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rom Fresh Prince’s “Summertime,” to Dre and Snoop’s “Nuttin’ But a G Thang,” Hip-Hop has expressed itself quite well at a barbeque. Even today, in an era that is fueled by beef, there’s still plenty of room for chicken, shrimp, and baked beans too – just ask G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks and Young Buck.
As Young Buck will have you begging for recipes, Lloyd Banks says that he may sneak in some family cooking to Saturday’s barbeque so as not to get sick before Friday’s concert. G-Unit is known for their workaholic ways, but see how two of Hip-Hop’s biggest stars kick it when they get a chance. But if you think you’re gonna either rapper off his guard on the Playstation, think again. AllHipHop.com gets live at the barbeque with G-Unit.
AllHipHop.com: You’ve got the AllHipHop.com/G-Unit Barbeque coming up this weekend. Are you with the games or the BBQ?
Lloyd Banks: I’m definitely going to be at the barbeque – as well as everybody else who’s in town. I don’t want to throw any names, because the scheduling is crazy. I am definitely looking forward to it … going to do my thing, so the bottom line is I’ve been waiting for this for a while and I’m looking forward to the show [on Friday].
AllHipHop.com: Lots of people have strong opinions of what music is acceptable at a barebeque. What do you like listening to?
Lloyd Banks: Well, of course, my music. I came up on all kind of music, from Biggie to ‘Pac, Queens’ artists. I wanna hear my music, this is G-Unit Barbeque and we got about nine to ten people on the roster, so you can expect to hear that. No joke.
Young Buck: In the South, we f**k with a lot of Scarface, a lot of UGK, a lot of Young Jeezy. Then we switch over to the Snoop Dogg and the Ice Cube. You know, you can’t have a barbeque without the Ice Cube and the Snoop Dogg [or] no kind of West Coast, I think they are pretty much known for the barbeques, they known for getting a barbeque crackin’. Some old school, you can’t do no barbeque if you don’t have some Isley Brothers.
AllHipHop.com: What did you listen to at barbeques growing up?
Young Buck: I remember Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, N.W.A. But believe me, when it comes to N.W.A. and back then, I would just hear the music. Tupac and Biggie Smalls, I started to really understand it, through the “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Pour Out a Little Liquor.” I was a real “young buck” then, but I listened to Kool Moe Dee. When Kool Moe Dee came out with the “Wild Wild West,” I had my cap gun in my hands. I was one of them young n***as moving like that.
AllHipHop.com: What kind of food are you into, Banks?
Lloyd Banks: Probably the same thing you like, man. I don’t eat pork or nothing like that, but I get my chicken in. That’s about it. I’m on a workout diet right now. I’m a regular dude, as far as going to the big restaurants and stuff like that, I’m not that bourgeoisie with it. I might just get some food from my grandmother. I don’t trust anybody. I don’t want to get sick before the show.
AllHipHop.com: Your grandmother?
Lloyd Banks: My grandmother is the best cook in the world.
AllHipHop.com: What’s your favorite dish that she makes?
Lloyd Banks: Jerk chicken, rice and beans. I’m half black and half Puerto Rican, so the Puerto Rican side of me is on the plate every night. So rice and beans, barbeque chicken rice and beans, everything got rice involved.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the food in Nashville about? Is it all about barbeque?
Young Buck: I mean, barbeque-wise, we f**k with the beef ribs, chicken, potato salad, barbeque beans. I don’t f**k with the pork. You got to have the grilled barbeque shrimp. I am all over the stove myself, puttin’ it together myself.
AllHipHop.com: You cook?
Young Buck: They don’t catch me in that mode everyday, but 50 [Cent] has had some of that Young Buck barbeque. The whole crew can co-sign my gangsta with it. I’m a bad muthaf**ka, know what I mean?
AllHipHop.com: Who’d you learn the game from?
Young Buck: I learned the game from the streets, nobody sat me down…
AllHipHop.com: [Laughing] The barbeque game.
Young Buck: My moms. I watched my moms. I was real young when my mom would have get-togethers, barbeques, card games, and fish-frys. My mom was a hell of a cook, and I got it out of her, my father wasn’t really there. I had to take care of the whole house, I had a house of about six or seven muthaf**kas, so I had to feed the whole crew.
AllHipHop.com: You mentioned card games, do you play video games? There’s going to be a gaming tournament coming up at the AllHipHop.com Barbeque…
Young Buck: I don’t play no video games, but I got a couple of homeboys who are sick. I like to bet. I bet money – know what I mean? I got a homeboy who can whoop anybody’s ass, take any game there is, straight up sportswise. So, put that on AllHipHop.com – if there’s anybody out there willing to put up any money up, straight up.
Lloyd Banks: I play the first few weeks when they come out, then I don’t really have enough time. I used to be an NBA Live head, and played Madden too. We played for money though. It gets old though. I’m always on the go and don’t have enough time. When I’m not recording or have free time, we sit down and play. I am the champ though, so I guess I’m rather good.