Lloyd Banks – Hunger For More 2
Released: 22 November 2010
Hunger For More 2 starts off very generic. Lloyd Banks’ flow cadences are pretty good on “Take Em To War (feat Tony Yayo)” and “Unexplainable (feat Styles P)”, but I can’t help but feel that his delivery is off, as well as his voice and vocal performance as a whole. Banks delivers his lines in a grating slur that gets annoying quickly. The first 3-4 songs doesn’t give much desire to finish the remainder.
The fact that Banks uses this same grating vocal delivery on every song makes it difficult to get into the vibe of particular songs, especially present on “So Forgetful (feat Ryan Leslie)”. Lloyd Banks sounds like he doesn’t belong on his own track. Fortunately, Hunger For More 2 picks up after “Father Time” – a great track, great hook and beat. However, HFM2 plunges into a pop-inspired spiral following track #9, “Celebrity”.
“In retrospect “Bimmer Benz or Bentley” was one of the first songs in music to blow-up and receive mainstream play (radio, etc) based on releasing via social media without other marketing effort. Impactful and set the stage for many artists across all genres to come! Give Lloyd Banks his credit”
Lloyd Banks’ creativity…?
Banks’ flow is ON, no doubt, but he gets stale throughout the course of an entire project. The beats don’t quite match what Banks’ is doing vocally, especially “Double Up”‘s beat. “Any Girl” is an attractive song, one of the album’s best. The beat is fun and Banks’ flow is very much on-point and evident. The following track “I Don’t Deserve You” is another one of HFM2′s high points and adds meat to the 2nd half of the album which, in my opinion, has higher peaks than the first half (but also an underwhelming pop turn following “Celebrity”).
The first half of HFM2 feels risk-averse – there aren’t many risks taken lyrically or with the production and because of that, it comes off as same’y or “boring” (aside from “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”). The second half of HFM2, however, goes much harder. The production varies, and the sample feel more important within the song. I feel like if the first half was more exciting and entertaining, this would be a notable release of 2010. But since it’s not, I dub this album “above average”.
Verdict
3.8/5 If this album were a punch, it’d be a right jab. Stiff but not intermediate nor jarring…
Best Song: Father Time
Worst Song: Celebrity
Ed.Note 12/2017: Looking back at this project, it’s amazing to observe how “Bimmer Benz or Bentley” was one of the first songs in music to blow-up and receive mainstream play (radio, etc) based on Lloyd Banks simply releasing it via social media and on the internet without much marketing effort. Impactful and set the stage for many artists across all genres to come! -@TOP5RAPWEBSITE