BLUE HFNER

HipHopDX: First and foremost, I’ve wanted to tell you this for years –you bodied Eminem and 50 on “Don’t Push Me.” Being the Em fan that I am, that’s difficult to admit.
Lloyd Banks: [Laughing] Thank you so much – I think that was actually my first record with Em. That’s off the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ [click to read] album, if I’m correct?

DX: Yup.
Lloyd Banks: That was my first record with Em, that was at the studio in Detroit. We took a break from…I think we came back from Barcelona. That’s when Ja Rule [click to read] was talkin’ a bunch of shit. Something just told me to write that verse. I wasn’t supposed to be on that record. I just came into the room, and they were trying to figure out what to do with the third verse – whether to make it a bridge or not – and I just said, “Yo, I got a verse.” Em loved it, and I ended up on the album.

DX: Yeah, you killed ‘em on that one.
Lloyd Banks: Now I’m ready to make another one. Gotta get on another album.

DX: Before we get into the new album, let’s bring it back to Rotten Apple. Now, you’ve given the impression that you weren’t entirely satisfied with the outcome, particularly given the circumstances surrounding its release. What were you unhappy with?
Lloyd Banks: I think I was unhappy with the actual lane that the label wanted me to go with. It was like…that was the actual start, the beginning, of the economic crisis. There were a lot of albums that probably could’ve done more than they did. Now they look at an album that has 130-140,000 in the first week sold, and that’s considered to be a good album. That album, I think I debuted about 147 the first week, which would be very good for this time. I just think that at that time, the original numbers from [my first album] The Hunger For More [click to read], anything that wasn’t close to the numbers I did previously – I wasn’t happy with that.

On top of that, there’s a lot of different kinds of artists, and I don’t think they actually knew how to push a Hip Hop artist. That’s why I came out with “Cake,” the first record I released. I would have preferred to go with a whole album that’s just directed towards my street core, rather than try to make a for-the-radio record that doesn’t actually perform as well. I think it would’ve sat better with me in my stomach knowing that it’s the record I wanted to come out. I also had a whole record – about 18 songs – that were actually leaked prior to [Rotten Apple] [click to read] coming out. I’m not gonna say it was rushed, but the album was put together in about 30 days, as opposed to me having another 18 records to pick from. It was a lot of different things that slowed down the process of the album, but overall I was happy with it. We all sat down and thought it was good work – and I still feel that way about the project, and the project is 400 [songs] and change right now. If that album came out right now, it’d be considered one of the biggest albums of the year. I just don’t think people were aware of the economic crisis we were in it that time.

DX: So when you say “the label,” are you specifically speaking about Interscope?
Lloyd Banks: Yeah. And it’s because of my first release. When you have an artist that sells two million records on his first album, they envision different things. They want you to do records with Pop artists. For mine, they kept wanting to push it back, they kept wanting to do three, four singles before coming out. Nowadays, that’s the norm. Most of the albums that come out, you hear three or four records before the album drops. But at the time, I felt like I was being bamboozled.
I just wanted to go with it – I wanted my date, I didn’t want to keep pushing it back. [The label said,] “Let’s go sit with this producer, let’s go sit with this artist,” [but] I really was just focused on my core, and I was happy with the project that actually came out.

DX: Aside from not leaving your CDs laying around after a ménage a trios, what did you learn from the experience?
Lloyd Banks: For one, have more than enough material. Two, don’t be careless with the stuff. That’s the first time I had ever lost any material – not even a record had leaked from my side. Just record like you’re going on your next album. And that’s what I do now. Even now, in preparation for my new album, I have literally about 87 records tucked [away] outside of what I put on mixtapes. So if something like that happens, it wouldn’t really have an effect on my project.

DX: How did it feel not to get the instant love that G-Unit, at that point, was accustomed to getting with essentially every release?
Lloyd Banks: I think [Blood Money by] [click to read] Mobb Deep [click to read] was the first release of that year, if I’m not mistaken. I think they came out February-March. I fell in love with that project too. Nothing stays the same forever. You’re not gonna have the energy that you had when you came out with your first project. It’s hard to make them feel the way you made them feel when your first project came out. They were in places in they life…music marks a time. So it’s hard to repeat that same success.

