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The Hunger for More
Background:
“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.” Lloyd Banks
A gifted hip hop artist who burst from the streets of New York,
Lloyd Banks rose to fame as a member of the prosperous rap group
G-Unit, which also comprises 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. Their studio
debut album, “Beg for Mercy” (2003), debuted at No. 20 on
the Billboard 200 and has sold four million units worldwide. The No.
1 mixtape artist has since shined on his own thanks largely to the
No. 1 hit “The Hunger for More” (2004), Banks' debut solo
album that has been certified platinum by RIAA. The second album
“Rotten Apple” was released in 2006, and Banks plans to
launch his third and new album, “Gang Green,” in early
2008.
Banks, who was shot twice in 2001, was arrested in 2005 after
officers discovered guns in a van Banks and his entourage drove. When
the incident happened, fellow G-Unit member Young Buck was in the
same vehicle as he was. The charges were dropped in November 2006
after an investigation found out that neither Banks nor Buck were in
ownership of the weapons.
Banks is currently a single. He is half of the African-American
extraction and half Puerto Rican.
Drop Out
Childhood and Family:
“My mom is Puerto Rican, my pops is black. It was kinda like
when I was with my mother's side of the family I was the bad seed, I
was the one who was most unlikely to succeed. And then when I was
with the black side of the family, I was the angel, because all my
uncles are career felons.” Lloyd Banks
Born on April 30, 1982, Christopher Lloyd, professionally known as
Lloyd Banks, was raised mainly by her Puerto Rican mother in South
Jamaica, Queens because his African-American father, who ran fishy
street business, spent much of his son's childhood in prison. His
young parents were unmarried when Lloyd was born and when his father
was a convict, Lloyd was responsible to care for his younger brothers
whenever his mother was out.
“I listened to Big Daddy Kane a lot, cause that's what my
pops listened to.” Lloyd Banks
No stranger to poverty and violence, young Lloyd discovered
poetry and rap as his salvation. Inspired by the work of such hip hop
artists as Slick Rick and Big Daddy Kane, he found the bravery and
rapped his rhymes on the streets of New York and along with his
childhood neighbors, 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, he later performed in
many city shows. At age 16, he dropped out of August Martin High
School to further pursue his interest in rhyming.
Gang Green
Career:
Lloyd Banks left his school at age 16 after finding the integrated
surroundings an impediment to his growing talent for rhyming. He
continued to hone his rhymes, but maintained to keep them as private
until one day he found the courage to show off his work in the street
of New York. Lured by good response from audience, Banks teamed up
with local producers and recorded a number of tracks for local
mixtapes. Shortly thereafter, he built a reputation as one of the
neighborhood's best unsigned rappers.
Banks' success attracted the attention of childhood friend and
then-competitor Tony Yayo (a.ka.Marvin Bernard), who along with
another childhood friend who rapped under the moniker 50 Cent, asked
Banks to perform together in a group, and G Unit was born. Through G
Unit, the trio soon put gangsta rap back on the forefront thanks to a
string of successful street albums which their produced with
avant-garde numbers and notable artwork. The success of G Unit was
further established when 50 Cent, who leads the group, signed a deal
with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records and released his first solo
debut, “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” (2003), which featured
Banks on the song “Don't Push Me.”
Later that same year on November, G Unit launched a first studio
album under their own record label, G-Unit Records, called “Beg
for Mercy.” Consisting of singles like “Poppin' Them
Thangs,” “My Buddy,” “Stunt 101,”
“Wanna Get To Know You” and “Smile,” the
album reached the Top 20 on Billboard's 200 and was a massive
commercial hit, selling two million copies in the U.S. alone and four
million internationally. The group followed the success by embarking
on their world tour. When the album was recorded, Yayo was jailed for
gun possession and was replaced by Young Buck for much of the
recording of “Beg For Mercy.” Yoyo rejoined the group in
the early 2004.
In June 2004, Banks eventually enjoyed success on his own with the
release of “The Hunger for More,” a solo album debut
featuring G-Unit members 50 Cent, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, and other
artists like Eminem, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. Recorded for G
Unit/Interscope Records, the album scorched through the charts and
landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,
and the United World Chart, and sold over 400,000 units in its first
week of release. Since then, it has sold more than two million pieces
worldwide and has received platinum certification from RIAA. Some
singles released from the album include the smash hit “On
Fire,” “I'm So Fly” and “Karma.”
Also in 2004, Banks won an award for Mixtape Artist of the Year at
the Mixtape Awards thanks to
his appearance on G Unit mixtapes and his own street mixtapes
“Money In The Bank” and “Mo Money In The Bank”
(both 2003). Commenting on this honor, he stated, “ 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.”
Banks released the sophomore album “Rotten Apple” two
years later on October 10, 2006 and it went on to earn mixed
reviews. The album peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's 200 and has sold
450,000 copies by June 2007. The first singles “The Cake”
and “Hands Up” featured guest performance from 50 Cent,
while the second single “Help” was produced by Ron Browz.
David Morris produced Banks' third single, “Iceman,”
which was released in January 2007.
“Gang Green,” Banks' third album, is expected to be
released in early 2008.
Awards:
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