Lloyd Banks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lloyd Banks | ||
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| Image:Lbanks.jpg |
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| Background information | ||
| Also known as | The Boy Wonder The Rap LeBron James Blue Hefner Gang Green New Diamonds The Punchline Boy[1] |
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| Born | April 30, 1982 (age 24) New Carrollton, Maryland, USA  |
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| Origin | Jamaica, Queens, New York |
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| Genre(s) | Hardcore Rap East Coast Rap |
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| Occupation(s) | Rap Artist | |
| Years active | 1999 - present | |
| Label(s) | G-Unit/Interscope Records/Sha Money Management | |
| Associated acts |
G-Unit Shady |
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| Website | LloydBanks.com MySpace Lloyd Banks |
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Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982 in New Carrollton, Maryland), better known as Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and is a member of G-Unit.
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Biography
Early Life
Lloyd was born in New Carrollton, Maryland. His mother is Puerto Rican and his father was African American. His mother was 17 when she had him, his parents were young and never married. His father spent most of Banks' childhood in prison. This left Banks' mother to raise him and his siblings alone. Young Christopher Lloyd had the responsibility of taking care of his younger brothers when his mother went out.[2]
Banks moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York when he was 6. He started writing something resembling poetry at a young age and it started taking form. Eventually, he got the courage one day and rapped his rhymes on the streets of Jamaica, Queens. People's reaction to it stunned him. He kept freestyling and participating in local battles, earning a name for himself as a local MC.
Lloyd Banks grew up around the corner from 50 Cent and Tony Yayo so they all would usually rap together and starred in a lot of city shows. Banks attended August Martin High School in Queens, New York. Even when he was in school, instead of doing his school work he would write down everything that came to mind. Even when he wasn't rapping he would write. It was something he did in his spare time. He could not flourish lyrically in a structured school environment, so he dropped out before he turned 16.
He took his great, great grandfather's name -- Banks -- passed on by his uncles who also shared it.
Yayo, being an older and more experienced MC, went on the road with 50 Cent on the Nas promo tour\the Cash Money/Ruff Ryders Tour. As Banks remained at home waiting for 50 and Yayo to return, he started rapping around the neighborhood to create a buzz for himself. He then hooked up with neighborhood producers and made tracks for local mixtapes. Lloyd Banks has a well-built reputation on the underground mixtape scene.[3]
Banks was shot twice in September 2001, by what's believed to be stray gunfire in his neighborhood.[4]
G-Unit
G-Unit was founded when Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Bang Em Smurf, and Domination 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 got his contract with Shady/Aftermath they took Buck in the group and signed him. Domination and Bang Em Smurf left the group because of a personal feud with 50 Cent involving bail money for Bang Em Smurf's incarceration. Tony Yayo was 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.
Debut Album
50 Cent was soon signed to Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records and released the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin, which Banks was featured on the song "Don't Push Me". Lloyd Banks then became one of the first artist signed to Aftermath subsidiary G-Unit. G Unit released their first official group album Beg For Mercy in November of 2003, which remained in the top 20 of the Billboard 2000 after four months on the charts.
In 2003, Banks was anointed 2003's Mixtape Artist of the Year at the Mixtape Awards due to his appearance on G-Unit mixtapes as well as his own Money in the Bank series. Though these successes allowed Lloyd Banks to tour the world multiple times over, one accomplishment means a bit more than all the rest.
Lloyd Banks released his solo debut album The Hunger For More in June of 2004. Lloyd Banks released the summer smash hit On Fire featuring 50 Cent to help his album sell over 433,000 its first week and eventually selling over 2.6 million records in the US and 4 million worldwide.
In August 2005, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and their entourage were riding in a van, when the vehicle was pulled over after running 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.
Sophomore Album
In October of 2005 Banks rumored sophomore album The Big Withdraw was leaked on to the streets which featured some tracks produced by Scott Storch and tracks featuring 50 Cent. Lloyd Banks left it at a women's house after they had a threesome with another woman. She then sold it to a DJ who turned it into a mixtape. Banks had to scratch all the tracks from that album and begin work on a new sophomore album.
