June 22, 2006 @ 3:58 pm

Lloyd Banks: Bet The Bank on It

by: Richard Cruz

As 1/3 of the original G-Unit makeup, Lloyd Banks has been along for the crew’s entire roller coaster ride towards hip hop domination. The 24-year-old lyricist’s success sometimes has been overshadowed by the popularity of those around him, but after a successful platinum debut, he is ready to step into the spotlight hard-body and bring his style to the forefront.

Heralding from the same South Jamaica streets that bred 50 Cent, Banks is no stranger to hardship, and has had his share of pain (i.e. a shootout at a barbecue he attended Memorial Day weekend caused the death of his friend the morning of this interview), but somehow he continues to balance the scales with regards to his former life and his life as a rap star.

VIBE.com recently kicked it with Banks and discussed his new album, his attitude towards the competition (and you know who we mean), and what it means to be a lyrical rapper in the age of snap, crunk and pop.

Vibe Online: One of my favorite lines of yours [off Alchemist’s “Bangers”] is 'its getting extremely hard for the man to roam/with little kids taking your picture on they camera phone.' Has it really gotten to the point where the fame is uncomfortable?

Lloyd Banks: It’s crazy you ask that. I was just talking to someone about that same situation. I had to adapt, and [realize that] even if I’m standing in front of my house, I’m still Lloyd Banks; if the mailman comes by and asks for an autograph, you have to be prepared to sign that autograph. The limelight doesn’t shut off; it’s a part of my lifestyle. I’m a bitter person, and [those things] never left me, but I have to keep in consideration where I’m at now. I’ve seen Rakim and LL Cool J growing up. New York City breeds stars, man!

Seems like you saw a lot of rappers while you were coming up.

Lloyd Banks: I saw Nas the night that Tupac died in 1996, rest in peace. It was a back to school concert at Nassau Coliseum. I was with my mother that night, and I told her, “mom, that’s going to be me up there in a few years”. The funny thing is, the first major concert I did in New York was in Nassau Coliseum, and I put her in the same spot where we were the first time. I keep that in mind when I’m out there…Just eat a piece of humble pie, know what I’m sayin’?

Out of all the members of your crew, you seem to maintain the lowest profile, and have avoided most of the industry rivalries that seem to attract others around you. How's that possible?

right Lloyd Banks: To be honest with you, I’ve never been the battle rap type. I feel that there isn’t any competition, and any issues [raised] aren’t with me, they’re with 50, for whatever reasons they had. The whole situation with Game and his attitude towards me were caused by his insecurities. I was the new guy from New York City who was given the lyricist title, and at the end of the day, he wanted to be respected as that, a lyricist, rather than a character in hip hop. Little things like that were causing friction.
And [some of these other dudes] were reaching. I never shook Sheek Louch’s hand, I never shook Styles P’s hand, I never shook Fat Joe’s hand. I don’t know those niggas, so when they’re saying something, I’m thinking about it negative the whole way. I’m thinking, 'these niggas are taking for granted what we have going for us.'
This is bigger than music for me, this is how I provide for myself. I don’t have a plan B. I can’t catch like Jerry Rice. When I make my music, it’s bigger than [them] and I don’t want them in my legacy. My story starts in South Jamaica, Queens, Guy R. Brewer Blvd., and I don’t want to put them niggas in my story; I don’t feel like they’re worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been off the mixtape market, where I can actually dominate niggas, and I will be crushing niggas on my mixtape. But It doesn’t make sense crushing them live because I don’t got to let people in Japan know [of the beef], because they don’t even know them. I don’t want to make them a worldwide situation. I’m going to squash them in New York City.

Is that how you feel about hip hop right now: that there are more characters as opposed to lyricists?

Lloyd Banks: Yea, there are more characters and personalities as opposed to lyricists. If you send a nigga through the hood, just take a look at the little kids: do they see you as a character, or do those kids emulate you already? Do they see you and be like, 'hey! He’s doing that video and that dance!' or are they like 'I want to be like 50 Cent, I want to be like Jay-Z'? And [the latter] is where I want to be. I want to inspire other artists because when I’m in the studio, I give it my all. Yeah, I can [go the gangsta route] and go upside a niggas head just as fast as you can! But at the end of the day, when all that tough talk and gangsta shit is out of the way, I’m still talented.

Tell me about Rotten Apple.

Lloyd Banks: I tried to capture mixtape verses on album songs. I want it so that when these records come, like the record I have with Rakim called ‘You Know the Deal’, that its bigger than just a record. Hip hop is a music tornado: it starts somewhere and who knows where its going to end up. There’s a time and place for everything, bottom line. I just hope that when it comes back to [be centered around] lyricists, I get acknowledged for that.

Stylistically and musically, is it different from the first album?

Lloyd Banks: I want to give the good side and the bad side, because I’d be lying if I made [New York City] seem that it was all big lights and big buildings. As far as production, I have Havoc, Eminem, Nick Speed, Timbaland and a lot of new producers too. On the production side, it’s not going to sound like the last one because it’s really all new production.
As far as features, I got Scarface, 8Ball, Rakim, and the whole G-Unit, obviously, and the record’s not done yet, the door isn’t closed. I’m supposed to fly out and work with Timbaland and Jazze Pha again, so we’ll see.

What are your thoughts on the entire hip hop genre right now? If you can change a couple of things, what would they be?

