| The Hunger for More | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Lloyd Banks |
| Cover: | Lloyd-banks-the-hunger-for-more.jpeg |
| Recorded: | 2003 - 2004 |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Next Title: | Rotten Apple |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
The Hunger for More is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Lloyd Banks. Originally scheduled for a May 25, 2004 release,[1] the album was ultimately dropped on June 29, 2004 through G-Unit Records and Interscope Records.
Recording sessions took place at Sony Studios, Spydadome, Right Track Studios and Teamwork Studios in New York, The Power House at Metropolis Studios in London, The Big House in Farmington, The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, and 54 Sound in Detroit.
Production was handled by Eminem, Sha Money XL, Baby Grand, Black Jeruz, Chad Beat, Greg "Jinx" Doby, Havoc, Hi-Tek, Kwamé, Ron Browz, Scram Jones, Thayod Ausar, The Diaz Brothers and Timbaland, with co-producer Danja and additional producer Luis Resto. It features guest appearances from fellow G-Unit members 50 Cent, The Game, Tony Yayo and Young Buck, as well as Nate Dogg, Eminem and Snoop Dogg.
The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States, at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and Music Canada and Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.
It was supported with three charted singles: "On Fire", "I'm So Fly" and "Karma". Its lead single received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance nomination at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.
During an interview Lloyd Banks explained the reason behind naming the album. He said:
During the first week of The Hunger For Mores release, a distribution house in Manhattan was robbed of approximately eight boxes of the CDs (200 copies). A New York record store had nearly 100 copies of the CD stolen from its racks by a single perpetrator on the album's first day in stores, though they were later recovered.[2]
In support of the album, G-Unit/Interscope Records released three singles with accompanying music videos.
Its lead single, "On Fire", was released prior to the album, on April 27, 2004. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 2 on the Hot Rap Songs in the US. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards held on February 13, 2005, but lost to Jay-Z's "99 Problems". On May 19, 2005, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA. The song can be heard in the fifth episode of the third season of TV series The Wire entitled "Straight and True" and in 2005 film Fantastic Four.
The second single off the album, "I'm So Fly", was released on July 13, 2004. It did not make it to the US Billboard Hot 100, however, it peaked at number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles, number 32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 21 on the Hot Rap Songs. Music videos for the first two singles were directed by Jessy Terrero.
The album's third and final single, "Karma", was released on October 19, 2004. It reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 6 on the Hot Rap Songs in the US. The music video, directed by Little X, and radio versions of the song features R&B singer Avant instead of Kevin Cossom, who provided additional vocals on its album version.
In 2009, the song "Warrior, Pt. 2" was used in So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) season 6.
The Hunger for More was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 66 based on ten reviews.
Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews claimed: "while it's not better than 50's national debut or G-Unit's album, it's certainly no worse". AllMusic's David Jeffries called it "another solid release from the crew", and also compared it with G-Unit's previous releases, saying it is "a couple steps down from 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and a step above G-Unit's Beg for Mercy". Rondell Conway of Vibe stated: "while he excels in clever jousting, Banks lacks range and storytelling ability". E! Online reviewer found "the one thing Banks lacks is Fiddy's natural charisma--he's also about eight bulletholes short in the "life-experience department". Dean Kuipers of Los Angeles Times wrote: "though not one of the songs on the album stands out in terms of head-popping new production -- there's not a hit that will transcend the hip-hop hard-core -- each cut is utterly bulletproof, and Banks' lyrics provide a few new twists".
In mixed reviews, Chairman Mao of Blender resumed: "while Banks's wicked wordplay is impressive, his one-liners get him only so far". Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone concluded: "Banks... raps each verse as if his entire career depends on it".
In the United States, the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and the Top Rap Albums charts, with 434,000 copies sold in its first week of its release.[3] It remained at number-one in the second week, selling close to 164,000 copies.[4] "That's the kind of debut that veteran artists have", says Banks. "That showed me that following 50's moves and studying the way that he played the game had put me in an incredible position". On September 9, 2004, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for 1 million units sold in the US alone.
The album also debuted at number 2 on the Canadian Albums Chart. In October 2004, the album received a Platinum certification by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for sales of 100,000 copies in Canada.[5]
In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, number 7 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart and number 19 on the Scottish Albums Chart. The album reached its Gold status by the British Phonographic Industry on June 17, 2016.
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[6] | 51 |
| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[7] | 10 |
| Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[8] | 1 |
| Chart (2004) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[9] | 46 | |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10] | 11 |