By Odeisel
In part one of our interview, we discussed the success of Lloyd Banks’ recent records and G-Unit’s new distribution deal. We also looked at the last days on Interscope and whether there was some foul play in the latter phases of the relationship.
Today’s segment will visit Banks’ 2005 Adult movie awards, and whether the Brian Pumper gay rumors had any effect on his decision to be involved in the adult movie industry. We then address whether it’s right for the comically untalented Pumper to encroach on the Hip-Hop field. Banks also discusses beef and how it manifests, separating real from imaginged and mentions Fat Joe briefly. Back to the Beat. Part 2. Enjoy
Planet Ill: You won an AVN award in 2005, no?
Lloyd Banks: I won two of them. Nominated four times.
Planet Ill: Did you have any reservations going into that business knowing that that Brian Pumper guy sort of looks like you and those [gay] rumors were around did you have any reservations about getting into porn?
Lloyd Banks: It was a situation that presented itself. At the time I was young, I’m 28 now. I had like the Batman lifestyle; no kids, no main girl. It was nothing for me to worry about. I could have the of a playboy and be out there and I said, “Why not take advantage of it?” Even my mother would tell me, “You better go get the money. At the end of the day, I know who you are, you’re my kid” And it’s a billion dollar business. It exists without you paying attention or not. It was something I figured I might as well venture off into.
Whoever sees it is seeing it in a particular market. So if you were in that store, you appreciate what it’s for. If you buy a kid’s game or if I did Yo Gabba Gabba, you ain’t gone see it unless you watch that show. It’s not like it comes on in the middle of BET. I wouldn’t turn that aside the same way I woudn’t turn away an opportunity to do something for the kids. There’s different markets in this. If I had a condom deal, I would definitely exercise that option because they’re necessary.
You know I just did a concert in Houston where they had a benefit and they actually tested over 15000 kids for AIDS. These are things that are out there. You can’t turn your head, they exist. You can’t be shy with certain things. School starts at your house.
Planet Ill:Now years later, he [Pumper] is trying to get in your arena, but truth be told, you’ve seen the video, it’s wack. Do you find that insulting as a musician to attempt that?
Lloyd Banks: Hip-Hop is one of the only professions that you don’t have to have a GED for. You can do 10 years in jail, come home and want to be a rapper. You can wake up and want to be a rapper. Be a ball player and then want to be a rapper. It’s no requirements as opposed to how you feel about yourself. It’s just you. You feel like you the best and you can rap.
If I say, “Yo I want to try out for the Giants,” then you gotta get your ass on that field and do all the exercises and the workouts that they do. So you would probably give up a lot faster. That’s why Hip-Hop has a lane, a comfortability where people feel like they can just do it. Or if he did it, I can do it.
Planet Ill: Do you think that rappers saying things like, “I’m not a rapper, I’m a hustler” contribute to people thinking that it’s easy to rap?
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvCRC7gx42o&feature=player_embedded[/pro-player]
Lloyd Banks: Yeah. One thing I never understood. That it’s not gangsta to want something. When did it become gangsta NOT to be talented? That’s my whole thing. What do you mean you’re not a rapper? You’re right. You’re not a realist. You’re absolutely in denial and I think that that’s where the stupid stuff comes in to Hip-Hop. It’s because you’re at home as a rapper.
The reason why you’re having issues and competition with a rapper is because you feel that you’re better than that rapper. It’s not too many times that they don’t like each other for personal reasons. Unless they have a personal relationship. It’s usually because this person over here feels they’re a better rapper than you, and when they’re at home writing their raps, so constantly they rap about being number one, but the person that’s really number one can take what you said subliminally. And then that starts a little rap feud or what have you. Rap records come from it.
So you gotta ask yourself, as a grown man 10 years from now, I’m 28 now, so when I’m 40 years old, I think I’ll feel pretty stupid bumping into someone that I had “issues” with from music and not being able to push past that. That’s like seeing Kool Moe Dee and LL Cool J and they just gone scrap at the Hip-Hop honors. I think that no one would feel that that was gangsta.
