Lloyd Banks Interview (Pt. 1): Talks 'HFM2,' Hip-Hop & Making History

Engaged in rhyme since the age of ten, Lloyd Banks' lyrics have been transfixed with depth, and his business-acumen has adapted to hip-hop's constant change. The aloof expression that disguises Lloyd Banks exterior is unable to hide the passion that's embedded into his music. Being self-reliant and remaining self-assured are amongst the many traits that have propelled this G-Unit soldier to stardom. An ambition to earn a spot among hip-hop's elite, and an ingrained humility for the art, are the sustaining factors that nourish Lloyd Banks' voracious appetite.

In the first half of this exclusive BallerStatus interview, Banks explains his intricate ideas on HFM 2 (Hunger For More 2), on hip-hop, and on making history.

BallerStatus.com: The Hunger For More 2 drops on November 22nd. Given that six years have elapsed since your debut, how were you able to channel your creativity in order to ensure that this album complements the original and has a cohesive sound?

Lloyd Banks: Before anybody else, I know the significance and the importance of the whole situation leading into this album. You got your whole life to make your first album. But, the fact is, you can't get a whole album in 14 songs. With that being said, I felt that it was necessary, considering the way that everything has been going, as far as my career, and with the whole G-Unit. I felt like coming back with this album with the success of "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" ... it just had tremendous similarities. I was recording a lot of music on the road; I was making a lot of music on the road.

The whole Hunger For More, the first album, was recorded, like on a tour bus [and] in different countries. For me, being on tour was an advantage because I saw a lot of different things when I was writing. So, with those similarities alone with the success of "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" was kinda like, "Woah!" Not too many artists have the chance to have an impact when they first come into the come into the game, let alone later on down the line, when it's five or six years later and having the ability to regenerate energy. This album is more than just an album. It proves that I passed the test of time. I know what I'm going up against. So, I studied the album. I perform the album all the time. I know the pieces that I need. With the pieces that I can't make, I'll sprinkle some new flavor in there.

BallerStatus.com: It's been a minute since your last studio album. From a business perspective, was that intentionally planned, or was it writer's block?

Lloyd Banks: No, it's never writer's block. I write every day. Being an artist in this system of a major label, it's just that. You know, you're in the system. You go when they shoot the gun off. Artists like 50 Cent, or Jay-Z, or Eminem -- people like that -- trade albums at leisure. They drop when they want to drop. It's never the artist. If you ask any artist, I bet they'd rather drop an album every year. That's not the way things went, but hopefully, with this album, hopefully with the success, we can push forward to another album next year and keep the process going.

BallerStatus.com: Who or what motivates you to create music?

Lloyd Banks: I motivate myself, to be honest with you. My inspirations are long gone. Starting as early as Rakim and Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick and a lot of those artists, I was always a fan of music. Biggie Smalls, rest in peace, Tupac -- a lot of the things that influenced me, some of them still rap, and some of them are gone. A lot of the new rappers -- it's a little different with your peers -- you can appreciate records, you can appreciate what your peer does, but usually you don't understand what was done, until it's all said and done. You will look back on it and say he done his thing. At the present time, I influence myself. I got a lot of personal reasons. I've been rapping since I was about 10 or 11 years old. I don't have to look too far for inspiration.

BallerStatus.com: Hip-Hop is hemorrhaging! Radio is only focusing on one sub-genre within hip-hop. The balance is gone and has lead to a disgusted audience. Where does the responsibility lie? With the MCs or with the executives?

Lloyd Banks: It's the system, for one, a lot of money is made in all kinds of avenues in music. I guess sometimes, some people crack under pressure, some people adapt, some people settle. As an artist, I've had frustrations. I've asked myself some of the same questions. That's when you, as an artist, have to adapt and you have to use your power, use your influence to help change things. You can either sit there and watch it, or you can do something to make a change. I was never one to compromise my music to fit in. When I made "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley," I released that record, in what people say, in the middle of a recession. I wasn't thinking that way. I was in a good space. I wanted to make feel-good music. Regardless of what the climate is, or the economy, people still want to have good times. You can have them in a thousand dollar outfit and not have a thousand dollars in your pocket, but you can feel like a million dollars while you're in the club.