At the same time, I feel like there was a lot of hate sprinkled around, and I feel like I mainly came from our dominance. I think a part of it had to do with a lot of labels feeling alienated. At that time, having management, there were a lot of phone calls…it’s a lot of politics you don’t know of. You don’t know that it’s taking place. I would go on promo tours, and I would go to certain radio stations, and I wouldn’t get the same welcome as I got last time! And it was based off of an actual argument or agreement that [fell through] with the label. And then I realized, “It’s beyond you.” I had certain people tell me, “Nothing personal,” they just don’t like the label!

We were viewed as a machine. A lot of artists were complaining when our single hit the radio, and felt like it was a machine, and not looking at the actual artists. And that was the difficulty that I had, dealing with that shit. I’m like, “Listen, I’m an artist. I just want my music played.” But like I said, it’s a lot of politics back then, and it’s still a lot of politics now. I just feel like I’ve got a whole new start. I’d rather push me independent for the time being, because all I’ve heard is good things. It’s like the Lakers. When the Lakers lose, everyone want them to win again. It’s confusing at times, but you gotta keep pushin’ on. I was making music before I actually had I record deal, so at the end of the day, I just want people to know that it’s something I’m going to do with or without a record deal.

DX: Is the new album still titled The Famine?
Lloyd Banks: Nah, I never had a title for the record. I’m working on a bunch of records, but when I get together and sit with 50 [click to read], hopefully get a chance to go sit with Em, then I’ll probably create an official title for the album.

DX: Can you clarify the label situation? I understand you’re not on Interscope anymore, but you’re still on G-Unit, right?
Lloyd Banks: Yeah, I’m on G-Unit as a record label, but I’m not on Interscope Records.

DX: Speaking of Interscope, over the past few years, with artists being dropped, criticisms about such a low rate of musical output, and the situation with Eminem’s drug problems, did that have an impact on your growth as an artist?
Lloyd Banks: Of course! Of course. When the records were movin’ like hot cakes, I think everyone was gettin’ credit. It was like we could’ve sold shit on a stick. It’s because of the chain of command that things were happening. You’d have [Dr.] Dre come out, you’d have Em come out, you’d have 50 come out, you’d have me come out, you’d have [Young] Buck [click to read] come out – it was a domino effect. But the fact of the matter is, those artists – the Eminems and the 50 Cents and the Dr. Dres – they can put out an album at their leisure! They don’t have to; they’re at a comfort level in their career where they’ve already established themselves. They’re legends. Their projects are masterpieces, so I’m pretty sure the label was sitting, twiddling their fingers wondering when that’s actually going to be executed [again]. And you’ve got a lot of Pop acts coming out on the side, so I felt like I needed a new energy, a new place where I’ll be the sole focus, because it does have an effect

If 50’s out touring, and I’m out touring with him, and I’m touching 20,000 people a night, that’s going to have an impact on my record sales. This is the reason why when the Roc The Mic Tour was happening and the Anger Management Tour was happening, so many more records were being sold. Because you’re touching 20-25,000 a night for like 40 some nights straight! So if you can go and have a dominant performance, you can send people out to the record store.

DX: With Interscope, did you feel like they were preventing your growth or that you needed to branch out? How did that conversation go?
Lloyd Banks: At the end of the day, it’s their choice and mine at the same time. There were things I had seen firsthand, doing promo tours, being on the road. Whatever agreements were being made and not carried through, that shit falls back on the artist. If a label says, “Nah, we’re not sending our artist to Summer Jam,” the artist doesn’t know that he’s not gonna get no record spins from that decision being made! But that’s who ends up suffering. When all these things are taking place, you’re just looking around like, “what the fuck is going on?”

Maybe it’s time for me to be more appreciated, that’s what I felt. If you go on the Internet, every record I release is getting four, four-and-a-half, five stars. On every site – especially HipHopDX! Every record I’ve put out since last September has gotten four to five stars. This shows me the appreciation, and it’s enough to keep me going. And you can’t tell me that I’m not relevant when I get comments like, “Best rapper under 30!” I do it for the fans, man. All that politics and shit, I’m not too comfortable with that. And if I get the hit record before I land a deal, I’m not doing a deal. I’ll push myself independently through my own brand.

