By Odeisel

It’s hard out there for a pimp, particularly if you’re a G Unit soldier. It seems the glorious days is gone and everybody’s doing bad, even general Jackson. So what do you do when rent is due on the avenue and you gotta re-up? You get your ass back on that stage and back in those streets and let the people know that your name still rings bells. With that in mind, Lloyd Banks came back to NYC on a mission to keep oblivion at bay and return to the light.

Flanked by a stage full of wolves in black t shirts with the name of impending mixtape V5, Banks emerged in stark contrast, in a plush white winter coat gleaming on stage; immediately separating himself from the henchmen.

Despite his occasionally muddled voice on wax, his presence is commanding on stage with repeated requests for noisemaking and hand raising and lighter lighting heeded immediately by the eager crowd. After waiting over an hour for the PLK, filled with a chump from the audience getting Uncle Philled off the stage by the corny undercard act and the 6 times Lloyd was “coming out in five minutes,” they were ready to go.

For most of the performance, his voice was very strong. The DJ had most of his catalogue including the mixtapes and he came out firing with most recent hit “On Fire.” At no time did he fail to notice an ebb in the crowd’s energy and immediately exhorted those “hands in the air.”

He performed all of his well-known hits from the including “I’m So Fly,” “Get Your Hands Up,” Avant-backed single “Karma,” recent banger “Straight Out Of Southside,” and much more.  The surprise of the night came not from any G-Unit comrade, but from Juelz Santana who blessed the audience with a few tracks.

If there were any drawbacks from the show, it was the long layoff between the opening act and Bank’s performance.  In addition, there were way too many people on the stage with no purpose.  While it gave Bank’s presence and enough moxie to talk that shit “Like Mr. T had his back, he could have made due with 20 dudes instead of 30.  The show could have used some G Unity in the form of his cohorts, but to be fair Lloyd Banks held his own and didn’t need 50 Cent to make his show.  It would have pushed his show to event status.

In any event, despite naysayers Banks gave a more than credible performance. Juelz was bright enough for a guest and Banks has a catalogue of hits and had enough real fans in attendance that his mixtape verses were well known.  Sometimes that’s all you need in a medium sized venue. I don’t see Banks rocking a stadium but a few hundred people got their thug on and Banks was a legit showman.

Follow Odeisel on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/odeisel

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