Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Rotten Apple

 
Album Review: Rotten Apple

  • Artist: Lloyd Banks
  • Rating: StarStar
  • Release Date: October 10, 2006
  • Type: Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rap

Review

After a promising debut, G-Unit soldier Lloyd Banks hedged his bets, subdued the hungry, punch line-filled style that defined him, and delivered a so-so effort that coasts on the G-Unit formula. With an EP's worth of heat -- the infectious single "Hands Up" with 50 Cent being the hottest -- Rotten Apple is no disaster, and there's no doubt the G-Unit faithful will get twice as much out of this than everyone else, especially with the G-Unit universe guest list and the numerous raw, freestyle-flavored productions that sound like they fell off a G-Unit Radio mixtape. The long, word-filled flows are here, as are the humorous stingers Banks likes to drop, but his delivery is surprisingly weary, and often on the more street tracks, the production is drab, making it easy to drift away from the words no matter how sharp. Luckily, G-Unit's bag of hooks just keeps on giving, and when Rotten Apple goes for polish, it succeeds. Besides "Hands Up," there's the cool "Help" -- a "one for the ladies" track with Keri Hilson -- and "You Know the Deal" with Rakim, which sounds exactly how Mobb Deep's G-Unit debut should have. Rocking it with a trio of Southern ballers -- Young Buck, Scarface, and 8Ball -- Banks offers the excellent "Iceman" before closing with "Gilmore's," one of those loose, casual, and satisfying numbers G-Unit members always seem to drop at or toward the end of their albums. "Iceman" and "Gilmore's" suggest Banks is the last soldier who should fall into the "I own this/I own that" or "I moved this many units/You didn't move nearly as many" ruts G-Unit is famous for, but he does, too often to ignore. The highlights are way high, but the album as a whole is "fans-only." ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Rotten Apple (Lyrics) Sgt. C. Jackson 50 Cent, Prodigy, Lloyd Banks (4:26)
Survival (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks (3:47)
Playboy 2 (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks (3:44)
The Cake Sgt. C. Jackson 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks (2:46)
Make a Move (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks (4:46)
Hands Up Sgt. C. Jackson 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks (4:00)
Help (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks, Keri Hilson (3:54)
Addicted Musiq (Soulchild), Lloyd Banks (3:00)
You Know the Deal Rakim, Lloyd Banks (4:05)
Get Clapped Mobb Deep, Lloyd Banks (5:01)
Stranger (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks (3:09)
Change (Lyrics) P. Rogers Lloyd Banks (3:35)
NY NY Std BM. C.J. King Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks (3:29)
One Night Stand (Lyrics) Rev. C.L. Franklin Lloyd Banks (3:57)
Iceman D. Morris Scarface, 8Ball, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks (5:26)
Gilmore's (Lyrics) Lloyd Banks (2:50)

Credits

Steven King (Bass), Steven King (Guitar), Steven King (Mixing), Luis Resto (Keyboards), Luis Resto (Producer), Manny Smith (A&R), Randy Sosin (Video), Steve Baughman (Mixing), Havoc (Producer), Dave Holmes (Guitar), F. Scott Schafer (Photography), Steve Sola (Engineer), Steve Sola (Mixing), Eminem (Producer), Eminem (Mixing), Carlisle Young (Engineer), Patrick Viala (Mixing), 50 Cent (Executive Producer), Nancie Stern (Sample Clearance), Les Scurry (Production Coordination), Nikki Martin (Coordination), Michael Strange (Mixing), Tony Campana (Engineer), Brian "Big Bass" Gardener (Mastering), The 10 (Producer), Ron Browz (Producer), Marcus Heisser (A&R), Dru Castro (Engineer), Mike Severson (Guitar), Nicole Frantz (Creative Assistance), Bruce Waynne (Producer), Sheena Curry (Product Manager), Dirty Swift (Producer), 9th Wonder (Producer), Scram Jones (Scratching), Chris Styles (Producer), Alex Ortiz (Engineer), Yvette Gayle (Publicity), Nick Speed (Producer), Stu "Bassie" Brooks (Bass), D. Prosper (A&R), David Saslow (Promoter), Taurus Scott (Engineer), Niall McMonagle (Assistant), Joshua Fisher (Marketing), Daniel Jones (Guitar), Daniel Jones (Keyboards), Daniel Jones (Producer), Andrew Flad (Marketing), Yvan Bing (Assistant), Kelvin Chu (A&R), Ken Kaldenbauch (A&R), Machavelli (Producer), Machavelli (Engineer), Jermaine Mobley (Producer), Dave Morris (Producer), Don Robinson (Marketing), Herve Romain (Promoter)
Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wikipedia: Rotten Apple (Lloyd Banks album)
Top
Rotten Apple
Studio album by Lloyd Banks
Released October 10, 2006
Recorded 2006
Genre East Coast hip hop, gangsta rap
Length 61:56
Label G-Unit/Interscope
Producer Lloyd Banks (Exec.)
50 Cent (Exec.)
Sha Money XL (co-exec.) Eminem, Needlz, Younglord, Ron Browz, Havoc, 9th Wonder, Midi Mafia
Professional reviews
Lloyd Banks chronology
The Hunger for More
(2004)
Rotten Apple
(2006)
Untitled third studio album
(2010)
Singles from Rotten Apple
  1. "The Cake"
    Released: June 10, 2006
  2. "Hands Up"
    Released: September 2006
  3. "Help"
    Released: November 2006
  4. "Iceman"
    Released: 2006

