The Future of G-Unit Records Pt 2: Lloyd Banks

Follow Lloyd Banks at @Lloydbanks


Follow me at @Idoitforhiphop

If there's one thing Lloyd Banks can do, it's spit. His Top 5 or Better series has shown that. He's put out mixtape after mixtape and they've been consistently good. They've been a little sporadic since he started the series, but despite the time between them, there's definite quality there. You can tell that there was a level of thought put into the projects. But the problem is that it hasn't translated into a third studio album from the Queens rapper. That's something I'd like to see. I do like the mixtape Banks. He's pretty damn good with the punches and he deserves the credit that he gets. The haters really need to sit back on that front.

Back to business though. Banks has an actual, real single out, Beamer Benz or Bentley feat. Juelz Santana. It's a pretty tough record with a good video out. And it's a definite good look for him. I'm trying to figure out what label the album would be coming out on. Yeah, it's coming out on G-Unit, but who's going to distribute the album? G-Unit can't do it by itself, unless 50's going for straight digital releases. It would be a smart business move, but I know it'd be a blow to the oh so large pride of 50 Cent. Also there's just so many benefits to a physical release with heavy promotion. Which brings us to the main question, namely how marketable is Lloyd Banks now?

Rotten Apple didn't do the greatest numbers that the people at Interscope could have hoped for. With the way sales are now, can Banks do even those numbers in this sales climate? That's the question. Furthermore, can he do it with a reduced budget? He's not going to get the promotion that he did with Rotten Apple and he's definitely not going to get the promo he did the first time around. That was back when G-Unit was on top and 50 Cent could do no wrong. It was obvious that anything that 50 Cent touched turned to gold.

But these days, even 50 can't do the numbers that he used to. So why should we expect the same from Lloyd Banks? The short answer is that we shouldn't, but the long answer is that we should.

In the short game, he's not going to sell a million records like he did with Hunger for More. I have a feeling though, that selling a milli isn't Banks' objective. He's trying to get his foot back in the door and get back into the game in a major way. It'll allow him to rebuild his fanbase, which at this point, will defend heavily on whether or not his female friendly songs are up to par, and rework himself back up to those numbers. In the long run, he'll be in good shape.

Provided this album does what it needs to do. And there's a few things that he needs to do in order to make sure that happens:

Timb for a club sounding track, but nothing from Shock Value II.
A Dr. Dre track is a must, and if you can get two. One should be just a solo joint, the other, go back and forth with Em.
Havoc is always a good choice for the grimey NY sound
DJ Nasty or Sean C and LV as well.

When it comes to the females, the choice to grab Keri Hilson on Rotten Apple's Help was genius. Do it again. Get Ryan Leslie as well, for another song. Get a good R&B/Pop singer to go for crossover, like Justin Timberlake or Bobby Valentino. The remix to Slow Down was nice.

The rest of the album should be given to newer producers, not necessarily unknowns for the sake of the budget, but newer producers.

Either way, Banks has his work cut out for him, but I'm fairly confident that he can pull it off. He's got the hunger for more and a rotten apple isn't going to satisfy.

The Future of G-Unit Records Pt 1

By now, everyone, including supposedly impervious to criticism and negative thoughts 50 Cent, has to realize that G-Unit Records is in trouble. It's been a long time since the label has put out an album that has sold well, even considering the climate of sales and the overall slack of sales of music since 2006. Furthermore, the label itself isn't signing new talent to bring a resurgence to the label or to generate and drive more interest in the label. You add in beefs with other, lesser or equal high profile MCs that G-Unit isn't clearly winning and you can begin to understand why the pressure is on. But will they crack? Or better yet, have they already cracked and now we're just watching the spiral downwards?

