The Hunger for More is the debut studio album by American rapper Lloyd Banks, released via Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Originally scheduled for a May 25, 2004 release,[3] the album was ultimately released on June 29, 2004, as later planned.
During the first week of The Hunger For More's release, a distribution house in Manhattan was robbed of approximately eight boxes of the CDs (200 copies). A New York record store had nearly 100 copies of the CD stolen from its racks by a single perpetrator on the album's first day in stores, though they were later recovered.[4]
During an interview Lloyd Banks explained the reason behind naming the album. He said:
When I say The Hunger for More, it could be referring to more success. It could be more money. Or Respect. More power. More understanding. All those things lead up to that hunger for more, because my more isn't everybody else's more. I feel like I made it already, because I got already what everybody on the corners of the neighborhood I grew up in is striving to get.[5]
We had a studio on the tour bus. I wrote on the road, going through different situations, constantly touring. 50 was out there, Snoop Dogg was out there, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, a lot of people and I'm tryin' to find my lane at the same time as goin' through all the ins and outs.[6]
I recorded about 50 tracks and I had 50 choose the tracks for the album. “Chips it down” meaning that when the finances are not there, you realize that you need money for everything, and you know that money can change everything. It is talking about the move from having nothing to having all the money and the cars and jewelry.[7] When I'm doin' records for my album, I'm givin' you the same thing I'm givin' you on the mixtapes, but I'm also givin' material that I don't care about getting an (oooh or wow) at the crowd. I do it to basically to tell you stuff you need to know. You understand. If I said you need to know this is what to expect from my neighborhood its kinda like a message at the same time you see good news travel slower than bad news. Yanno so if you grow up in the suburbs or you out of the country or whatever maybe my personal experiences will make you appreciate your neighborhood better. So it's certain things that when I make a record or my album where I'm tellin' you I don't care about your *oooohs and ahhhhs* I just feel like you need to know this.[7]
Upon its release, The Hunger for More received positive reviews from most music critics.[8]AtMetacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]
The album debuted and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with week-one sales topping 433,000.[18] The album remained at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the 2nd week, selling close to 164,000 copies in the United States.[18] "That's the kind of debut that veteran artists have," says Banks. "That showed me that following 50's moves and studying the way that he played the game had put me in an incredible position." The album has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA.[19][20] The album also achieved Platinum status in Canada.[21] The album has sold over 1,500,000 copies in the United States and over 2,250,000 worldwide.[citation needed]
The album was also released in a special edition, which featured a bonus track and different packaging (including a CD booklet on dollar bill-style paper). It also included a 25-minute DVD with the video for "My Buddy", a clip for "Smile" and "A Day in the Life of Lloyd Banks".[5]
The bonus track on the special edition, "Just Another Day", contains lyrical interpolations of Queen Latifah's song of the same name.
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