S. Samuel
G-Unit's Lloyd Banks has shared his insight on the difference between rap beefs and competition amongst fellow hip-hop emcees.
From Banks’ perspective, beefs are usually sparked by negative one-on-one encounters.
“I think that beef and competition are two different things completely,” Banks said in an interview with DJ Nef-You. “You can’t have beef with someone you haven’t met. It’s usually a misunderstanding. The conversations that take place in person are different from Twitter or other online networks, so I feel a little crazy about myself engaging in those petty things especially when it’s going to get blasted online. Back in the day rap feuds were fueled off personal issues. A lot of these dudes hung out and they knew each other and smoke of each other based off the situations personally. Now just because you may feel like you’re number one, you can talk about the next guy, and then after a while it just gets corny. I look at it like competition and it’s no different than two football players on a football field. Somebody has to get knocked down.” (I Luv Lola)
After a short beef against Murder Inc. in the early 2000’s, Banks recently revealed apologizing to the label’s former artist Ashanti.
“Ashanti was in the mix over there, she was like the R&B one,” Banks said when briefly discussing G-Unit’s 2002 beef with Murder Inc. “Yeah, I actually spoke to her and apologized for some of the things I’ve said in the past before I even let the conversation go anywhere, first off. I was thinking about it, somebody brought it to my attention. We were groomed to go off like that at that point. Anybody would have got it. But we’re past that.” (Rap Fix)
Banks also said the apology was to make sure Ashanti realized his disses were not personal.
“I had a chance to talk to Ashanti over the telephone,” Banks said in an interview. “I mean, my reasoning for apologizing, I just felt like I should. Even at the time when we were going back and forth in that feud with Murder Inc., she wasn’t speaking. She wasn’t throwing shots or anything. I think if you’re a part of the gamethen you should get played. At that time, she just was on the roster, so I just felt like it would be cool for me to just apologize for some of the things that were done in the past. Even though it was done in hip-hop, it wasn’t anything personal. It just felt that I should do that.” (BET)
Last month, ex-Murder Inc. artist Ja Rule talked about moving past his rap beef against 50 Cent and G-Unit.
“Yeah, I’m starting to now see people that may have hated on me in the beginning are not rooting for me and want to see me win,” Rule explained in an interview. “That to me is big. The best part about it is I’m humbled by it all. I feel like everybody deserves a second chance to do whatever. Really, I feel that my situation was an unfair situation. A very unique, very odd situation. Nobody ever seen anything like that in hip-hop, you know? I laugh when I see people say sh*t like, ‘Yo, [50 Cent] kilt Rule, but he didn’t kill [Rick] Ross.’ No disrespect to Ross, but he did 180-something [first week sales of Teflon Don]. I went platinum with [2004’s] R.U.L.E. after I made [2003’s] Blood In My Eye. I look at sh*t like that and… I don’t know, take it how you want to take it. I was a much bigger selling artist than just platinum so I guess that’s why people felt I took a hit. But the music industry was taking a hit at that time, too. You can’t really judge it or try to make an issue out of it, or an excuse. It just is what it is.” (VIBE)
Check out a recent Lloyd Banks interview below:
