David Banner is a name that needs no introduction in most rap circles, in the early 2000’s Banner stormed the scene from his home state of Mississippi – where no rappers had traditionally come from before him. He touted himself as not only a ferocious rapper, but also a producer – self-producing most of his work, as well as work for others (T.I., Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Maroon 5, Chris Brown and many others), including, “Like a Pimp” and T.I.’s hit, “Rubberband Man”. It quickly became apparent that Banner was a force to be reckoned with; especially when it came out that he was a few credits short of receiving his Master’s Degree in Education. Since then, Banner has gone on to star in major motion pictures (Black Snake Moan, Stomp The Yard, The Butler, Ride Alongamong others), release music, produce for others; and also start a new career as a highly-sought after keynote speaker.
It has been seven years since David Banner released an album (Death Of A Pop Star with 9th Wonder), which was by design. He took his time to create The God Box, as he was fueled by the people he encountered on his speaking tours, he wanted to create something that spoke to the experience that black men have in this country – decidedly political, potentially even antagonistic, but that’s Banner’s style. He has never been one to let his thoughts or ideas sit idle.
Upon its release on 5-19-17 The God Box shot straight to the top of the iTunes charts and held down the #1 spot for almost a full week (supplanting Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN). The God Box features an all-star cast, including Cee-Lo, Raheem DeVaughn, Big K.R.I.T, Black Thought, Trinidad James, WatchtheDuck & Big Rube and while Dave handles the production on half of the album himself, he also enlists production from DJ Khalil, DJ Swiff, Chris “THX” Goodman and more.
When asked what The God Box is Banner states “it’s more than an album, it’s an art exhibit. It’s sort of like a secret. It’s something that people are going to have to come to their own conclusions on. Everyone will get something different out of the album; and I’ll let the listener decide what that is.”
With The God Box being sculpted like an art exhibit and due to the fact that Banner feels Southern artists are overlooked as lyricists, Banner linked up with Genius to present a beautiful digibook for the album; which includes annotations from Banner, artwork and the full lyrics for each song from The God Box. You can now unpack Banner’s The God Boxdirectly from Genius.
© 2017, Niyah Nel. All rights reserved.
