BANKS' STATEMENT
Rapper with 'Hunger' for hits must escape 50 Cent's shadow

By most people's standards, rapper Lloyd Banks would seem to have it made.

He's part of what is arguably the most successful hip-hop posse on the planet — G-Unit, which is fronted by no less powerful a star than 50 Cent.

Banks, 22, also has earned the respect of hard-core rap fans, after taking last year's Mix Tape Artist of the Year award for his series of independently released recordings. And on June 29, he'll issue his first major-label solo album, "The Hunger for More," which has already spawned the top-five rap hit "On Fire."

But Banks isn't entirely happy about the acclaim.

He says his association with 50 Cent has made the police pay him unwanted attention. His Mix Tape prize has made bootleggers more eager than usual to rip off his recordings. And the hard-core nature of his latest music has him concerned about getting it past the FCC, which has been tightening its strictures on what's acceptable.

"Even my clean version is not clean enough," Banks says with a laugh.

Indeed, Banks has built his reputation on cruel and racy lyrics, brutally stripped music and a cold-blooded rap flow. Mainstream music fans discovered him on G-Unit's debut CD, 2003's double platinum "Beg for Mercy." Some critics felt that his raps, delivered in a bone-dry monotone, even outshone 50 Cent's.

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