December 22, 2006 @ 9:40 am

EXCLUSIVE: G Unit Week - 20 Questions with Lloyd Banks

John Kennedy

When he’s not blazing mixtapes with his witticisms (“That’s like shooting your free throws,” says the 2003 “Mixtape Artist of the Year”), the 24-year-old rapper keeps busy with promotions for his sophomore album and studio time with his G Unit brethren. Clearly, Banks hasn’t forgotten the tireless work ethic that first brought the Southside Queens, NY-based collective to prominence. Just a few months after the release of Banks’ Rotten Apple, Vibe.com tried the original G Unit member’s way with words, sending him queries ’til he turned blue in the face. Vibe.com: In honor of 50 Cent’s hit “21 Questions,” I’m going to hit you with a mix of 21 “finish the sentence,” word association, and random questions. Cool? 1. I never leave home without… Lloyd Banks: My sket a.k.a. my pistol. 2. The worst thing about being famous is… Banks: There’s no off switch. It’s on 24 hours. 3. The baddest chick in the game is… Banks: Melyssa Ford. 4. G Unit is… Banks: Hip Hop. 5. Rotten Apple... Banks: New York City. 6. George Bush… Banks: The boss. 7. How do you feel about George Bush’s performance as president? Banks: It’s crazy, man. I ain’t no politician, but at the same time, it’s out there. It’s just one big hustle. Somebody’s in charge and somebody wants to be in charge. That’s what it all boils down to. I can’t really speak too much on it, but that’s why he’s called the boss. If nobody knows what’s going on, he does. 8. What was it like working with Rakim on your album? Banks: Actually, I didn’t work with him in the same studio. I recorded my whole album in my house. In time, you start to hear records a lot—none of these features were forced. These were things that happened from me listening to the album over and over and just imagining what it would sound like with somebody on it. That’s kind of how it came about. And it’s cool to have a stamp from somebody who was one of my main influences as I was coming up, alongside Slick Rick and Big Daddy Kane. 9. Did you hear about Freddie Foxx recently dissing Ra on a track? Banks: Wow. That’s on him. I don’t know where it stems from; it’s way before my time. But I got respect for both of them guys. 10. Flavor Flav… Banks: Legend. It’s crazy, I met Flav a few years ago in Barcelona. I had made a reference to his clock [in the mixtape track “G- Unit Anthem”]. I seen him in Barcelona and he was like, “Yo, man, that shit had my name ringing off in the cells.” Years later, he’s got the biggest show ever on VH1. 11. What was it like appearing on “Flavor of Love 2?” Banks: The show was hilarious. It’s funny when you’re watching it on TV but when you’re there it’s even more funny because you’re imagining whoever’s at home watching. You’re there to see that it really goes on like this and these bitches are really psycho. 12. Would you ever have your own show like that? Banks: We’ll see in the real near future. I actually got some things on the table working out with Playboy and if it all goes right then you’ll be seeing something like that in the future. 13. What would you call the show? Banks: I’d probably call it “My House.” 14. What’s the most unexpected thing that someone would find in your CD collection or on your iPod? Banks: I don’t know; that’s a hard one. My CD collection is down to the minimum. When I was little, I used to have a lot of CDs. When I started making music I really stopped. I end up buying the same CDs over. I got like three Life After Death’s (Notorious B.I.G.), Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z), Tupac, a lot of albums. I don’t really go out and buy a lot of new albums. 15. Keeping it to the New York City classics? Banks: Yeah, that’s what I listen to when I’m in my music mode. I don’t got no guilty pleasures or no shit like that. I like a lot of records though. I like [Gnarls Barkley’s] “Crazy” record, that’d probably be something they wouldn’t expect. But a lot of people like that record and they’re just about platinum, so apparently millions of people like it. [Ed Note: At press time, Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere sold 1,042,100 units in the United States, according to Soundscan.] 16. When was the last time that you were star struck? Banks: That’s just one of those things that my personality wouldn’t allow. I never was that kind of dude. I think I just felt like I wanted to be something so much that I was thinking about how I’m going to get to his level as opposed to star struck, [when] a lot of the time you can’t even imagine how he got there. And I know how he got there. 17. If you could date any celebrity, who would it be? Banks: Halle Berry. 18. Other than G Unit... Banks: You do have your T.I.’s and your Jeezy’s and your Outkasts. 19. If you were a superhero, what powers would you have? Banks: The biggest ears. Not literally, but I want to be able to hear everything. That’s what I do, that’s how I make my money. So if I could hear that close to the ground, I’d know what’s coming next. 20. Is there anything that you know now that you wish you would’ve known when you first got into the music industry? Banks: A lot of the things that were going through my head, they came to light so I can’t really say there was nothing that I didn’t know. I knew there was the possibility as far as niggas will change on you. If a nigga from your hood is getting drafted to the NBA and he made number one, everybody’s happy for him because at the same time, they’re imagining where they can end up in his situation. Like, “I’ll just be the nigga that does this.” Once it goes on and then a year goes by, two years, and you don’t find your spot, it turns into hatred. I can say I really had an idea of what could happen; if I had the option, I would’ve kept my circle smaller. 21. The last question actually comes from Young Buck. He asks: “Why don’t you have any kids yet?” Banks: [Laughs] See these niggas be playing, man. I ain’t got no girl. And that ain’t something that you rush. It’s a blessing. And I love their daughters like they’re my own. I wouldn’t feel bitter if I didn’t have any kids like that; I’m 24 years old. At the end of the day, I got two brothers that I raised. They might as well be my damn kids. 50 says all the time, “You gotta know this bitch for five years before you even think about something like that,” you know what I’m saying? “Why I ain’t got no kids,”—let me ask that nigga a question…

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Article tags: 50 Cent, G Unit, Lloyd Banks, Rotten Apple 

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