Lloyd Banks Biography
Summary
"Christopher Charles Lloyd" (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name, "Lloyd Banks", is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Born in Queens, he dropped out of high school and joined G-Unit in 2003 with fellow rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck. G-Unit released two albums, "Beg for Mercy" in 2003 and "T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)" in 2008. Banks released his first solo album "The Hunger for More" in 2004 with the top ten single 'On Fire'. He followed with "Rotten Apple" in 2006 and left Interscope Records in 2009.
Early life
Lloyd was born in South Jamaica, Queens to a Puerto Rican mother and African American father. His father spent most of Lloyd's childhood in prison, leaving his mother to raise him and his two siblings, Anthony and Damion. Lloyd attended August Martin High School but dropped out at age 16. For his stage name, he took his great, great grandfather's name, 'Banks', which was passed on by his uncles who also shared it. Banks was shot twice in September 2001, by what is believed to be stray gunfire in his neighborhood.
Career with G-Unit
Tony Yayo, being an older and more experienced rapper, joined 50 Cent on the Nas Promo Tour, the Cash Money Tour and the Ruff Ryders Tour. As Banks remained at home waiting for 50 and Yayo to return, he started rapping around the neighborhood to further increase his buzz on the streets. He then hooked up with neighborhood producers and made tracks for local mixtapes. Lloyd Banks has a renowned reputation on the mixtape scene.
G-Unit was founded when childhood friends, Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo decided to make a group with each other. They met Young Buck when Cash Money group came to New York and 50 Cent heard Young Buck rapping. After 50 Cent signed his contract with Aftermath Entertainment they took Young Buck in the group and signed him. Tony Yayo was later sent to prison on weapons charges.
Fronted by 50 Cent, G-Unit quickly redefined the urban music industry back to gangsta rap. They produced a series of mixtape albums with original numbers and high quality artwork, making the discs something more than a bootleg, but not quite an independent release.
50 Cent was soon granted his own record label by Dr. Dre and released the album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", Lloyd Banks was featured on the song 'Don't Push Me'. Soon after the group had established their own record label, G-Unit Records, G-Unit released their first official group album "Beg for Mercy" in November of 2003, which went on to be certified 2× Platinum.
During August 2005, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and their entourage were traveling in a van, when the vehicle was pulled over after passing through a red light in midtown Manhattan. Officers said they discovered a loaded handgun and another weapon in the van. Prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss the charges after an investigation determined that neither Lloyd Banks nor Young Buck were in possession of the weapons. Felony gun charges against Lloyd Banks and Young Buck were dropped on November 8, 2006.
G-Unit's second album, "T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight", was released in July 2008. Its lead single was 'I Like the Way She Do It'.
Feud with The Game
The most well known feud involving Lloyd Banks is the feud between him and The Game which started publicly after The Game left G-Unit under perturbed circumstances. The Game and Lloyd Banks were rumored to not get along during The Game's tenure in G-Unit. Lloyd Banks speculates that The Game had jealous insecurities involving the attention he received after the success of his debut album "The Hunger for More" and Banks winning a lyricist title. After leaving the group, The Game released a series of diss songs against G Unit with most of them featuring Lloyd Banks' name in them. Lloyd Banks nationally replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle booth session. The Game quickly released a 'diss' record called 'SoundScan' where The Game pokes fun at Lloyd Banks' album "Rotten Apple" falling thirteen spots on the "Billboard" 200 chart and disappointing second week sales. Lloyd Banks replied on his mixtape "Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues" with a song called 'Showtime (The Game's Over)'. Lloyd Banks states that 50 Cent wrote half of The Game's first album "The Documentary" and pokes fun at The Game's suicidal thoughts.
Solo career
"The Hunger for More" (2004)
Lloyd Banks released his solo debut album "The Hunger for More" in June 2004. The first single was the summer smash hit 'On Fire' which featured 50 Cent, however he was uncredited.
Banks explained the reasoning behind the album's title:
The album was a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reviews, it debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts with 433,000 copies sold in the first week. The album has since sold over two million copies and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
During an interview, Lloyd Banks commented on his first week sales:
Two other singles were also released from "The Hunger For More", 'I'm So Fly' & 'Karma', the latter was a hit reaching number 17 on the Hot 100, number 9 on the R&B charts and number 6 on the rap charts. 'I'm So Fly' received little attention only reaching 102 on the Hot 100 and peaking at 32 & 21 on the R&B and rap charts respectively.
"Rotten Apple" (2006)
"The Big Withdraw" was intended to be Lloyd Banks's second album. The album was leaked to the internet after Banks had a ménage à trois encounter with two women and left the CD album behind. The leaked version of the album contained 23 tracks.
During an interview, Lloyd Banks commented on the issue, he said:
Due to the leak, Lloyd Banks began work on "Rotten Apple". 'Rotten Apple' is a play on New York City's nickname 'The Big Apple'. It was released on October 10, 2006. The album debuted at #3, selling 143,000 copies in its first week. "Rotten Apple" was not considered as a commercial success because his debut album sold a significantly higher number of copies in its first week. He has released three singles from "Rotten Apple": 'Hands Up', 'The Cake', and 'Help'.
Departure from Interscope
Banks left Interscope Records in 2009.
He is still signed to G-Unit Records, which will release his new album. Banks released a mixtape on his 27th birthday, which fell on April 30, 2009; it included the track 'Officer Down' that dissed rapper Rick Ross.
Awards
In 2004, Banks was awarded 2004's Mixtape artist of the Year at the Mixtape Awards. Lloyd Banks commented on this award in an interview with AOL Sessions:
BET Awards
*2006, Best Collaboration ('Touch It Remix') with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX Nominated
BET Hip-Hop Awards
*2006, Hip-Hop Video of the Year ('Touch It Remix') with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX Nominated
*"2006, Best Collaboration ('Touch It Remix') with Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Papoose, & DMX Won"
Grammy Awards
*2005, Best Rap Solo Performance ('On Fire') Nominated
Discography
"The Hunger for More" (2004)
"Rotten Apple" (2006)
Third studio album (2009)
External links
(Lloyd Banks Official website)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Lloyd Banks.
