TRUE MAGAZINE: Album Review – David Banner’s “The God Box”

David Banner makes a glorious return with The God Box. An album that feels much needed in the current Hip-Hop landscape. This is his first album since Death of a Pop Star in 2010.

Review:

Track #1: “Magnolia (Ft. CeeLo Green & Raheem Devaughn)” – The song is the perfect introduction to the album as Banner pays tribute to his hometown of Mississippi. Banner raps about common African-American struggles that many have faced in past while CeeLo provides his soulful vocals on the chorus, and spits a deadly verse. These two flow perfectly together.

Track #2: “My Uzi (Ft. Big K.R.I.T.)” – Banner teams up with fellow Mississippian Big K.R.I.T. on this banging track. It’s great to see southern rappers continuing to support each other. “My Uzi” is one of my favorites for sure. The hook alone gets you hyped up for the rest of the album:

“My uzi weigh a ton
I bought a
My uzi weigh a ton
I bought a
Ain’t got no body guard
I just need mighty God”

Track #3: “Who Want It (Ft. Black Thought & WatchTheDuck)” – A steady track through and through. I enjoyed the rawness of Banner’s and Black Thought’s verses. Promoting more socially conscious music seems to be the new trend in Hip-Hop due to the current political climate. David Banner is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to this.

Track #4: “Elvis” – The first track without a feature and also one of the most pop culture aware songs on the album. Most of us know that Elvis was heavily inspired by African-American culture and based much of his look and sound off of it. Banner calls out current popular artists Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake for profiting from African-American culture in the music industry. He makes it clear that he’s got something to say and we’re going to listen.

Track #5: “Amy (Ft. Trinidad James)” – The chorus is an anthem that will be running through your head all day. Banner questions the use of the “N-Word” and why some white people think it’s okay to use it themselves. It’s a topic that is brought up a lot in the African-American community that many don’t seem to agree on. Banner’s frustration is accurately portrayed on this solid track.

Track #6: “August” – The shortest track on the album that gives clues towards the meaning of “The God Box” yet doesn’t fully reveal what it actually represents. It does a nice job of setting the mood for the next song, “Cleopatra Jones”.

Track #7: “Cleopatra Jones” – A trap song with a beat that will send you to another dimension. It’s quite a repetitive song, but fits well with the album as a whole.

Track #8: “Marry Me (Ft. Rudy Currence)” – Rudy helps slow things down a bit with his classic tone and vocal runs. Banner then expresses his desire to lockdown a girl that he loves. This is definitely a stand out track for me as it steps away from the aggressive tracks on the album and shows his romantic side.

Track #9: “Judy Blare (Ft. Devon Lewow) – In my opinion, this feels like a filler track, but Banner still kills it with his energy.

Track #10: “Traffic On Mars (Ft. Nap G, WatchTheDuck, Tim Wise, & Kenya Jori)” – A jam-packed collaboration that has a similar rock flow as “Judy Blare”. You start to notice the experimentation with different sounds on this one. I do wish there were less features on this album because Banner has already proven that he can hold his own.

Track #11: “Black Fist (Ft. Tito Lo)” – “Pump your black fists!” Banner chants throughout the song, referencing police brutality and racism against the African-American community. Tito’s verse blends nicely with the song. While many people think this song encourages violence, David Banner himself stated, “The purpose of this message is not to target anyone, but instead to value everyone.”

Track #12: “AK (FT. Raheem Devaughn)” – A smooth track with repetitive drums. Raheem makes his second appearance on the album and delivers nothing but quality vocals.

Track #13: “Burning Thumbs” – Banner begs for justice and change. The title stood out to me creatively referring to people raising flames in solidarity and mourning. It’s a song that has a more laid-back vibe compared to the rest of the album yet has the same lyrical impact.

Track #14: “Wizdom Selah (Outro)” – An empowering close to The God Box that will make you feel more self-aware:

“I can actually do what I think about. I am so powerful. I need to give more honor to that.”

The simplicity of a spoken word outro makes the most sense as the final track on this album.

Track #15: “Evil Knievil (Bonus Track)” – A song that’s politically charged where Banner raps about past Presidents and mistreatment of African-Americans throughout history. The production on this track goes off, and it makes me excited to see what’s to come next from David Banner.

Overall, I’d give “The God Box” a 7/10

A&R