A lot of the burden to succeed for the label and for the group falls on the leader, 50 Cent. Honestly speaking, with the exception of a couple mixtapes here and there, what has Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo done in a while? Yayo's been sitting, just being 50's hypeman at concerts and only recently has there been talk of him getting back into the swing of things, with his new release, the Gunpowder Guru. Banks is another thing. He's been grinding on the mixtape scene, putting out multiple official mixtapes that have been keeping his name going, but the question is whether or not he's going to become a mixtape rapper permanently. That new Beamer Benz or Bentley joint of his is doing nicely and the video is good too. It's a good look, and I think he has the chance to break back into the game.

Mobb Deep are gone. M.O.P. are gone. Buck is gone too. Who's left on the label that you can name off the top of your head? Spider Loc has been signed since 2005 and has yet to put out a solo album. Hot Rod is another who's been on the label for a long time, 2006, and hasn't released anything significant, with the exception of a couple mixtapes, and a somewhat promising single that had Dr. Dre production that had to have been meant for a different artist.

T.O.S. was supposed to restart the reign of G-Unit and G-Unit Records. Before I Self Destruct was supposed to cement that return and line up the next series of solo albums for people on the label, or the first series for some. But those things have yet to materialize, really.

Over time, if you look at what Fifty's done with what has been given to him, he's a pretty damn good business man. I have faith in him that he can come up with a new strategy to take over the industry once more.

Lil Jon: Crunk Ain't Dead...or is it?

There are times when I look at artists' dedication to some of their projects and I have to shake my head. Some of them aren't economically viable, still others are just too left field for the artist, while even more just things that make so little sense it's not even funny. Kanye West starting a travel agency in he middle of what was turning into a recession is one of them. But the biggest one recently that I can think of, album wise, is Lil Jon's Crunk Rock project.

He has been working on this album for years with no real results. The Snap yo fingers track was years ago and he hasn't come out with anything since that has really jumped off. Also one of his hallmarks, production, hasn't been a prominent as it used to be. Not that many people are going for Lil Jon beats as before and artists are taking notice, definitely. His past hits are really out of the people's minds. I'm not sure if his Crunk Rock project is going to have the success that he's hoping it will.

What he really needs to do is link up with the Eastside Boyz and reinvent the crunk sound. That's kinda what he's trying to do here with Crunk Rock but doing it by himself isn't going to work. He has to figure out what it is about the crunk sound that is going to appeal to people in 2010 and onwards. Then he has to link up with artists that are going to help him bring that to the forefront of people's minds. Last but not least, he has to make sure that these are artists that the people are actually interested in hearing material from.

Which means unless he's getting serious rock groups, he's not going to stand a chance. You have to then look at the odds of him getting rock groups like that, groups that are actually still selling in this climate and hope that their styles and his styles can properly mesh for a Crunk and Rock experience. And what's the possibility of that happening?

I really hope that he isn't thinking of this as though it is 2005. Because people aren't looking for this like they are looking for Detox. There are virtually no artists in the Crunk sub genre anymore. Almost everyone has gone to the Young Jeezy, T.I., style of music and I really don't think that Lil Jon's album is going to bring about a resurgence in Crunk music. I could be wrong and the album could be some next level shit.

But really, what are the odds?

Downloads: Bizness and HellzYea

Check out these mixtapes from Bizness (@Bizness516) and HellzYea (@HellzYea)

Bizness: The Suburban Dream Mixtape:

www.Bizness516.com
http://www.zshare.net/download/7133746116aec819/

HellzYea: The New King of New York:

www.GiveEmHellz.com
http://www.mediafire.com/?5ju3oyzndjw

New Post: Downloads Section

I'm adding a new section of posts, the Downloads post. This is for artists who've asked me to put links to their projects on the site. I'm more than happy to give a helping hand to those who ask for it. No way to get help if you don't ask for it and that's the only way you're going to get known and get your music out there to the people. Expect download links to come soon. Dual Downloads post coming very soon. Be on the look out.

Shade

On the Grind: Who is Bizness?