Rotten Apple is the second album by G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks. It was released on October 10, 2006 and sold 143,000 copies in its first week.[1] It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The title of the album is a play on the New York City nickname "Big Apple".

Contents

Background

The album featured guest appearances from 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Scarface, Mobb Deep, 8 Ball,Keri Hilson, and Musiq Soulchild. Production was provided by Eminem, Needlz, Sha Money XL, Younglord, Ron Browz, Havoc and 9th Wonder. Banks also wanted to show the darker side of New York City, and allow listeners to hear what it was like growing up in South Jamaica, Queens.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews.[2] Rolling Stone's Evan Serpick gave it 3 out of 5 stars and said that "Eminem, Mobb Deep’s Havoc and a host of G-Unit regulars produce an album’s worth of chunky, ominous beats to fit Banks’ foul mood, but it runs a little thin over sixteen tracks".

But XXL gave it a L/XXL and said "Not falling far from 50 Cent’s platinum-rooted tree, Rotten Apple is fertilized with potent doses of sonic strength and catchy hooks. But overall, it isn’t the new massacre that'll shake New York hip-hop down to its core." Also Allmusic's David Jeffries gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and said that "The highlights are way high, but the album as a whole is fans-only."

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Time
1 "Rotten Apple" (feat. 50 Cent, Prodigy) Havoc, Sha Money XL (co) 4:26
2 "Survival" Young RJ 3:47
3 "Playboy 2" Ron Browz 3:44
4 "The Cake" (feat. 50 Cent) The 10 2:46
5 "Make a Move" Midi Mafia 4:46
6 "Hands Up" (feat. 50 Cent) Eminem, Dangerous LLC and Bang Out (co) 4:01
7 "Help" (feat. Keri Hilson) Ron Browz, Sha Money XL (co) 3:54
8 "Addicted" (feat. Musiq Soulchild) Daniel Jones, Jermaine Mobley and Sha Money XL (co) 3:00
9 "You Know the Deal" (feat. Rakim) Product, Whitton 4:05
10 "Get Clapped" (feat. Prodigy) Needlz 5:01
11 "Stranger" Nick Speed 3:10
12 "Change" Prince, Machavelli 3:35
13 "NY NY" (feat. Tony Yayo) Eminem, Luis Resto (co) 3:29
14 "One Night Stand" (feat. Keon Bryce) 9th Wonder 3:57
15 "Iceman" (feat. Young Buck, Scarface, 8Ball) Dave Morris 5:28
16 "Gilmore's" Richard "Younglord" Frierson for The Hitmen 2:51
17* "Life" (feat. Spider Loc) Chad Beatz 4:21

Charts

Charts (2006)[3][4] Peak
position
French Albums Chart 65
Irish Albums Chart 27
Swiss Albums Chart 36
UK Albums Chart 40
Canadian Albums Chart 6
U.S. Billboard 200 3
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1

References

  1. ^ Rotten Apple Sales, 1st Week U.S.. UrbanConnects. Accessed July 31, 2007
  2. ^ Lloyd Banks: Rotten Apple (2006): Reviews. Metacritic. Accessed May 29, 2008.
  3. ^ BillBoard. Lloyd Banks - Artist chart history. BillBoard. Accessed October 22, 2007.
  4. ^ aCharts. Lloyd Banks - The Hunger For More. aCharts. Accessed October 23, 2007.



 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rotten Apple (Lloyd Banks album)" Read more