By Odeisel

In the post Drama/Feds era, the mixtape has lost its luster as a vehicle to blow up a new artist. However, many established artists use them now as “street albums” to keep their names ringing and to prep you for their retail release. For G-Unit, and Lloyd Banks in particular, it’s do or die time. 2009 was an uneven year for them, as 50 dropped two dope street albums but suffered a crushing blow as his main album was leaked a month early under dubious circumstances and didn’t deliver the sales we are accustomed to seeing. As a lieutenant, and one who hasn’t dropped an album in a couple years there is a particular pressure with his departure from Interscope.

V.5 is the latest work from Banks and he does not abandon the hardcore aesthetic for anything. However his voice sounds a bit strained on a few of the tracks. The album opens with the guitar driven “My Bad.” The track is boosted by the novelty of mimicking a Christmas song while Banks’ is everything left of merry.

The haunting “Who’s Your Favorite” is a slow hard screw with Banks proclaiming his greatness over a rugged beat. “We Remain” samples the late great Freddy Mercury’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and is pretty effective and slick with how it’s chopped up. Banks’ flow is melodic and smooth and complements the track perfectly.

“Better You Know Me” speeds the pace up a bit with sinister strings. Prior to this the album crept at a rather slow pace and this song brings up the energy incrementally, segueing towards the sing-songy chorus of “I Do.” It’s not exciting by any means and a bit boring even at the higher speed.

At this point the record begins to drag. The production would be cool in pieces but the speed of the album does not deviate much or alter in tone and you can get lulled into missing a few songs because they blend together. Banks seems to have forgotten that many of his hits and popular songs are high-powered rousing songs. The choruses are bland and unimaginative and while the punchlines are still there, Banks’ flow is restricted to the A/B punchline standard. He’s a better rapper than that.

Standout tracks often manifest when the production changes, such as “Power Back” which abandons the slow gutter for a rich bouncing bassline and piano on the breaks that pushes Banks to a more agile delivery. Ditto for the next track “Only Human” which manages to be both melodic and misanthropic at the same time.

G-Unit compatriot Tony Yayo drops by on the hardcore “No Escape.” Yayo’s slow, simple flow comes off a bit Lil’ Dap-ish but he actually delivers on this track. Shakespeare he isn’t, but for this track he fits perfectly and Banks body bags the final verse with his best delivery on the album. Unfortunately, the tape returns to the plodding style with “The Get Back” and the forgettable “Probably Want Me Down.”

The production highlight of the album is the Havoc-produced, organ-driven “Greenday.” Havoc shows how far he’s come as a rapper and steals the show from Banks with a killer verse while Cormega bats cleanup with a verse that was better than most of the ones on his album. The album closes with “Big Bully” which finds Banks getting busy on the “New Wu” beat, displaying the flair that made him hot in the first place while throwing shots at Rick Ross.  This song is where you realize the real flaw of this tape: the production. If you don’t use recognizable beats, then the production has to be album quality and save for a few highlights, this is not the case.

Sometimes in an attempt to keep your name buzzing, you give away too much. Five mixtapes in a year is a lot and V.5 is a fatigued Banks sounding nowhere near as fresh as he did on Return of The PLK. When motivated, Banks is a scorching emcee capable of punchlines that raise eyebrows and a restrained fury that gets your head bopping. That Banks isn’t the one that powers V.5. When you near the end of the race, sometimes you have to gather, focus, and gut out a strong finish. Perhaps Banks would be better served taking some time off, getting his voice in order and really writing strong songs and hooks. This is a solid mixtape good for a few listens, but nowhere near his or the Unit’s best work.

DOWNLOAD http://usershare.net/np25aeqs5wv2

out of 5

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

Follow Us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/planetill

Join Us on the Planet Ill Facebook Group for more discussion

Check out Planet Ill’s page on Essence.com

Follow us on Networked Blogs