P
eople usually expect a consistent image from an artist. You talk about peace and positive things and aren’t known to have beef with other artists – so why appear on the cover of a magazine with guns? There shouldn’t have to be an explanation because that’s how I came out. People forget too quickly. That’s how I came out; that’s a part of me. Regardless of what people say, they think the “new” David Banner is cool, everybody likes him, but that ain’t what folks want.
Is your new record with Yola, “Get Money,” going to be the lead single off your next album? It’s definitely going to be on the album. I don’t know if it’s going to be the lead single; that’s really up to the public. Based on the reaction I’m getting from it now, hell yeah, it’s going to be a single. With this album, I’m going to let the fans tell me what they want. I’ma put songs out there and once they grab on I’m gon’ bust they head with it. I got so many songs now that we’re gonna throw a couple out there and let people pick what they want. “Get Money” is really showing me that I’m doing the right thing. I’m always on my myspace all the time just taking advice from my fans – if I happen to be their favorite rapper, where would they like to see me in the future? A lot of people say they wasn’t hearing enough “boom,” so I gotta bring it back for them. Hit me up at www.myspace.com/davidbanner.
Who’s the “new” David Banner? Well, not really “new.” The Heal the Hood David Banner. The “Play” David Banner. All that is good. I guess that’s less scary and less aggressive, and that’s the position that the general public would like to see a black man take – less aggressive. And I think that’s some bullshit. Let’s get it crackin’. What happened to make the “old” David Banner want to come back? Interally, he never left. Musically, what we have to understand is that as an artist, I always want to be on the cutting edge. By the time people get into our music, we’re really not on that no more. It just got the point where I had been doing a certain type of music for so long that it wasn’t challenging to me anymore. Even though other music may or may not have done as well or may not been what people wanted, I had to satisfy myself as an artist. I had to try other things. Sometimes you have to leave home in order to respect what you really have and what you do.
Is the first line of the song a diss to Steve Rifkind? If people listen to it they’ll be able to figure out what it is. It’s funny to see how people react to it. People are looking for somebody to die or somebody to start something. So I’m just gonna let people take it how they want. You didn’t answer the question. I know.
“I’m the best producer in the game, and I will prove it this year.”
Now that you’re breaking into Hollywood and getting some acting roles, how would you compare the politics and the process of breaking into the music business as opposed to the movie business? I really can’t be so vain as to say that I know what it means to break into the music industry because I had the advantage of being a rapper, so I didn’t have to necessarily go through the things that the average person off the street had to go through. I wouldn’t want to bitch and moan about the struggles I had to go through to become an actor because I already had something to get me through the front door. It was nothing close to what I went through in order to be a rapper – being homeless and sitting outside studios. I would never harp on what it took for me to become an actor. But that’s one of the reasons I went to acting school. That’s one of the reasons I work so hard as far as acting is concerned, because I know I did have a blessing that most people don’t have when they’re trying to become a serious actor. The difference between a lot of people and me is that I really take this acting thing seriously.
Hot 97 announced that you were no longer signed to SRC/ Universal. True or false? That really depends on how the business goes. If Steve does what he needs to do, then there’s a possibility that stuff can be cool. If he don’t, I’m gonna act and do beats. It’s really up to Steve Rifkind. I’ve gotten a whole lot of offers from other places. I just take it in and listen to what people say. Steve really has got some work he needs to do for the person who started his company.
Initially, when you first signed to SRC, you felt like Steve really understood what you were trying to do and saw your vision. What do you think changed since then? In a lot of cases, people have too much going on instead of concentrating on one thing. But it’s not all Steve’s fault. Like I said in the last interview, there was a lot of mistakes that I made, so I really put it on myself more than I do Steve. I know how to make a hit record. I know how to get out here and make my record pop. If you look at every group that was really successful with Steve, they had somebody who was runnin’ it, who had a vision, and they basically put their vision out there and Steve quarterbacked it. My vision got sort of blurry because I got caught up doing too much stuff. It’s on me, regardless of what label I’m with.
What acting roles will you be appearing in? I can’t really speak on the upcoming movies. The only movie I can speak on is the one I’ve done. It’s a lot of politics and red tape when it comes to movies. I’m in the movie Black Snake Moan; me, Justin Timberlake, Christina Ricci, and Samuel L. Jackson. It’s a major role, from beginning to end. And it’s a major accomplishment for a young black male to be in the movie the whole way and not die. We’re usually the first ones that die. In the first five minutes, boy, you got to go! It’s funny, somebody told me something amazing: people will cut off their left arm just to breath on the same screen as Samuel L. Jackson, who has become a friend of mine and my acting coach. That meant a whole lot to me and I’ve learned a lot of life lessons from the man.
Creatively, did you just hit a roadblock? I wouldn’t say that. You just have to pick who you want to be. You can’t really be everything at one time, especially when you don’t have a strong enough team behind you. I had to concentrate on being David Banner the rapper, and now I’m trying to concentrate on being David Banner the producer. I just learned that you have to pace yourself. Right now I’m close to placing 20 beats, just this month. I’m back on my grizzy so right now my major concentration is with God, my family, movies, and beats. That’s my concentration. As I work on other people’s stuff, I do a couple beats for myself here and there as I feel comfortable and bust they damn head.
What’s going on with your cartoon? It’s wonderful. I’m making the music for it right now. It’s been a great experience. One of my biggest problems with music is the fact that what you said earlier is true: people want to keep you in a box. I’m just going to experiment, cause I want to try new things in my movies and in my other adventures and endeavors. I guess I’m going to give people what they expect of David Banner and just keep him there. But in my cartoon, there’s a lot of stuff I want to talk about and a lot of topics that I really can’t touch or fully explain inside a rap song. So I’m gonna do it in my other ventures, and my cartoon is actually helping me do that. It’s strange. It’s gonna be a really funny political cartoon. It’s gonna be really funny.
So you’re not really concerned with a release date for your next album? It’s basically up to SRC as far as how things progress? Basically, they got to pay me. It just comes down to that. Pay me. That’s it. I’m just gonna be up front with you. Pay me. You know the type of person I am. If the record label is fuckin’ up, I’ll pay for my own posters. You know those orange David Banner posters, I paid for them. That last set of t-shirts you saw, I paid for them. They’re not doing what they need to do, but I can’t hear excuses. I’ll make it happen, but dude needs to step it up. If I’m the person who started your company, dude, pay me. Make sure I’m good for the rest of my life. These record labels can sign another David Banner, but we can’t find a new identity. Once it’s over for us, it’s done.
Is the cartoon geared towards kids or adults? Aw, hell naw. It’s not aimed at kids at all. Kids should not watch my cartoon at all. If kids watch my cartoon, they need they lil’ bad ass whooped. They do not need to watch this cartoon at all. No.
But, at the same time, did your album sales meet SRC’s expectations according to the amount of money they put out? I know the first album did. Whether or not they sold enough records out there for their expenses to be taken care of, I don’t know. You’d have to ask them because I can’t answer that question. Go ask Steve Rifkind. Go ask Universal, I don’t know. But regardless, we’re talking about who started SRC. I’m the reason you know what SRC is.
Having hooked up with the Cartoon Network, how does it work? Do you write the cartoon or just provide the background beats? It’s a collaborative effort. The cartoon was going to go in effect before me. This dude that works at Cartoon Network was really affected by my first album, Mississippi: The Album. He said the album influenced him so much that he wrote a cartoon based on it, and then he met me and we just picked it up from there.
Anything else you’d like to say? I’m the best producer in the game, and I will prove it this year. Quote that. 133