"Rubberband Banks" is a song by American
hip hop recording artist
Young Dro
D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...
, released as the second single from his debut studio album ''
Best Thang Smokin''' (2006). The song, like its predecessor, was
produced by
Grand Hustle
Grand Hustle Records (formerly Grand Hustle Entertainment), also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an Atlanta, Georgia-based hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. Up until December 2012, the lab ...
in-house producer
Cordale "Lil' C" Quinn. The song's title refers to the act of storing large quantities of
banknotes using
rubber bands.
Reception
Andres Tardio of
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
considered "Rubberband Banks" too similar to "
Rubber Band Man" by Young Dro's mentor
T.I., highlighting the song as an example of what he perceived to be Young Dro's lack of musical identity on ''Best Thang Smokin: "...in the
end, he doesn’t differentiate himself from the pack".
Steve Juon of ''RapReviews'' wrote critically of the song's lyrics and Young Dro's writing abilities, arguing that "normally criticizing a rapper's punchlines one would note that they are either far too commonly used or lazy in execution, but in Young Dro's case it's almost like he's trying too hard. "Shorty say she want Dro, I think she want an ounce of me." C'mon, that's not even funny."
In contrast, David Jeffries of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised "Rubberband Banks" as "snide and loopy like the Grand Hustle team almost always nails";
in an otherwise mixed review of ''Best Thang Smokin, Clover Hope of
''Billboard'' wrote that Young Dro "flexes his creativity" on "Rubberband Banks", singling out the lyric "Diamonds look like passion fruit" as showing how Young Dro's "originality lies more in his odd food-obsessed rhymes... than in his lyrical content or flow, which he rarely alters".
Charts
Release history
References
2006 singles
2006 songs
Young Dro songs
Grand Hustle Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
Songs written by Lil' C (record producer)
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