Lloyd Banks: There’s only so many things you can change, but definitely the misconception that [G-Unit] are troublemakers and that’s all we know. However, people ask, ‘can [the beef] every be squashed]?’ and the way I look at it is like ‘no, because someone is lying!’ A lot of things that carry on in hip hop are supposed to be from the street, but when you react that way [street-like], then we're the troublemakers! We don’t want to make amends and add on to the bullshit in hip hop. I’m not shaking hands with none of them niggas: not Game, not Fat Joe, not Jadakiss. I don’t want to be friends, I don’t want to make amends, I don’t wanna know ya niggas! That’s my attitude, I’m from the street, I got trust issues. I don’t need them in my book.

Wouldn’t it be better for business for everyone to get along? I mean the South is strong because its artists are cohesive. And the Nas and Jigga thing apparently worked out well.

Lloyd Banks: I don’t trust niggas on any level! That’s like saying there aren’t any snitches and that every policeman is a good cop! There’s snakes in everybody’s grass: snakes in the projects’ grass - if there is any grass (laughs) - and snakes in the corporate world. You have to protect yourself from that. And I’m not going to let anyone use that industry shit to substitute principles that they were supposed to have soaked in from the street. You dis me, I dis you. That’s the emblem. I take it that serious. They must have a plan B, because I don’t have one. We’re in a whole different league. My nigga got murdered this morning and I’m sitting here talking to you now. I’ve been in the hood for 21 years; it’s hard to erase all that in three years of success. They need to remember that when they make these [dis] records, because if you say ‘fuck me’, I’m going to smack the shit out of you a year from now, even two or three years from now! These dudes are getting Wrestlemania confused with streets.

Would you like to address the rumors that your album, Blue Heffner, was bootlegged because some chick stole it from you? Is that true?

Lloyd Banks: Man, they sent a double-o-EIGHT bitch at me (laughs)! You know what though? Its my own fault for being that careless. The music were just records that overlapped from my first album. Even with Rotten Apple coming to the end, I still have about 40 records that won’t end up on the album; I don’t stop recording. I was being careless, but that’s what happens when you have more than one girl in the room at one time. At the same time, everything happens for a reason, and it keeps you on your toes.

After appearing on the "Rompe" remix, is that a genre that you’re going to experiment a little bit more with in the near future?

Lloyd Banks: Daddy Yankee is a household name, and it was a great opportunity. I wanted to show my versatility and that I don’t have to stick to one thing. I’m actually about to do a couple of performances with him. Daddy Yankee is big, he’s sold out Madison Square Garden. What’s going on with reggaetón is no different from the Down South movement: it starts off with something and ends up as something big, so I tip my hat to them. I’m not Noreaga and going that far with it, but if its good, I’ll do it regardless of what culture it is.

On a more serious note - and you can decline to answer - there have been rumors circulating about Yayo>’s involvement in the fatal shooting of Israel Ramirez during the 'Touch It (Remix)' video shoot. Was it awkward for you to remain in the video after all that happened?

Lloyd Banks: Well, my relationship with Busta enabled me to do that [remix] in the first place. It was an unfortunate act, but I’m not going to exclude myself from the situation; I participated in it from the get-go so I have to stick with that. I told Busta that the night I heard the record, I thought it was hot and it was my intention to do the record before he asked me to. At the end of the day, the ‘Touch It (Remix)’ was a good record.

It was a great record, one of those ‘Banned From TV’ records!

Lloyd Banks: Yeah, yeah. Busta’s vision was real good on the record, bringing artists together like that. There are so many artists in New York that they could have four of those records. But all those motherfuckers aren’t dropping good material.

Who are you feeling right now, outside of your camp?

Lloyd Banks: I don’t want to sound biased, but I look for the lyricists, and right now I just don’t hear that. But I like different kinds of music: I like the Down South because there are a lot of good names. I’m not approving ALL of the music, the same way I don’t approve all the music coming out of New York City, but you do have your T.I.’s and your Jeezy’s and your Outkasts: a lot of household names that have changed people’s perception.
When I watch videos and shit, I look for the positive. It’s real easy to spot the negative, but I look for the positive. Subconsciously, little things come into [an artist’s] music, man, from R&B to hip hop: they all influence the way you make your next record. As far as individuals [I’m feeling]... nah, I can’t do that in New York City. I’m hoping to bring that this summer, to be that number one nigga in the barbershop.

Making songs with Rakim, you might be well on your way.

Lloyd Banks: And that’s important for the younger generation. My little brother might not know who Rakim is, but now he’s gonna know.

Do you feel that rappers in your generation are the modern-day Rakims, Kanes, and Slick Ricks?

Lloyd Banks: You know what, it’s crazy because I had a lot of influences when I was coming up. I looked up to the Slick Ricks and the Big Daddy Kanes, and of course Biggie Smalls, but I’m hip hop and when you hear my album, that’s what you get. All the Wrestlemania and controversy aside, there’s pure talent there, and I like to look at myself as hip hop. I’m not a backpack rapper or anything like that, but I get respect from everybody and that’s how I want to keep it.

Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

Article tags: Lloyd Banks, Bet The Bank On It, G-Unit, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Olivia, Rotten Apple, Lloyd Banks And Game, Game Beef, Israel Ramirez Shooting, On My New York Shit, Busta Rhymes 

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