And 50, that was one of the first things he told me. If you don’t have an issue with somebody, don’t make it one. And that’s why people always say, “Oh 50’s a trouble maker.” but if you look real close, it’s always been something to spark it. It’s always been something there, it’s just that in our business you don’t really hear the smack, you hear the shot. It’s like in the NBA, they never catch the first person that threw the elbow, they catch the retaliation. And out retaliation, coming from somebody like 50, they tend to look like bullying for so long, it developed an aura of unnecessary hate. No genuine hate. Like “Oh the music is wack!” Nah. More so we been winning so much…
Planet Ill:Laker hate, Yankee hate…
Lloyd Banks: Yeah. It’s unexplainable sometimes. Every underdog gets their time, you know? To be a good artist, I think I’m better than a good artist because the artists you would name, if you name some who been doing anything for the past 5-10 years, if you have an entity that’s powerful enough to generate hate, it’s one thing. If you’re an artist who just maintain their level, like you got a street base, and you haven’t generated enough energy for you to get unnecessary hate.
So when you hear somebody like Fat Joe or somebody like,, “Aww you don’t be in the club!” Yeah n***a cause I get paid to go to the club. So I’m not on the same level as you are. You can go in the supermarket and make your own sandwich. It might not ruffle anybody’s feathers. It’s a difference between the artists, you know what I’m saying? You just gotta come to the realization of who you are as an artist and what makes sense to you. You want to be number one and you want to rap battle and all that then that’s fine. I think music is coming back full circle and people are starting to pay more attention to lyricists at the moment. And especially coming from an independent space, I hope to capitalize on what I’m doing and also profit from it.
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kXnWNYfLQk[/pro-player]
Planet Ill: We talked about beef briefly and I think people are at a point where they are over beef. How do you get from under that beef aura. Conversely, is there any beef in the history of rap that you would have liked to be involved with lyrically?
Lloyd Banks: Hip-Hop is competitive for one. It always has been it was built on that competitive nature. You do what you do, I do what I do. On Superbowl Sunday they line up ready to take each other’s neck off. That’s just how it is sometimes with music also. It’s not going to always be a happy feel. There’s never going to be a time when somebody doesn’t feel like they’re better than the other rapper.
Now where the other things happen is from the entourages not knowing. If you been beefing with somebody over the phone, you never seent (-sic) them. That’s kinda like what that is, somebody prank calling your phone. Cause if you haven’t responded to them it’s like what the fuck, why you fucking with me? Somebody says “Oh I’mma see you, I’mma see you!” If you pop up on they porch one day, and say, “I’m the guy you said you was going to see,” they might not have the same malice in they heart for you. That’s just the confusing part.
But when you get an entourage and it range from teenagers to grown men, sometimes things happen because it’s hard to explain to my homie that don’t rap, that it’s cool for you to be talking about me how you talking. Even though I know it’s just rap. So sometimes things get misconstrued and things happen. At the end of the day we’re in a system that the media, the business is meant to build you up to break you down. So they’re going to support you and publicize you when you doing good, and even when you’re doing bad it’s going to come out too.
As far as rap battles, wow. I have dreams sometimes that I’m in different eras. Probably because I grew up on Kane, grew up on Rakim, grew up on Slick Rick. Special Ed, 3rdBass. Rob Base. I can just go on forever and ever because my father and mother listened to Hip-Hop. So I had knowledge of all of that. Down to Brucie Bee and Kool Moe Dee and all the legendary battles. And then God bless the dead, the Pac and the Biggie. Eazy-E and Big Pun, so many legends that we lost I flash back sometimes; I dream deep. Probably because music is my life. So all those images sometimes pop back. Sometimes I might be in the “Smooth Operator” video. I can be “Mama Said Knock You Out” one day.
So yeah, I definitely wonder what it would be like. Same way Kevin Garnett would wonder how he would go up against Bill Russell. I have those visions sometimes and I wonder. Some of them are so far past their time, like Biggie Smalls like man, you probably need a head start with him because he was 10 years ahead of everybody.
PART 1
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good article