Review Summary: "I was bred for this, sweat, tears, and bled for this."
“At least we made it huh? *** that I don’t feel appreicated.” Growls Lloyd Banks (Born Christopher Charles lloyd) On track ”Dollar Weight”.
Underappreciated - A word that has been popping up in the mouths of the faithful to the Punch Line King since Lloyd Banks Exploded onto the Hip Hop Scene with G-unit almost 2 decades ago, but why?
Well In Truth, the reason is That Banks experienced high levels of Commercial victory for about 3 years in the rap game until he exiled himself into Hip Hops sordid underground, and has been perfecting his art and skill at his own pace for the last 10 years, only ever dropping the VERY occasional Mixtape for free. But this isn’t a history lesson, I could go on and on about Bank’s past achievements, rise and fall from G-unit, - but Today (29th of October 2020, 5 years after the project in question was released) I am here to Discuss Halloween Havoc 2, Bank’s 2nd of 3 Halloween Havoc projects.
Lloyd Banks Is a rapper’s rapper. Gone are the days of his attempt at commercial appeal and cross-over, and on this project, fuelled by a jaded view of the industry and foul beats, Banks raps for the exact same reason he started decades ago; for the sheer thrill of hearing himself Rap. If the faithful enjoy it, that’s great, but Banks Raps only proving anything to himself.
Over the course of the 13 track Mixtape, the air never changes. The beats mysteriously provide a backdrop, an almost blank canvass for Banks to exercise his right to blend punchlines and metaphors seamlessly. The Tape never overstays its welcome, provides no guest features to lighten the mood, and rarely do exact tracks stick out - So why Have I rated this project so high?
Simple; Halloween Havoc 2 Moves forward in uniform, completely scathing anything in its Path with laugh out loud lines and punchlines that take you repeated listens to even catch, let alone understand. Banks’s gravelly raspy voice sends a BLIZZARD of rhymes to your ears, and then it’s on you to decipher what he is getting off of his chest.
Packed with stellar Hooks, atmospheric Beats, and the highest quality of rapping achievable, Halloween Havoc 2, even after all this time, is a true treat for a lyrical Hip-Hop fan, again this project was a labour of love released for FREE, please check out the mixtape below, maybe you too will start to use “Lloyd Banks” and “Underappreciated” in the same sentence.
Pros:
Extreme rapping ability.
Brilliant Punch lines.
Cohesive and grounded.
Cons:
Bit of a one sided listen.
Another lyrical rapper as august would have been nice.
Recommended Tracks:
“Dollar Weight”
“Monument”
“Take Your Pick”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n69JHo2l17M
Thanks for reading.