DX: Can you reveal anything about the album at this point? Features, producers?
Lloyd Banks: I can say this: I’ve been spreading my actions a lot more. I think that’s something else, too. I think we had so much success as a whole, as G-Unit the group, that a lot of people didn’t feel that we were open to actually do features and things of that nature. And it’s not that, it’s just that we come from the street. We come from a family-oriented structure. We’re close-knit. We were thinking how we could do everything in-house because we were rollin’ at that time. But now if you look what I’ve been doing, I got records with Nipsey Hussle [click to read], I got records with Jay Rock, records with Uncle Murda [click to read], records with Ron Browz, I got a record with Juelz Santana [click to read] on the way, Jadakiss [click to read] and Fabolous on the way. I’ve been spreading my actions more, getting next to everybody. You know, let the public know that it’s okay. If people didn’t get the memo, the time to hate is over. Time to get that money.

I think that’s going to be the biggest change with this album, sitting down with different producers. I never sat down with big-time producers outside of Eminem, really. Now it’s time to sit in there with Swizz Beatz [click to read], Pharrell [click to read], Kanye [West], Scott Storch, and sit with these producers and see what I can come up with – not to leave out Timbaland. That’s where I want to go with it. You need to hear Lloyd Banks with whatever’s hot out there at the time. I was doing things on Interscope that they wasn’t ready for. I went through about eight artists when I was making the record “Help,” and ended up working with Keri Hilson. The label wasn’t even ready to push Keri Hilson at the time. Now the label’s putting all their money behind Keri Hilson. I felt like I was a step above. They had to catch up – I had to go somewhere else.

DX: So this year, Em and allegedly Dre are both dropping albums. Last time that happened was in ’99, which sort of started the Aftermath domination in its early stages. Em held it down, and then in ’03 G-Unit came on the scenes and really took over until ’05. With Em and Dre dropping again, what do you hope to do, in your capacity with G-Unit, to contribute to repeating that dynasty?
Lloyd Banks: I feel the same domino effect coming. Me, as an artist, I feel like I’m a lyrical artist. I’m lyrically driven. I write my verses before I write the chorus. That’s just how I am – I write every day. So when you have someone like Eminem come into the mix, I think he makes people appreciate lyricists again, because I’m just absolutely stunned by that album. The Relapse album [click to read] is incredible to me, and it just shows me that there’s levels, as far as lyrics go – it’s another level I can take it. And that’s exciting to me. But when everybody come out doing dances and snapping their fingers and shit, it makes people more geared for that. Other dance records slide through based on the success of one. But when you have somebody like Em come through with that substance behind it, I think it makes you appreciate what I do more.
That’s why I want to come with the energy of a 50 Cent project, a Dr. Dre project, an Eminem project. It’s gonna to be a complete album: there’s gonna be songs about gettin’ high. There’s gonna be songs about gettin’ pussy. There’s gonna be positive records. There’s gonna be records about the industry – it’s gonna be a well-rounded album. And that energy is gonna come the way it did the first time around.

DX: What can you bring to the table in ’09 that you weren’t able to in ’06?
Lloyd Banks: Just more of my actual presence – I’m not going to take a break. Actually, I’m gonna send ‘yall a new record I did last night [click to listen] today. The Internet world is takin’ over. Whoever is seen the most is the most relevant. If you’ve got fuckin’ 10 videos out every two weeks, in the public’s eye you’re doin’ something – whether it’s quantity or quality. And I’m like, let me give them quality. At the end of the year, I can guarantee that they’ll be like, “Oh shit, he put out five mixtapes and an album?” Similar to what [Lil] Wayne [click to read] did.

DX: Moving on to one of the many other beefs, you don’t appear to have been nearly as vocal about the Young Buck situation as you have Game and Rick Ross. Does this mean you two are still on good terms?
Lloyd Banks: I haven’t spoke to Buck since the last time 50 spoke to Buck, or the last time [Tony] Yayo spoke to Buck. It is what it is; I don’t have any hatred towards Buck. I think there were a lot of mistakes that were made, a lack of communication and things of that nature. Buck showed his discomfort; I just think he went about it the wrong way. We’ve always been a tight-knit family, so I think it was something that should’ve been discussed within the four walls of the crew.

