David Banner

The Greatest Story Ever Told may be Banner's most socially conscious album to date. "So Long" targets "Bushenomics" and asks, "When do we stop pimping and start spraying [cops]," while "Cadillac on 22's (Part 2)" returns to the Mississippi rapper's great ghetto anthem and advises his audience to stay close to God. On "Free," he bemoans that "I get more chips if I call my mother a bitch." The beats are relentlessly aggressive Southern hip-hop, alternating between stringy Southern blues and speaker-busting electro thump.

Much of David Banner's charm lies in his bulldozer flow, his political awareness and his
innovative production skills: His xylophone-laden beat for Lil Wayne's "La La" was one of
the best on Tha Carter III. But on his fifth album, Banner battles with his urge to bring
standard-issue Dirty South chart-toppers and cred-building hardness: The Greatest Story
Ever Told is long on brawling tracks like "9mm," which banks on overbearing rhy... More >