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Lloyd Banks Busting Out of G-Unit
Especially for Lloyd Banks. Born Christopher Lloyd, he ended up raising his little brothers when he was growing up himself. That's because his mother was forced to raise him and his brothers on her own after his father was sent to prison. But if there is one good thing that could come out of his upbringing was that Lloyd Banks was on the right streets when it came to hip hop and freestyle.
He found that he had natural poetic and musical abilities, and back in Queens, you could use words and rhymes to battle folks on the corners of your neighborhood, instead of using guns. How is that for poetry?
Left Behind at First
But as good as Lloyd Banks lyrics were, when 50 Cent started hitting it big and going on tour with big names in the industry, Lloyd Banks was not included. Tony Yayo got to go, for instance, on the Ruff Ryders TOurt, and the Nas Promo Tour. Lloyd Banks stayed back in the neighborhood.
But he didn't just sit on his hands. Lloyd Banks lyrics quickly started getting a reputation because the man was out there promoting himself, rapping on the streets and putting out mixes. When 50 Cent made it really big, and got the record deal with Dr. Dre and his first big album "Get Rich or Die Tryin" came out, Lloyd Banks was right there. You can listen to Lloyd Banks on the 50 Cent single "Don't Push Me."
Then later in 2003, the G-Unit released an album as a group called "Beg For Mercy." That went global, selling as many copies as needed to get at least double platinum. The stage was set for Lloyd Banks to go solo.
The Lloyd Banks Hunger
So when did Lloyd Banks finally step out of the shadow of 50 Cent and the G-Unit? I don't know if I'd go that far, but Lloyd Banks did get his break in 2004 when the first Lloyd Banks album came out. It was called "The Hunger for More," and more he got. The album was number one, sold more than 400,000 in the first week alone, and gas since gone platinum at least once over. The big song of the record was "On Fire," which guest starred (who else?) 50 Cent.
The second Lloyd Banks record came out in 2006, called "Rotten Album." An interesting story came out around the release of the album, but before I start to tell it, put your kiddies to bed. The reason? The "Rotten Apple" was leaked early on the Internet after Lloyd Banks left a recording of it behind in a room where he had just had a threesome with two girls. The girls go the record and blasted it on the Internet!
Still, the album went out commercially and got up to number 16. "Gang Green" is the 2008 Lloyd Banks record. Let's see if he can keep his pants on for this one, or at least remember not to leave a copy of it in the room after he's finished.
