Lloyd Banks

Lloyd Banks, the talented 24 year-old rapper from Jamaica, Queens, is set to drop his much anticipated second album entitled Rotten Apple this October. His first track off the sophomore release is Hands Up, produced by Eminem, featuring his homeboy from around the way, 50 Cent. Rotten Apple also features the song My House produced by Timbaland and collaborations with r&b and hip hop heroes such as Musiq, Scarface, Mobb Deep and 8 Ball.

Lloyd Banks was born Christoper Lloyd on April 30, 1982 to an African American father and a Puerto Rican mother. His father was in and out of the prison system for most of his life, so his mother was left to raise him alone. Like most kids in the inner-city, Lloyd Banks turned to writing and music as an escape violence and drugs on the streets.

Lloyd Banks got his start in the rap game early on, dropping out of high school at age 16 and focusing on writing and making his own mixtapes. He and his neighborhood pals 50 Cent and Tony Yayo would later form the G-Unit, adding on Nashville's Young Buck to G-Unit family.

The Hunger For More, his first release, catapulted the rapper's status as it sold more than 400,000 copies in the first week alone! Going platinum and selling more than 4 million worldwide is not a bad way to start.

Back in 2005, Lloyd Banks was suppose to release a second album entitled, The Big Withdraw, but the album was prematurely released when a former lover of his stole the tracks from him and sold them for $60,000.

Besides his solo efforts and collaborations with the G-Unit family, Lloyd Banks has also appeared on the Busta Rhymes "Touch It Remix" with heavy hitters Missy Elliott, Sean Paul, Brook Valentine and Rah Digga.

The Hands Up video features hot cars, sexy women, and a few hundred clubgoers ready to party past quarter 'til three. If 50 Cent says "Put 'em up" you better obey!

From Lastfm:

Lloyd Banks (Born Christopher Charles Lloyd, on April 30, 1982) , is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. With G-Unit, he released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight) in 2008. Banks released his first solo album The Hunger For More in 2004 with the top ten hit single "On Fire". He followed with Rotten Apple in 2006 and left Interscope Records 2009.

Read more about Lloyd Banks on Last.fm.

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From Wikipedia:

Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight) in 2008. Banks released his first solo album The Hunger for More in 2004 with the top ten hit single "On Fire". He followed with Rotten Apple in 2006 and left Interscope Records 2009.