The Hunger for More

Untitled

The Hunger for More is the debut album by G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks, released June 29, 2004 on G-Unit Records and Interscope Records. Banks had been featured on 50 Cent's multi-platinum 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin', and on G-Unit's Beg for Mercy in November of the same year. And he had recently been named Mixtape Artist of the Year at the Mixtape Awards—for his appearances on G-Unit mixtapes as well as his own Money in the Bank series—when The Hunger for More was released by G-Unit Records and Interscope Records. In 2010, a sequel album, titled H.F.M. 2 (Hunger for More 2) was released.

Background

The hit singles from this album include "On Fire", "I'm So Fly", and "Karma". Features on this album include 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg.

During the first week of The Hunger For More's release, a distribution house in Manhattan was robbed of approximately eight boxes of the CDs (200 copies). A New York record store had nearly 100 copies of the CD stolen from its racks by a single perpetrator on the album's first day in stores, though they were later recovered.

Concept

During an interview Lloyd Banks explained the reason behind naming the album. He said:

When I say The Hunger for More, it could be referring to more success. It could be more money. Or Respect. More power. More understanding. All those things lead up to that hunger for more, because my more isn't everybody else's more. I feel like I made it already, because I got already what everybody on the corners of the neighborhood I grew up in is striving to get.

Recordings

We had a studio on the tour Bus. I wrote on the road, going through different situations, constantly touring. 50 was out there, Snoop Dogg was out there, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, a lot of people and I'm tryin' to find my lane at the same time as goin' through all the ins and outs.

[1] "I recorded about 50 tracks and I had 50 choose the tracks for the album. “Chips it down” meaning that when the finances are not there, you realize that you need money for everything, and you know that money can change everything. It is talking about the move from having nothing to having all the money and the cars and jewelry. [2] When I'm doin' records for my album, I'm givin' you the same thing I'm givin' you on the mixtapes, but I'm also givin' material that I don't care about getting an (oooh or wow) at the crowd. I do it to basically to tell you stuff you need to know. You understand. If I said you need to know this is what to expect from my neighborhood its kinda like a message at the same time you see good news travel slower than bad news. Yanno so if you grow up in the suburbs or you out of the country or whatever maybe my personal experiences will make you appreciate your neighborhood better. So it's certain things that when I make a record or my album where I'm tellin' you I don't care about your *oooohs and ahhhhs* I just feel like you need to know this." [3]

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllHipHop	link
Allmusic	link
Vibe	link
Blender	link
E!	(B-)link
HipHopDX	link
RapReviews	link
Rolling Stone	link
Vibe	(favorable) link
The Village Voice	(mixed) link

Upon its release, The Hunger for More received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".

Commercial performance

It was released in 2004 and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 The Hunger for More, opened at #1 on Billboard's albums sales chart, with week-one sales topping 465,000. copies sold in the second week. As of 2010 Hunger has sold 1.5 million units, respectively according to Nielsen SoundScan Banks had the feeling of having the album reach number 1 in the United States. "That's the kind of debut that veteran artists have," says Banks. "That showed me that following 50's moves and studying the way that he played the game had put me in an incredible position." The album has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album also achieved Platinum status in Canada

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Time
1	"Ain't No Click" (featuring Tony Yayo)	Havoc	4:25
2	"Playboy"	Ron Browz	4:32
3	"Warrior"	Thayod Ausar	2:47
4	"On Fire"	Eminem, K1 Mil (co.)	3:07
5	"I Get High" (featuring 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg)	Hi-Tek	4:09
6	"I'm So Fly"	Timbaland, Danja (co.)	4:00
7	"Work Magic" (featuring Young Buck)	Scram Jones	4:27
8	"If You So Gangsta"	Chad Beatz & Sha Money XL	3:31
9	"Warrior Part 2" (featuring Eminem, 50 Cent & Nate Dogg)	Eminem	3:38
10	"Karma" (featuring Avant)	Greg "Ginx" Doby	4:38
11	"When The Chips Are Down" (featuring The Game)	Black Jeruz & Sha Money XL	3:39
12	"Til the End"	Eminem	5:09
13	"Die One Day"	Baby Grand	3:14
14	"South Side Story"	Diaz Brothers	4:10
15*	"Just Another Day"	Tone Capone	3:29
16*	"Take A Good Look" (UK Bonus Track)	J-Hen	2:53

Special Edition

• The album was also released in a special edition, which featured a bonus track and different packaging (including a CD booklet on dollar bill-style paper). It also included a 25-minute DVD with the video for "My Buddy", a clip for "Smile" and "A Day in the Life of Lloyd Banks."
• The Bonus Track on The Special Edition, "Just Another Day" Contains lyrical interpolations of Queen Latifah's song of the same name.

Charts

Charts (2004)	Peak position
Dutch Albums Chart	52
French Albums Chart	37
German Albums Chart	45
Irish Albums Chart	36
Swiss Albums Chart	65
UK Albums Chart	15
Canadian Albums Chart	2
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1