Start It Up

Album: The Hunger For More 2 (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks' third studio album, The Hunger For More 2. The song features Kanye West, Fabolous, Ryan Leslie and Swizz Beatz.
  • West's contribution came about after the "Stronger" rapper complimented Banks' abilities on Twitter, calling the G-Unit MC one of the most underrated artists in hip-hop. "The whole Kanye thing happened, it was shortly after the tweet that he wrote, the comment he made about me being underrated and should be in everybody's top five," Banks told MTV News. "We read that statement, and it kind of took off on its own. I definitely appreciated that. Just for him to say that opens up the eyes that have been watching him [to me]. And from there, it made sense to go into the studio with him. Shortly after that, we went into the studio."
  • The track was originally scheduled to just feature Banks and Fabolous but soon expanded to a multiple collaboration. "That was one of the last joints I recorded for my album," Banks explained. "Originally it was me and Fab, then I got Kanye, then Swizz was in the city and so was Ryan. The difference from that track being me and Fab and having Kanye was 24 hours," he added.
  • Banks and Kanye West also collaborated on the latter's track, "Christian Dior Denim Flow."
  • The beat was provided by producer Cardiak. It was the first placement on a major artist's track for the New Jersey native, and was an unexpected break for him. "I wasn't even really shopping the beat like that," Cardiak admitted to The Boombox. "It was just sitting in my computer. I didn't really expect for Banks to pick it like that but when he picked it, I didn't think the song was gonna come out the way that it was."

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