DX: Right. But it seems like you handled the situation differently than with The Game and Rick Ross. With Game and Ross you released diss tracks.
Lloyd Banks: Yeah, because they were actually targeting me. You never heard Buck target Banks as an individual. You never even heard him target 50 or Yayo as an individual. But those guys, Game [click to read] was actually targeting me. He was making it his business to say something about me. Rick Ross [click to read] was making it his business to say things to everybody but me. He was saying shit like, “Fuck Yayo, fuck 50, and um, Banks is cool.” I’m not with that shit. That’s how niggas get smoked where I’m from. I don’t play both sides of the fence. You can’t diss my nigga and not diss me – when I see you, you’re gonna have a rude awakening. I’m not no corny-type nigga, and that’s what the game has turned into. You’re not gonna have me on stage with Game. You’re never gonna see me on stage with Rick Ross, regardless of whether I’m down with G-Unit or not! I think that’s the realness that’s missing from Hip Hop. You’re not gonna see Method Man [click to view] on stage with a nigga who’s beefin’ with Wu-Tang [Clan]! So why shouldn’t that same rule apply to me?

That’s just how it goes. They were being disrespectful. And thanks to Rick Ross, because I’m in a position where I have a direct deal with iTunes and a direct deal with Microsoft – I’m getting 70 cent off a record. They can diss me, and I’m gonna make a diss record and I’m gonna sell it to the fans. I found something to make money off of, beef-wise. I will step on somebody who has something to say about me – but at this point, Buck hasn’t really took that lane. I think he’s trying to iron out his deal and move on with his career.

DX: Is there a verse of yours you feel you haven’t topped?
Lloyd Banks: Ah, man. I have a lot of verses that stick out with me because I went behind this thing of 50 bars – a lot of verses I have spit that have been very memorable are 50 bars or better. It’s hard to hold somebody’s interest for that long. But a record like “Officer Down,” [click to listen] I wrote that in a matter of a couple of hours, and I’m so happy with the way that record came out. It was one of my biggest records as far as the Internet goes – so big that it actually reached the attention of iTunes and they contacted me to put the record on sale. Now I’m trying to top that record lyrically.

DX: You came onto the scene when you were 21 – now you’re 27, which is a huge difference in terms of your place in life –
Lloyd Banks: I came onto the mainstream when I around 21. I’ve been on the mixtape scene since I was 19.

DX: Right right, that’s what I mean – into public consciousness. How has your outlook on Hip Hop, both as an artist and a fan, changed?
Lloyd Banks: It changed a lot. I came from one of my friends’ basements rapping. When the reality of having a record deal on a major and selling millions of records…like, none of that shit really seemed in plain sight to me because I didn’t know. It’s a dream to me, coming into the game. But once you come into the game, you realize that it’s a business, and I’ve been unhappy with it. And it’s not just me; I’ve spoken to a lot of artists about it that I’m cool with, and they expressed the same things. If you listen to Jadakiss, he said he fell back. His last solo album came out when my first solo album came out in 2004. So he had a five year break! Because he’s sitting back and he’s not seeing a lane for lyricists. It’s going everywhere else but to the lyricists. So sometimes it gets frustrating. Now I guess I’m just waiting for the time when people start appreciating the words. I’ll be here waiting. Until then I’m going to dominate in my lane and do what I do. I’m not going to compromise myself as an artist just to stay in the mix.

DX: How do you feel you’ve personally changed in that time?
Lloyd Banks: I’ve changed a lot of ways. For one, I got older, and two, I practice every day. Like Michael Jordan, he didn’t have his field goal percentage for nothing. That comes from actually practicing and being in the gym. So I just think over time, if you’re not getting better, you’re not doing something right. You’re not working hard enough. I hear people say, “Oh, it doesn’t sound like the old Lloyd Banks!” It better not sound like the old Lloyd Banks! If I sound like the old Lloyd Banks, it means that there’s no new Lloyd Banks. That’s going totally backwards. You have to show growth and development, and that’s what I’m doing. There’s never been a time that I’ve listened to a record and haven’t felt like I hadn’t grown from the last record.

