DJ Whoo Kid & Lloyd Banks: Return of the PLK

Back when Lloyd Banks was rapping about “I’m wide awake, but it still feels like I’m dreaming / 40 cal under my pillow, condom filled with my semen / the physical presence of a female’s the form of a demon / that’s why I fuck ‘em and leave em / get my nut while I’m breathin’…” you couldn’t tell me he wasn’t the nicest MC in the game bar Jigga.

But then Banks and the whole G-Unit started eating like the 12 Apostles with Jesus and suddenly he went from "Mixtape Aritst of the Year" to just another artist dropping a mixtape once a year.

Regardless to whom's fault it is or what happened, Banks is still someone I’d listen to just off of GP. And while he isn’t the MC he was just a few years back, he still has the ability to make heads bop and his voice can give any beat just a tad bit extra bass.

And Return of the PLK just reinforced what I’ve known for a while: Banks can still rhyme his ass off, but his lyrics lack substance and at times add up to a bunch of "nothing be said."

Once known as the punchline king, Banks’ skills have deteriorated to the point where his punchlines are becoming more and more cliché. His rhymes were once filled with lyrics that had us saying all the “oooohs” and the “ahhhhs,” now got us saying “ehhhh.”

Example, "Never Enough": “Never have I ever, will you ever see another--cold hearted muthafucka / watch me as I make ‘em suffer / watch me as I make ‘em supper / them bullets ain’t stop me, they made me tougher / built harder than Rocky, I ain’t no sucka…”

Lines like those are all over PLK. The beats are this mixtape are OK. They sure as hell made joints like “Flatline,” “Put It Back,” and “Never Enough” sound listenable, but the self-proclaimed Boy Wonder must’ve really got his share of bread to fill him up 'cause he just doesn’t sound hungry at all.

The mixtape isn't wack, but it ain't good. Throughout the whole joint he didn’t say anything memorable and he sure as hell didn’t take it back to the pre-Get Rich or Die Tryin’ days. He wasn’t even close to the Hunger For More days.

From the look of things, Yayo’s G-Unit’s last hope of having a good rapper left in the group. 'Cause that new 50 single, ("50 For President") would only get son elected to an electric chair.---The Infamous Omar

Hottest Joint: "Another 50"

Weakest Joint: "Hate On Me"