David Banner: Train of Thought

"This is for my Bloods, and this is for my Crips/Throw your sets up, one nation in this bitch/We so quick to kill each other in the hoods where we from/But we hide the AKs when them fuckin' feds come/When there's a pedophile that's lurkin' 'round where we stay/We turn our fuckin' cheek and let them faggots walk away/But God gave me a vision, and now a thug sees what would happen in the hood if the Vice Lords and Gs/All came together, blue and red flags/Raisin' a nation of Black men, but ain't it sad?/We got too many cowards that'll let them bullets fly/'Cause they'd rather get paid and watch the young kids die/You muthafuckin'...bitch-ass nigga."—David Banner, "B.A.N."

AREN'T YOU A LITTLE LATE WITH A STOP-SNITCHING SONG, OR DO YOU THINK THAT MESSAGE IS STILL PERTINENT?

I think it's like the Malcolm X caps [in the '90s]. What Malcolm X stood for was powwerful, something that will transcend time, as long as human beings are on the earth and we interact with each other. So I think the foundation of what "stop snitchin'" was based upon is needed, but once you put it on T-shirts... Anytime you put something on a T-shirt or hat you done fucked it up.

WAS THIS SONG INSPIRED BY T.I.'S MOST RECENT RUN-IN WITH THE LAW?

Well, I wouldn't really say it was inspired by Tip. I think Tip was just the extra fuel on the fire of shit I really been feelin'. You know, it's becoming too much, man. From Mike Vick, to Jena 6, to the young lady that was raped by all them White folks, now the oral-sex case in Georgia... It's like, man, come on, when are we gon' realize and admit that there is [a problem]? One thing that I want to say—and be sure to print this, this is very important—you know and I know that there are some things that our people can do better, right? But we don't get in front of these White folks and air it out!

IS THAT WHY YOU SAID, "WE SO QUICK TO KILL EACH OTHER IN THE HOODS WHERE WE FROM/BUT WE HIDE THE AKS WHEN THE FUCKIN' FEDS COME"?

What I'm really saying is, dawg, to be clear-cut, we gangstas only in our community. We'll shoot a muthafucka for steppin' on our shoes and not bringin' our dope back, but we won't stand up to these pedophiles. We so tough, but when the feds is coming and kickin' in our doors and doing unlawful shit... We gangsta about the wrong shit. Be gangsta about [Hurricane] Katrina!

DO YOU THINK GANGS LIKE THE BLOODS AND THE CRIPS CAN EVER REALLY UNITE?

I think the Bloods and Crips can, but it's gonna take our elders to stop being so selfish. There's money in conflict, and it's gonna get to the point where, if we don't combine, we gon' die. What helped groups in the beginning was that they were community protection groups. We ain't gotta like each other or hang out every day, but when it comes down to preservation of our people, sometimes there's a higher calling.


XXL Magazinie
JAN/FEB 2008 No. 99