Follow Bizness: @Bizness516 http://www.bizness516.com/

Follow Idoitforhiphop: @Idoitforhiphop

Who is Bizness? It's a good question. He's an up and coming MC out of Westbury, Long Island, New York. A talented artist who is also multifaceted, Bizness dropped a new mixtape entitled The Suburban Dream on January 18th. The 17 track mixtape, excluding bonus tracks, gives listeners a view into Bizness' vision. In order to fully understand that vision, I met up with him during the mixtape release party at First Class Clothing in Westbury and spoke to him for a little while.

In the short time that we talked, I was impressed not just by his talent, but by his outlook on a number of things.

Bizness is both an MC and a producer. Rapping since around 11 and making beats since the age of 15, he has an insight into at least two of the many sides of the creative process. This isn't his first mixtape, but its the first to really go into the "Suburban Dream". As he put it, a lot of people are afraid to be from Long Island, because it doesn't fit in with the stereotypes. But he's trying to show people that there's a struggle there too, and that there's talent as well that deserves a chance to shine and be heard.

The tape features all original production from Bizness, with samples used on "Jealous", "Suave", and 100 Ft. Casso. Originally the mixtape was going to be titled Suburban Revenue, before the title was changed to the Suburban Dream to focus people's attention on how he's trying to touch the history of the suburbs and the life that people live there, through the history of Westbury, nicknamed Westmoney. It was done to be just another way to show people that artists coming from the suburbs are worthy of the same amount of time and attention as those from anywhere else. We talked about the tape for a while, before we moved on to other topics.

When I asked him who his favorite MCs were, he heavily favored fellow NY emcees such as Jay-Z, Fabolous, Jadakiss and late NY greats the Notorious B.I.G. and Big L. He also named people like Drake, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross. Because of his love for NY and NY emcees, I asked him how he felt about the current state of NY Hip hop. Its a question that you might not consider apt because he's from Long Island, but that's just another reason why Bizness made The Suburban Life and started the Westmoney movement. He spoke on how there isn't any unity in NY Hip hop and how it seems as though some of the artists in the NYC area have a problem with others making it.

He noted that in the South, when there is beef and there are problems, they're worked out relatively quickly. He said that was something that doesn't happen that much in NY Hip hop.

I didn't have a large amount of time to talk with him, but from what time I did have, I got a good picture of the artist, and I think I can answer the question of who is Bizness?

Bizness is a MC with skills from Westbury, Long Island. He's someone with rhyming skills that surpass the average and someone with something that a lot of MCs lack: Vision. He's the kind of artist that needs a deal and now.

Make sure you check out his mixtape, the Suburban Life and check him out on twitter and on his website. I was able to get a copy of the tape and there'll be an official review coming soon.

Cudder

This is the day and age where many rappers and MCs are attempting to make an album a year to try to get sales. Its an interesting tactic and one that, if I had the time, I'd go into further, because there's a part of it that not many people see and realize, and just gloss over. Many people just complain that the overall quality of the lyrics and the songs have gone down because of this, but you have to remember that this is a business in the end, and a lot of these artists, despite being "artists" are not in fact, "artists". One person who is not like that, is Kid Cudi. From day one, he's shown passion, hunger, and most importantly, the ability to rap the way that Kanye West wanted to on 808s and Heartbreaks, without making it sound partially retarded. He dropped his debut album in 2009 (Feels awesome to do that, let's get it in 2010), towards the end of the middle of the year. After 3 months of his record being on physical and digital shelves, it has sold roughly 230k copies. Now, I'm not going to talk about how those are horrible numbers for a debuting artist, particularly one like Cudi who had major advantages going for him.

This is a recession and very few people are selling. Rap album wise, only Jay-Z and Eminem went above platinum in 2009, I don't count the Black Eyed Peas. And that's Jay-z and Eminem. I'll leave it at that. Cudi's debut put up strong numbers, maybe not the numbers that he had hoped for, and that his label had hoped for, but strong numbers, nonetheless. Day N Nite, that smash hit of his, went to number 3 on the charts.

