested For Gun Possession". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507266/20050809/young_buck.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-06-06.
- ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Reese Witherspoon & More". MTV News. 2006-11-08. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1545226/20061108/banks_lloyd.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-06-06.
- ^ Lloyd Banks Speculating On Game. Vibe. Accessed July 29, 2007.
- ^ Jonathan Cohen (May 19, 2004). Lloyd Banks Feeds The 'Hunger'. Billboard. Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ Winning, Brolin (October 3, 2006). Exclusive Interview with Lloyd Banks. MP3.com. Accessed July 31, 2007.
- ^ Searchable Database. RIAA. Accessed July 31, 2007.
- ^ a b Carl Chery (December 25, 2007). Best Of '06: Lloyd Banks Loses New Album During Threesome, Addresses Cassidy Beef. SOHH. Accessed July 29, 2007.
- ^ Ryan (September 24). Lloyd Banks' "The Big Withdraw leaks. RapSearch. Accessed August 25, 2007.
- ^ Lloyd Banks-Rotten Apple. Accessed July 29, 2007.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-05-08). "Lloyd Banks Says It 'Feels So Good' To Be Independent". Mixtape Daily (MTV News). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610998/20090508/banks_lloyd.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-06-06.
- ^ a b Kuperstein, Slava (2009-06-09). "Lloyd Banks: Hungry Like A Wolf". HipHopDX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/id.1356/title.lloyd-banks-hungry-like-a-wolf/p.all.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-05-01). "Lil Wayne Introduces Nicki Minaj". Mixtape Daily (MTV News). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610492/20090501/lil_wayne.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-06-16.
- ^ Lloyd Banks AOL Session-Comments on Mixtape Award In Q&A. AOL. Accessed July 29, 2007.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lloyd Banks |
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lloyd Banks |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
