Lloyd Banks saw two singles from his The Hunger For More album reach the top 20 of Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart. Yet when it came time for his sophomore effort, Rotten Apple, the 50 Cent assisted single “Hands Up” barely reached the chart—making a brief appearance at the number 84 spot. While The Hunger For More eventually sold 1.5 million copies, Rotten Apple stalled out at 351,000 copies sold. While between deals, Banks released “Beamer, Benz or Bentley,”
which subsequently outsold his second album, with over 500,000 digital copies sold without the help of a major label.
“The transition between labels gave me a lane to work by myself…to create freely,” Banks told Billboard. “That’s when I said, ‘I’m going to release ‘Beamer, Benz or Bentley.’ The reaction to that track has changed everything. Up until that point, I wasn’t thinking about an album. I was just thinking, ‘Let me get the respect from my fans.”
In addition to the gold plaque and a return to the top 20, Banks secured A-list features from the likes of Kanye West and Fabolous for his upcoming third album. Hunger For More 2 is scheduled for a November 23 release date, under the new deal G-Unit signed with EMI.
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“The Hunger for More idea came from a book that tells a story about robbing a bank,” Banks added, “And I’m basically taking what’s mine. That’s the statement I’m trying to make—I’m hungrier than before, and this time I’m taking everything.”
