Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982),[3] better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo in 1999. After the release of their debut album Beg for Mercy (2003), Banks released his debut solo album, The Hunger for More (2004) the following year. Met with critical and commercial success, it peaked atop the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single, "On Fire", as well as the top 20 single "Karma" (featuring Avant or Kevin Cossom). His second album, Rotten Apple (2006) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and saw mixed reviews. Banks then left Interscope Records and signed with EMI in 2010—along with his G-Unit cohorts—to release his third album, H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger For More 2) in November that year, which saw a critical rebound and peaked at number 26 on the chart.[4][5]
Not to be confused with Lloyds Bank.
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd
Blue Hefner[1]
April 30, 1982
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.[2]
New York City, U.S.
- Rapper
- songwriter
2001–present
- Money by Any Means
- EMPIRE
- Interscope
- G-Unit
- EMI
Over a decade later, he independently released his fourth album, The Course of the Inevitable (2021) to critical acclaim.
Early life
Christopher Lloyd was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the South Jamaica section of the Queens borough in New York City;[2] he is of mixed Puerto Rican and African-American descent.[6] His father spent most of Lloyd's childhood in prison,[7] leaving his mother to raise him and his two siblings.[8] Lloyd attended August Martin High School[9] but dropped out at the age of 16.[7] For his stage name, he took his great, great-grandfather's name Banks, which was passed on by his uncles who also shared it.[6]