Rotten Apple : Lloyd Banks : Review : Rolling Stone

As the title reflects, Banks’ second solo disc paints a particularly grim picture of his native New York. G Unit capo 50 Cent guests on three tracks, including opener “Rotten Apple,” a paranoid minor-key meditation on which Banks lays out the game plan: “Drama is a part of the story that I’m-a give ya/The black Mags and back stabs, it’s all familiar.” The drama runs from clichéd hustling how-to’s to less-typical excursions into the personal history that produced his mind-set, like “Survival,” on which the MC reflects on his father, who spent most of Banks’ life in jail: “Papa was a rolling stone/Never came back home, now I’m on my own/So I had to learn a few things ’bout survival.” Eminem, Mobb Deep’s Havoc and a host of G Unit regulars produce an album’s worth of chunky, ominous beats to fit Banks’ foul mood, but it runs a little thin over sixteen tracks.

EVAN SERPICK

(Posted: Oct 16, 2006)

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3of 5 Stars

Not one of my favorites like Biggie, Pac, Jay Z, Rakim, Raskass, Alpha Leo, or E-40...but I copped his first album, lost it and actually bought another one. This second album, however, I think is a step down but he still capture the hardcore edge I like.

Oct 27, 2006 12:58:05

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