[I’ve changed] maturity-wise too. Just knowing how to carry yourself from doing so many shows – I’ve done 300 shows in a year for a couple years. And that makes your stage presence a lot better. Being on tour with artists like Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z [click to read] and Fabolous – I’ve been on tour with everybody. You get a chance to see what works for you, and you get a chance to see what works for them, and you get a chance to see what to do and what not to do.

That all comes with experience. You know how to answer questions. I’ve been on most of the talk shows that you could possibly be on, I’ve touched on every stage you could possibly touch. I’m actually on my way to Rio de Janeiro this Thursday, and these are things I’m doing on my own. But it’s because of the performance that I left when I was out with 50, when I was out on the stage with Em, I made sure I performed like I was doing a show for the last time. Rick Ross isn’t doing any shows here! He’s not doing shows in Iraq and Pakistan, and West Africa and South Africa and Russia! He’s never been to these places! I can send you my passport to prove it to you – and I’ve been there by myself. I’ve been to some places that 50 hasn’t had a chance to yet! That comes from me actually paying attention and being a student to the game. So over the years, I’ve learned to be more appreciative and more humble.

If you put Snoop Dogg [click to read], Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube [click to read], LL Cool J, Jay-Z…if you put all these guys in a room and you put a new artist in there, there’s no reason for them to feel any discomfort! Like, you’re gonna get some of the best advice you ever had, because they’ve lived the life. You’ve looked up to them for so many years, and when I met all those guys, they all said something positive. I never get no funny vibe from them, or felt like they were just sayin’ something just to say it. They loved what they did.

DX: Do you intend on branching out from G-Unit at some point?
Lloyd Banks: That’s a tough question, because I feel like I’m just as a part of G-Unit as 50 Cent or Tony Yayo. It’s not like you’re saying branch away from Interscope – this is something that we sat in a room and came up with. It wasn’t just a 50 Cent idea – that’s like asking would he branch away from G-Unit. I don’t think anyone would ask him that question, so I don’t see why I should have to answer that question. When G-Unit was created, it was Tony Yayo, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks, so that’s like asking me if I’m gonna branch away from my group or asking Method Man if he’s gonna branch away from the Wu-Tang Clan.

DX: Are you on Twitter, or is that too much?
Lloyd Banks: Yeah, I’m on Twitter. Twitter.com/LloydBanks. I just actually found out how to use it through my phone, but then you have to be careful with that shit. I’m hearing that they can actually track the location – I ain’t tryin’ to get knocked over Twitter.

DX: [Laughing] That’d be an embarrassing way to go out.
Lloyd Banks: Very, very much so. I’ll be anti-Twitter after that. I keep it professional though. I keep ‘em updated on when I’m working in the studio. I’m actually – damn, I don’t even want to tell you my idea – but my next mixtape, this’ll be the last mixtape before I’m completely locked in for production on my new album, but it’s gonna have a very, very different twist on this next mixtape…you’re going to be able to understand my recording process. I’m gonna take you in my studio so you can see step-by-step how easy it is to actually come out. That’s my whole thing to the label, I’m like, “Come on, man, you think this is how my material would sound if it was my last? This is practice for me, I’ve been doing this since I was 11, 12 years old, and I’m not gonna stop my grind for anybody.”

DX: When you spoke to us in 2006, you said you were going to take up Spanish lessons. Have you gotten started on that?
Lloyd Banks: It’s funny you ask me that, because I’ve been in and out of…shit, I’ve been to Chile, I’ve been to so many places – Colombia, Puerto Rico – since the last time we spoke. I have this girl, but she only speaks to me in the bed, you know what I’m sayin’? I gotta get her to teach me. I gotta get the tape out there, I know you seen the commercial. I gotta pick it up and learn that shit. I have records with Daddy Yankee [click to read] and [other Hispanic artists], so it’s something I would definitely love to learn. And I have to learn. I have to because it’s part of me. I got little brothers that don’t speak it either, so if I don’t teach ‘em, then who’s gonna teach ‘em? Unfortunately, I left school at an early age, so I never got a chance to do Spanish class or anything of that nature, so it’s something I’d love to learn. And not just Spanish – I’d love to learn as many languages as possible! Kobe Bryant’ll sit there and talk to you in several different languages! I could make a Reggaeton record and speak Spanish, who knows where I could take it?