So, why the second album so soon? I could give a few reasons, but I'll go with the one that makes the most sense and is the most obvious. It makes "cense". He's looking at it from the perspective that he's getting another chance to make music, music that people may want to hear, and music that for him, he has something of a need to make. His labels are looking at it from the perspective that, despite the fact that he didn't sell a huge number of records (So Far Gone EP, here's looking at you), he's still selling majorly well.

His sophomore album may not sell as many copies as Man on the Moon did. But he and the marketing division at UMG are smart. They're not calling this album the sequel to Man on the Moon, they're calling it Cudder, and its not a Kid Cudi album, per se. Its a collaboration album, which means that they're going for a broader audience, and they're going to try to allow him a chance to make his unique sound even better by mixing it with people from different genres of music.

Thus, when he gets to a proper sequel to Man on the Moon, he'll be ready to go all out and make an album that not only will sound good, but will sell well, at least for the year that it's released in. And you can't ask for much more than that.

Uncle Snoopy

I'm not looking at this one from the perspective of sales numbers. If I did, the tone of this article would probably be even worse than it will be. Malice n Wonderland, Snoop Dogg's tenth studio album sold roughly 60k copies its first week out. I'm kind of upset by this, because from the tracks that I've heard, its a pretty good album. Not to say that I'm praising Soulja Boy, but the Pronto record was actually decent. I Wanna Rock is being remixed by everyone and their mother, potentially the new A Milli. Gangsta Luv wasn't a huge hit, but it was pretty decent, and it brought The Dream into a more hardcore territory than he had really been in before. Maybe that was the problem with that record, but after Sexual Seduction, it seemed as though Snoop was suited towards that kind of sound. Maybe he really wasn't.

Snoop didn't get, in my opinion, the push that he needed to get from his record label. Priority didn't exactly go all out. The video for That's the Homie wasn't exactly what you might have expected. Sure it might have connected with fans, but for a single that's being released, is that really the right video look? I would look for that to be done if the song released wasn't a "real" single, but a web video that you put on WorldStar. Kinda like Rick Ross' underground media campaign, turning like 5-6 songs from Deeper than Rap into SpiffTV helmed videos.

One of the main questions is whether or not Snoop has lost his touch when it comes to rhyming. Of that, I'm not sure. I don't think he's really fallen off, but I don't think that he's where he once was. Personally, I think he should take a little bit more of a backseat, maybe get into the elder statesman role that he should. Its not like there aren't people in the game from the West Coast that can't get on. Nipsey Hussle is doing his thing, and Game has enough hate in his blood towards 50 to make at least another album after R.E.D. 40 Glocc will attempt to rob like 5 more people to convince 50 Cent that he deserves a big G-Unit push.

The problem here is that how many of Snoop's acts have really broken through? Nate Dogg and Warren G did good, but for the most part Warren G wasn't really one of Snoop's artists. Nate had a much bigger connection, at least to me, but even then, he stood on his own. DPG is the only real one of Snoop's acts that have broken through and become a major force, and they're pretty much gone at this point in time.

So how do you become an elder statesman who puts on artists and really is a boss, when your track record is definitely not the greatest? It's pretty damn hard.

But let's take a look at Malice n Wonderland itself. If you look closely, the album is basically a West Coast version of Jay-Z's idea behind The Blueprint 3. What did Jay do when it came to guest features? Hot, up and comers, mixed in with some people already established, along with some fan favorites. Going through the three setups, that means: Mr. Hudson, Drake, Cudi, J. Cole, then Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Alicia Keys, and then Kanye West and Pharrell.

What did Snoop do? The same thing. First you have Jazmine Sullivan, Nipsey Hussle, Soulja Boy, then you have The Dream, Brandy and then you have Pharrell and R. Kelly. Kokane is the only odd one out, but chalk that up to being somewhat original.

He did, in a sense, the same thing that Jay did, except that Jay kinda did it better. Either that, or that's what his label made him do, and they did a piss poor job of it. Either way, Snoop's got some decisions to make. Because if he keeps making albums that do numbers like this, he's only embarrassing his catalogue, which has some amazing albums in it.