Settling down, hip--hop style

Lloyd Banks has always seemed like the cool member of the G Unit family -- the young cousin everyone at the reunion wants to talk to but who never lets his guard down to give a cliché drunken toast. He's a special boy, that one, his aunts might say. He's going places.\nAfter the strong debut effort Hunger For More, Banks was indeed going places. Even if 50 Cent lost his way, it seemed, Banks would be the natural successor, if just for his knack for catchy rhymes. With his second album, Rotten Apple, Banks has finally shown us the reality of his trajectory. It's not nearly as promising anymore.\nWhether that trajectory coincides with a possible G Unit downfall -- 50 Cent's empire isn't nearly as dominant as it once was and southern rap is more popular than ever -- or is just part of Banks' personal destiny. But that's another matter altogether. On Rotten Apple, Banks does nothing to separate himself from the G Unit mold. He's happy to make explicitly violent threats over popping club beats, settled in to a routine he seems uneager to throw off.\nThat's not always a bad thing because Apple offers up some truly fantastic singles. The underground hit "Cake" is an aggressive, unwieldy song, and "Hands Up" is a club track on the same level of "In Da Club." Unfortunately, those highs are eclipsed on the rest of the album by the wasted potential of guest appearances and Banks' unwillingness to attempt anything outside of his comfort zone. "You Know The Deal" is pedestrian, "Get Clapped" is an unconvincing ode to violence and "Addicted" misuses the typically terrific Musiq. Other tracks on the album don't deserve individual mention, not necessarily because they're so bad, but because they're so ordinary as to inspire no opinion whatsoever.\nIt's certainly not a crime to be uninspiring. If it were, we'd all be locked up at some point. \nBut knowing Banks' talent and unlimited resources, it's especially disappointing to see himself willingly limiting his reaches. We could certainly do worse as listeners, but it doesn't change the fact that Banks could do far better as a rapper.