Lloyd Banks' sophomore album is titled Rotten Apple. The Timbaland-produced track "My House" was thought to be the first single, but Banks confirmed it was not and he sold it to the movie Little Man. "Rotten Apple" is a play on New York City's nickname "The Big Apple." Rotten Apple was released on October 10, 2006. The album debuted at #3, selling 143,000 copies in its first week. It has now sold more than 300,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Rotten Apple wasn't considered as a commercial success due to the fact that his debut album sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week. He has released three singles from Rotten Apple: "Hands Up," "The Cake,"and "Help."[5]
Controversy
The Game
Banks tries to keep the lowest profile in the G Unit Camp but feuds initially involving 50 cent has caused him to engage in this hip hop practice. The most well known of these feuds involving Lloyd Banks is the feud between him and The Game which started publically 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 first album The Hunger for More and Banks winning a lyricist title.[1]. 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. Banks nationally replied to the Game on a Rap City Freestyle. The Game quickly released a diss record called Soundscan where The Game pokes fun at Lloyd Banks' Album Rotten Apple falling 13 spots on the Billboard chart and disappointing second week sales, even though The Game did not have an album out. Banks replied on his mixtape Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 5 with a song called "Showtime (The Games Over)". Lloyd Banks states that 50 cent wrote half of The Game's first album The Documentary and he pokes fun at The Games' suicidal thoughts at the end of the track.
Discography
Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
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The Hunger For More
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Rotten Apple
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Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[8] | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot Rap Tracks | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Pop 100 | Hot Ringtones | |||
| 2004 | "South Side Story" |
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The Hunger For More |
| 2004 | "On Fire" |
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The Hunger For More |
| 2004 | "I'm So Fly" |
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The Hunger For More |
| 2005 | "Karma" (featuring Avant) |
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The Hunger For More |
| 2006 | "The Cake" (featuring 50 cent) |
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Rotten Apple |
| 2006 | "Hands Up" (featuring 50 Cent) |
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Rotten Apple |
| 2006 | "Help" (featuring Keri Hilson) |
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Rotten Apple |
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1544017/bio
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1544017/bio
- ^ http://www.askmen.com/men/entertainment_150/165c_lloyd_banks.html
- ^ http://www.askmen.com/men/entertainment_150/165c_lloyd_banks.html
- ^ http://www.rapsearch.com/news/index.php?itemid=1323
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=511241&model.vnuAlbumId=797261
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=511241&model.vnuAlbumId=797261
- ^ Album Chart History - Lloyd Banks Billboard.com
External links
- Official Website
- Official Site of G-Unit Records
- Official Site of Interscope Records
- Lloyd Banks at MySpace
- Lloyd Banks at the Internet Movie Database
- Lloyd Banks at All Music Guide
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Banks, Lloyd |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lloyd, Christopher Charles |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | East Coast rapper. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 30, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baltimore, Maryland |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
| Lloyd Banks |
|---|
| Studio albums |
| The Hunger For More | Rotten Apple |
| Collaboration albums |
| Beg For Mercy |
| Unreleased albums |
| The Big Withdraw |
| Mixtapes |
| Money in the Bank | Mo Money in the Bank Pt 2 | Mo Money in the Bank Pt 3 Cashing In | Mo Money in the Bank Pt 4 Gang Green Season Starts Now | Mo Money in the Bank Pt 5 The Final Chapter Gang Green Season Continues |
| Singles |
| South Side Story | On Fire | I'm So Fly | Karma | The Cake | Hands Up | Help |
| Collaborated singles |
| Stunt 101 | Poppin' Them Thangs | Smile | Wanna Get To Know You |
| See also |
| G-Unit (50 Cent | Tony Yayo | Young Buck) | Interscope Records | G-Unit vs. The Game | G-Unit Records |
Categories: Semi-protected | G-Unit Records artists | 1982 births | Born in the Year of the Dog | African American musicians | American rappers | Puerto Rican-Americans | Puerto Rican rappers | G-Unit members | Living people | People from Maryland | Hispanic Americans | People from Queens | Rappers known by pseudonyms | Rhythmic contemporary musicians | Freestyle rappers