I think that's the challenge: to stand by what you feel what you want your message to be, let everybody else catch up. Or, you can compromise for whatever's popping at the time, and fail and be mad at yourself later. I think it's a lot of different avenues, not just radio. It's internet now, you know, things like that. So, you can actually choose what you want to hear. I think that's a big difference, too. Back in the days, when labels would spend all that money and stuff, it was because people had no choice, they would have to see it. But, nowadays, everything is cut shorter -- budgets and everything -- people have their options to pick. So, regardless of if you spend all that money on it, people still have options. With all that in mind, some people just take the easy way out.

BallerStatus.com: Has there ever been a time where you looked back at a track, or an album, and cringe because the lyrical content is garbage. Or, you feel as though you've compromised yourself?

Lloyd Banks: I mean, sometimes, but some things never got to me. Some record opportunities may have never got to you based on management, or the label, some things may get shut down before you found out about them. But, not really, as far as the music goes, I've never compromised on that. I've never had nobody in my ear, to the point to where it would change my feel about the music. Sometimes, if the label is thinking about going in a different direction, they might put out a record -- sometimes a single can set the tone for what the rest of your album might feel like. So, you might have a great body of work for a complete album, but if the people don't look past the single you'll never find out.

BallerStatus.com: Preach! There's been many times to where I've seen a disposable video and didn't think twice about really listening to the artist's body of work.

Lloyd Banks: Yeah, you might not try to go deeper into it, and see what it's about. That's one of the main things that I hope to help change. You got artists like Eminem, his album is crazy. It has substance. He's not just speaking on one thing. Hip-hop doesn't stay anywhere for anybody, there's a time where it was dominated by the East, the West, the South -- I just think, as someone who is looked at as a lyrical artist, you just have to do what you do. When things go back full circle and people start to appreciate what is being said, opposed to all the gimmicks and everything that comes with it, you will be there to stand out.

BallerStatus.com: Does HFM2 encapsulate enough diversity and lyrical depth to where it will be rewarded with timelessness?

Lloyd Banks: For me, first off, I think it starts with my growth. I was like 20, 21 years old recording [The Hunger For More]. A lot of things are different [like] my outlook on life and my outlook on the industry. I understand things a whole lot better -- and just my whole overall performance. I've grown so much through my studio experiences, traveling the world, seeing and hearing different kind of music. It's unreal. I've done records with all kinds of different artists. So, it broadens me and it broadens my ear. I'm definitely receptive to a lot of new things. I think my beat selection has changed a little bit. I think the Unit does have a particular sound, we do have a G-Unit sound. I think I'm pushing forward to change what the typical sound would be, you know, with just me as a solo artist. Range-wise, I feel like I could do a lot; I don't see a lot of limits.

BallerStatus.com: How much creative control do you actually possess?

Lloyd Banks: I would have to say complete control, because on all my projects, really -- if you look at The Hunger for More, the first album, the features I did have as far as Buck goes, Yayo, and 50, they were all in-house artists. But, the rest of the album was all done before we got the record to 50. He was busy recording his material and we were doing a group album at the same time, so I was never babysat. The album is usually done, or it's at the tail-end of the project before 50 even gets involved. And even when he does, it's not that much of a difference, because we're so used to working together. Usually, our thoughts end at the same thing.

It'll usually be a record label that can get in between and have you thinking a little different. Every artist that does good on an album and starts getting different opportunities presented to him -- you can't knock an artist for wanting to be as big as the exec says he can be. Sometimes you make mistakes. But, I feel like with this album there's nobody in my ear. I recorded most of my album at my home and the rest of it was done on the road. There was nobody there but me, 50, and Yayo. We're not too far from the way of thinking so it works out.