Almost hit of the week 4/1/24 - David Banner's "Like A Pimp"...

 

 

"Like A Pimp" - David Banner featuring Lil' Flip

from the album Mississippi: The Album (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48 (two weeks)

 

This week's "almost hit" comes from rapper David Banner, who grew up as Lavell Crump in Mississippi. After assuming the moniker taken from the name of the Incredible Hulk, Banner released a studio album, Them Firewater Boyz Vol. 1 and a mixtape Da Undaground, Vol. 1 on Big Face records. With local buzz acquired, Banner signed with Universal affiliate SRC Records, where he released his debut major label set Mississippi: The Album. The lead single was a revamp of the "bonus cut" on Da Undaground, "Like A Pimp". Using a sample of UGK's "Take It Off", giving Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernie "Bun B" Freeman writing credit along with Banner, the track is a quite misogynistic look at pimps and hookers, with brags about his harem does for him. The new version featured up and coming rapper Wesley "Lil Flip" Weston, who starts the record off on verse one as well as the closer with Banner taking the middle, but it's not really discernible who is who, and the production is heavy but pretty static. The music video brings Banner and Flip to their side of town...

"Like A Pimp" spent a hefty 31 weeks on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart, with a high of #15, and made the top ten on the Rap Songs list at #10, but stalled right above the halfway mark on the Hot 100 in July of 2003. On the radio, the song peaked at #10 on the Mainstream R&B Airplay chart and #29 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. The Mississippi album, released in May of that year,  came in at #9 on the Billboard 200 sales tally while spending a week on top their R&B Albums list. 

A second single from the record, "Cadillac On 22's", had a surprisingly softer production but his off-key sing-rapping destroyed it, was a minor hit on the R&B Singles chart at #83.

Eventually, both Banner and Flip will make it to Billboard's Hot 100 top-40.

(2/10)