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After two successful solo albums under the Interscope umbrella, G-Unit's Lloyd Banks is finally free of the major label's claws, and is currently enjoying life as an independent artist.
According to the rapper, he hasn't been signed to Interscope since 2007, when he fulfilled his contractual obligations.
"I was ready to make a move," Banks told MTV's Mixtape Daily this week. "I'm a brand-new engine. If anything, it's their loss. It's been a dark shadow cast upon that. That's why you hear [Funkmaster] Flex on the radio [boycotting Interscope], because it's an aura created around that machine, and the artists automatically get smacked in the head."
The rumors have already begun as well. Following the departure of Young Buck from the Unit, many were betting on Banks to be next. The Boy Wonder ain't going nowhere. Wherever he drops his next solo album, Banks makes it clear that it will be under the Unit umbrella.
"Everything happened for a reason," the rapper tells MTV. "I feel like I'm so blessed because of my work ethic and how easy the music is coming to me. It feels so good to be an independent artist with a brand. I have direct deals with iTunes and things of that nature, where it's direct money coming to me. It's 50% of me that's not pressed to be on a major.
"I have the Lloyd Banks branding and also the G-Unit branding," he continued. "It hasn't really been an artist out there independent that is still capable of getting out there and regenerating energy. Most of the [well-established] artists that's independent, it's after they dropped seven or eight albums on a major. I have two albums off a major, and everybody is anticipating what I'm doing now off of the mixtapes."
The rapper is already in the lab work on his next project. So far, he's got beats from Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz and Just Blaze, and is hoping for a number of A-list guest appearances.
Either way, Banks says a "classic album" is coming.
According to the rapper, he hasn't been signed to Interscope since 2007, when he fulfilled his contractual obligations.
"I was ready to make a move," Banks told MTV's Mixtape Daily this week. "I'm a brand-new engine. If anything, it's their loss. It's been a dark shadow cast upon that. That's why you hear [Funkmaster] Flex on the radio [boycotting Interscope], because it's an aura created around that machine, and the artists automatically get smacked in the head."
The rumors have already begun as well. Following the departure of Young Buck from the Unit, many were betting on Banks to be next. The Boy Wonder ain't going nowhere. Wherever he drops his next solo album, Banks makes it clear that it will be under the Unit umbrella.
"Everything happened for a reason," the rapper tells MTV. "I feel like I'm so blessed because of my work ethic and how easy the music is coming to me. It feels so good to be an independent artist with a brand. I have direct deals with iTunes and things of that nature, where it's direct money coming to me. It's 50% of me that's not pressed to be on a major.
"I have the Lloyd Banks branding and also the G-Unit branding," he continued. "It hasn't really been an artist out there independent that is still capable of getting out there and regenerating energy. Most of the [well-established] artists that's independent, it's after they dropped seven or eight albums on a major. I have two albums off a major, and everybody is anticipating what I'm doing now off of the mixtapes."
The rapper is already in the lab work on his next project. So far, he's got beats from Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz and Just Blaze, and is hoping for a number of A-list guest appearances.
Either way, Banks says a "classic album" is coming.
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