Lloyd Banks New Yorks Most Important Rapper?

Fabolous, wearing a bow tie clipped to his T-shirt and backed by a live band, was pleasant but perfunctory. He was outshone by Lloyd Banks, who may have stealthily become the most important rapper in New York — last year his “Beamer, Benz or Bentley” was a local anthem; this year he’s got “Start It Up.” It’s worth noting that major labels have done little for these two: Mr. Banks’s success came after parting ways with Interscope, and Fabolous’s recent surge has been completely on the back of his mixtapes. (New York Times)