DX: Why should people check for Lloyd Banks in 2009?
Lloyd Banks: I think I’m the strongest engine right now, I think I’m the best lyricist under 30, and I have a lot to bring to the table. And if you haven’t been up on what I’ve been doing lately, you could go to HipHopDX and you could just go to the mixtape section, and all my mixtapes are gonna pop up, dating back to the first Return of the PLK [click to listen] CD. There should be about four or five CDs on there and, you know, skim through that and see what lane I’m in right now. Like I said, I’m working with a lot of people this year, and I think people have heard me by myself for so long that they don’t understand what I’ll do until I’m standing next to someone else they like. Like if Kobe [Bryant] was playing by himself, it’s not the same a him bustin’ somebody’s ass. If I can be heard next to whatever else it is that they consider great, I can be considered great too.

DX: I appreciate it, man. Thanks for taking the time.
Lloyd Banks: What time is it right now, 3:00? Y’all gonna have a new record by about 5-6:00 today.

source:

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"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

BLUE HFNER

this interview is good he talks about interscope ,his new album,artist in the new album,new mixtape coming up

his new album is not called the famine

__________________

"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

{C} Bnx Gfx

good interview. can't wait to hear those tracks he did with juelz and fab. should be greats tracks!

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"Does sb stand for soulja boy?I'm really lost you guys." -99problemsNkicksR1

Yung_blaze

new song wirth fabo :O shit going to be off the hook im waiting for this album

rotten album was a little set back as a huge banks fan but as he said since last september his going back with his old school ways

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Play with the best die like the rest

G_UNIT_THUG: Props 50, you da real fif?

BLUE HFNER

yea and one thing he said in this interview was that he made Rotten Apple in about a month thats some crazy shit! i can't wait for his new mixtape

__________________

"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

BLUE HFNER

yea same but i dont think hes going to leak it out. i think its going to make the album cut

__________________

"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

Kidss

good lookin

BLUE HFNER

no prob i gave you props to get you out the red

__________________

"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

colossuscool

Compares himself to Method Man twice. Not there yet

heroin

good read, might give the new album a listen

brocknot666

lloyd banks is very lazy dude even 50 has said it

BLUE HFNER

LMAO! Lazy?!? He can get lazy but not this year, he has 4 new mixtapes back to back, but yea sometimes it takes time for him leak a single out

__________________

"In this market they let impersonators walk 'round
50 bodied you, I just laid the chalk down" - Lloyd Banks

bluehef420

first off the only thing banks does is smoke weed and he doesnt like to talk to people. but on the mix tape scene he is GOD every bar if pure fire i dont know if you like hood shit but you can not get any better then banks. and it has been said by 50 and yayo banks really does not stop writeing lyrics down 50 will take a break from time to time becasue he has other things going on but i head banks has so much material. its crazy i wish you people could here him and understand it becasue if you thinks waynes tight shit.

crazzycat

i agree with you, we can't judge people for one talk

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sbrecords

What's Wrong With Smoking Weed? It Relaxes and Gets You All Elevated haha . Also On Topic. Lloyd Banks Is A Decent Rapper With Decent Songs I Have His Best Songs On I-Tunes So Yea I Listen To Him Time And Time

ShawnDaDon

cot damn my nigga bankks is bringin da unit back

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only time when you put ice on ya wrist is when it gets sprained/only time you get ya dick wet is when you piss in the rain/this a tragedy/you get burnt quicker than a calorie/aint this the same shit you pulled with cassidy
Serius Jones

Shoottokill

nice to read!! thx

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Mazarati2

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Throwin' down!

jada_is_da_man

props thats an intersting interview, cant wait to hear some of the stuff he's coming out with.

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applepie

Good, thanks.