BIO

We live in the era of the music protégé and, nearly no other protégé has ever achieved close to the commercial success that Lloyd Banks has, seeing two million sales with his debut, The Hunger For More. On the strength of massive hits like the Eminem produced “On Fire” and the Timbaland helmed “Karma,” Banks was able to establish himself as star with staying power independent of his label head and mentor 50 Cent.

However, it’s with his sophomore release, The Rotten Apple, that Banks not only continues to shine but give insight on who he is, not only as a rapper, but Banks, the man. “My last album was great but I think that I need to let people know more about me, to make that connection,” he says. “That’s why with this album I focused on my punch lines and my overall content.” Indeed, it was Banks’ punch lines which first earned him acclaim on the New York mixtape scene. Verses on street classics like “Banks Workout” and “Bad News” heralded him as the rapper to beat. 50 wrote the hooks that the whole world sung, but it was Banks who blew away the competition with lines like, “It could get uglier than the Master P sneakers.” His contributions to unforgettable mixtapes like “50 Cent Is the Future” and “No Mercy, No Fear” earned him an undeniable street buzz as G-Unit’s most lyrical soldier.

Banks further solidified his standing as a member of the group, G-Unit, with it’s stellar debut of Beg For Mercy. In fact, he secured the third single, “Smile” from the aforementioned G-Unit release. “Me, 50, and Yayo were just a zone,” he says. “When we were growing up together we always knew we would make it big in the music industry. We proved it with all the albums we’ve sold in such a short time as a unit.” 

Around the same time Banks was rewarded for his aural assaults when he won “Mixtape Artist of The Year” in 2004 at Justo’s Mixtape awards. “That right there is the most important plaque that I have in my whole house,” he says. “No matter what happens or how big I get, winning that award was the greatest personal moment for me.”

But however great that moment was, it couldn’t prepare Banks for the feeling of having the #1 album in America, with over 450,000 units sold in the first week of The Hunger For More. “That’s the kind of debut that veteran artists have,” says Banks. The album would go on to yield hit after hit solidifying Banks as a bonafide star.

After two years of world-wide touring on the Anger Management tour and recording songs for the double platinum soundtrack to the blockbuster, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Banks is back at it and ready to push the envelope with his sophomore album. “With this album, I bring back the hunger that I had on those early mixtapes,” he says. “This is all about returning to my roots because that’s what got me here.” And that is exactly what he does on track after track of The Rotten Apple. “I named the CD The Rotten Apple because I thought I should let my fans to know that NY is not just skyscrapers and bright lights,” he says. “I actually wanted to call the record Shitty City, ‘cause that’s where I really was in my thought process, but I couldn’t curse in the title, so that was that.” 

And though his punch lines are certainly fierce what’s most breath taking about his latest work is flow. Songs like his new single, produced by Eminem, “Hands Up,” showcase a new versatility in Banks’ arsenal. As he moves slyly over the percussion he works in a rhythmic and seductive melody—not to mention laugh out loud punch lines like “I wouldn’t buy a chick a pump who got asthma.” Likewise, his gritty street single, “Cake,” with its 50 Cent assist, finds Banks breaking new ground lyrically over a brilliant chipmunk soul beat. And his slick collaboration with super-producer Timbaland, “My House,” finds the G-Unit captain mining classic the classic Jungle Brothers track, “I’ll House You,” for it’s hook.

“I can’t wait for the streets to get The Rotten Apple,” he says of the new opus which features production by Havoc, of Mobb Deep, JR Rotem, and the aforementioned hit makes, as well as guest spots from 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Mobb Deep, Rakim, 8 Ball and MJG, and Scarface. “’Cause I’ve put so much into writing this one, it’s unbelievable. I’ve made so many records for this album and cut it down to just the real heat.” If that’s not money in the Banks, what is?

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