Today, Joyner Lucas unleashed his latest remix upon the world, a stab at 21 Savage's "Bank Account." And stab, he did. The lyrical rapper decided to make his passion for the rap game crystal clear, waxing about his dreams, accomplishments thus far, and throwing shade at any of his naysayers. At one point in the song though, he takes a step away from his own career to reflect on the careers of some of his elders (and idols)-- he raps:
Nigga, I said all of my idols and favorite rappers ain't been rhyming a lot
What the fuck happened to Jay Electronica?
I wonder if he still got it or not
Whatever happened to Elzhi?
Whatever happened to Meth?
What happened to Beans?
Whatever happened to Lauryn?
What happened to Banks?
Tell me what happened to Bleek
What the fuck happened to Mos?
What happened to Missy?
Nigga what happened to Ghost?
Whatever happened to Q?
What up with Common, what the fuck where did he go?
Tell me what happened to Budden's
What about Luda?
It's definitely a solid list of "what are they doing" MCs, however, there is one MC in particular that did grace the list has still been rhyming, and thus seems confused as to why he's grouped in with this bunch. We're talking about Lloyd Banks.
Although his content output does not rival those of his young rappers peers (and honestly, that'd be a difficult task-- we expect quality over quantity from the PLK), and although he hasn't put out a full body of work in 2017, Lloyd Banks is still doing his thing when it comes to solo music, and whenever he does choose to drop music it's guaranteed fuego.
When a fan asked Banks if he'd heard Joyner's name-drop in the "Bank Account" remix, Banks replied, "Yeah I heard it..I’ve also put out 3 projects worth of material just last year..so I’m kinda like 🤷🏽♂️"
Lest fans forget, in 2016 Banks put out two mixtapes, Halloween Havoc 3: Four Days Of Fury and All Or Nothing: Live It Up, plus appearances on the G-Unit tape The Lost Flash Drive. On top of those releases last year, in 2017 he kicked off the year with his Blue Friday release series, although the rest of this year offered slim pickings from the PLK.
That being said, each of Banks' mixtape is worth revisiting and keeping on rotation, as each offers the type of music that feels timeless, or perhaps better put, feels ahead of its time.
So is Joyner Lucas right in grouping Lloyd Banks alongside the other names as he did? Ultimately he was just trying to pay respect. Let us know what you think and check out Banks' tweet below.