S. Samuel
G-Unit leader 50 Cent has reacted to the recent accolade bestowed upon his artist, Lloyd Banks, by way of controversial rapper/producer Kanye West.
Speaking with DJ Whoo Kid via radio interview this weekend, 50 respected West’s decision to publicly reveal his admiration to Banks.
“I thought that was really nice of him,” 50 said about West’s co-sign. “A lot of artists, we appreciate each other without publicly saying it. It’s the competitive nature of the art form. A lot of what you see as beef is battling. It’s always been a part of the culture. It’s always been differences for no reason, like, MC Shan and KRS-One, ‘The Bridge Is Over,’ what inspired that? See what I’m saying? It’s hip-hop. It’s what keeps the art form fresh and keeps the artist thriving to be the best because it’s that competitive edge. They all want their next album to be the best one. I’d never turn away from working with [West]. He’s creative, a talented guy. I think people forget why we even know who he is. It’s based on music. It’s not his actual personality. Like Floyd [Mayweather], people misinterpret his confidence for arrogance, me the same, Kanye the same. They’ll call us idiots at different points but they don’t know what it takes to continue success after being in the public space. Look at the blog, see how many positive things you hear and see how many negative things you see.” (Shade 45)
Earlier this week, West publicly acknowledged Banks via Twitter update.
“Yo man Loyd Banks prolly the most underrated MC in the game… Man he deserve to be top 5 at least!,” West tweeted Wednesday (September 8) night. (Kanye West’s Twitter)
Banks also gave his reaction to West’s co-sign.
“Last night I was in the studio,” Banks revealed in an interview when asked where he was when he learned of the shout-out. “Somebody hit me with that and told me what [Kanye West] said as far as the Top 5 thing and I mean, it’s just like, for me hearing that, it’s like d*mn because I have the utmost respect for what he does as an artist, so I mean, it’s cool, I definitely appreciate it. I don’t think it was ever any bad feelings towards Kanye from anybody, just more of a competitive thing. Rap is like a sport, football they line up on a line and knock each other down. Basketball, they run up and down the court. It’s all about competing, you know, I think it just makes it that much better when you do collaborate after some time.” (Trace TV)
In addition to Banks, 50 recently hinted at a possible hook-up with the Grammy-winning producer for his upcoming album.
“A lot of producers send stuff that’s interesting,” 50 said in an interview. “To me, it inspires me to write with different cadences, see a different style. I don’t want the record to sound like old material. I want it to sound like something new. They all go, ‘Oh, Fif, we want that Get Rich or Die Tryin’. They do the same thing to Jay-Z, [but] if you want the old one, buy the old one. If you want the new material that the artist is inspired to write, check it out…I sat with Swizz [Beatz]; I’mma try to get in with him. Don’t even be surprised if you hear me and Kanye, just talented artists — period. I’mma collaborate and make a monster this time. Ain’t nobody off limits to me in my head. If creatively they have something they feel is something for the project, I’m with it.” (MTV)
Check out 50 Cent’s interview below:
