Lloyd Banks has always been known to be a “cold” emcee and the New York emcee displays it well on this project. As soon as you see the cover, you are immediately pulled into what this mixtape is all about. The vivid and grimy lyrics are placed well over great production with Lloyd Banks deliver metaphors and word play many hip hop fans would appreciate. With that vivid cover that seems to resonate New York, this mixtape had a lot of heat and fire to it. Here are a few of my top choices from the mixtape.
THE PULSE-FAVORITE BAR: “MY CULT FOLLOWING IS IN THE SLUMS” I really enjoyed the production on this track. The Insurgency did a great job on the boards and it put me in the mind frame of listening to “All About the Benjamins“. By this track, I saw that he was making this mixtape for the slums (hence, my favorite bar of the song).
MAKE IT STACK (ft. ASAP ROCKY)-FAVORITE BAR: “SLEEP IS THE COUSIN OF DEATH, YOU MIGHT AS WELL PICK YOUR URN” This track really attracted me with the production. Doe Pesci and Tha Jerm produce one of the best beats off this mixtape. Lloyd Banks really destroys this beat. This track has a “dream style” feel and Asap Rocky actually surprised me on this track. He had a very creative verse and actually had the better verse between the two. This is a track to ride to and is one of my favorite tracks off of the mixtape. This is a REPEAT OFFENDER!
LOVE SHOTS-FAVORITE BAR: “TOUCHDOWNS KEEP HER THERE, MONEY’S THE SUBJECT/ AND I’M ON ANOTHER TEAM , GOTTA LOVE IT” Lloyd Banks brings a nice track of twisted love and lust on this Nick Speed produced track. Lloyd banks talks about his relationship with a married woman and how she is firing “love shots” out of her gun. Lloyd banks was always good at telling stories. Love Shots deserves a video. This is one of my favorite off of the mixtape and is a REPEAT OFFENDER!
COME UP-FAVORITE BAR: “MASTERPIECES EVERY TIME I DREW/ JEFFREY DAHMER YOU” Lloyd Banks ends the mixtape on a good note with this track. This is possibly the most lyrical track on the mixtape with DJ Excellence providing a raw hip hop sound with this track. I heard signs of that old Lloyd Banks on this track come out from time to time.
Cold Corner 2 satisfied a lot of hip hop fans upon its release. I, however, have mixed feelings for this mixtape. Lloyd Banks really doesn’t come off as lyrical as he has on previous projects to me personally. However, from the grimy production to the punch line lyrics that Banks does so well, Lloyd Banks’s Cold Corner 2 does not disappoint. At the end of the day, Lloyd banks gives us a lyrical vision of a “cold” world.