Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), known professionally as David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, where he was raised. Banner graduated from

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, then attended University of Maryland Eastern Shore to pursue a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

. He started his music career as a member of the rap duo Crooked Lettaz, before going solo in 2000 with the release titled '' Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. 1''. In 2003, Banner signed to

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, where he released four albums: '' Mississippi: The Album'' (2003), '' MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' (2003), ''

Certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

'' (2005), and '' The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (2008). Banner is also a noted producer, having produced music for himself,

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami, Florida. He is best known for his 2004 single " Let's Go" (featuring Twista and Lil Jon), which peaked at number seven on ...

, T.I.,

Lil Boosie Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

among others.

Early life

Lavell William Crump was born in Brookhaven and raised in

, the elder son of Zeno Crump Jr., Jackson district fire chief, and Carolyn Crump. He graduated from Provine High School in Jackson in 1992 and then attended

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, his mother's alma mater. At Southern University, Crump served as president of the Student Government Association and received a

in business. He later attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to pursue a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in education but later left the program to pursue his music career full-time.

Music career

1995–2000: Beginnings and ''Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. 1''

Crump's stage name "David Banner" is taken from the lead character of the television series, '' The Incredible Hulk''. With several of his friends, Banner sent some demo tapes to Jackson, Mississippi radio station, WJMI. Record executive Glenn Toby discovered the group and signed them to Neil Levine at Penalty Records. In 1999, Banner and rapper Kamikaze as the duo, Crooked Lettaz, released ''Grey Skies'' ( Penalty Recordings). In 2000, Banner released his solo debut album, ''Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. 1''. Released on the independent label, Big Face Records, the album sold around 7,000 copies.

2003–2006: ''Mississippi: The Album'', ''MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' and ''Certified''

After assessing various offers, Banner and manager, Scott Johnson, decided to sign with

subsidiary, SRC Records, which was founded by Steve Rifkind who had previous success as CEO of the heavyweight hip-hop label, Loud Records. In 2003, Banner produced T.I.'s single, " Rubber Band Man", which reached No. 30 on the Hot 100, No. 15 on the R&B chart, and No. 11 on the Rap chart. In 2003, Banner released his first major label album, '' Mississippi: The Album''. ''Mississippi'' included the hit single, " Like a Pimp", featuring Lil Flip. "Like a Pimp" peaked at No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, No. 15 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, and No. 10 on the

Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart. He released the follow-up album the same year titled '' MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' which yielded the hit, "Crank It Up", featuring

Static Major Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr. (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American R&B and hip hop producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He is be ...

. In 2005, Banner released his third major label album, ''

''. The album's first single was "Ain't Got Nothing" which featured Magic &

, followed by the second single, "

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

", which reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 chart, No. 5 on the R&B chart, and No. 3 on the Rap chart. The third single, "Touching", featured Jazze Pha and reached No. 54 on the R&B chart. In 2006, Banner appeared on "Seein' Thangs", a song about Hurricane Katrina featured on DJ Shadow's album "The Outsider". A remix featuring Bay Area hyphy rappers Nump and Gold also was made. Outside projects for Banner have included writing the theme song to the video game, '' Saints Row'', as well as contributing to the music for a commercial promoting the video game, '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. Banner played the part of Tehronne in '' Black Snake Moan'' (2006).

2007–present: ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' and ''The God Box''

Banner appeared on the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

pilot ''That Crook'd 'Sipp'', which premiered on May 13, 2007. His single "

" was used as the background music in the pilot's first television promo. That same year, he played the character of Mo, in the film '' This Christmas''. On July 15, 2008, Banner released his fourth major label album, '' The Greatest Story Ever Told''. The album's first single titled "9mm" featured

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. Banner then produced his next two singles: " Get Like Me" featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and

Yung Joc Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper known for his 2006 single " It's Goin' Down", which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Prior to its release, he sign ...

, and " Shawty Say", featuring Lil Wayne. "Get Like Me" reached No. 16 on the Hot 100, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 2 on the Rap chart. In 2008, Banner was featured on the track ''Superfriend'', from the 2008 album, '' The Sound'', by

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

R&B duo Mary Mary. David Banner at FOB Brassfield-Mora 2009-01-26 1

In 2010, he played Bosch in the film The Experiment and as Jay, a gang leader from the hood in '' Stomp the Yard: Homecoming''. He has also worked with international artists such as Seeda, a Japanese Rap Artist where he was featured in the song, Life Song in 2010 on Seeda's Breathe Album. Banner released his debut mixtape titled '' Sex, Drugs and Video Games'' on May 22, 2012, as a free download. It is also available on his website, davidbanner.com, where fans are encouraged to make a donation of at least $1 for the sixteen song mixtape. The first single off the mixtape is titled "Amazing" featuring

. It was announced that Universal Republic Records was going defunct, all of the artists on the roster moved from the label including (David Banner) was being moved to

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

making the label itself revived. In 2013, Banner appeared in the music video for the song '' Confessions'' by

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

. Banner played Earl Gaines, Cecil Gaines' father, in the 2013 film '' The Butler''. Banner plays Jay, a criminal who is interrogated, in the 2014 film '' Ride Along.'' David Banner was featured on a remix of Mexican American rapper

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is a Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his 2016 single "Girlfriend (Kap G song), Girlfriend", which received RIAA certification, platinum certification by the ...

's single "La Policia", which stirred hype throughout the media and the internet.

Humanitarian and political work

In November 2006, Banner was awarded a Visionary Award by the National Black Caucus of State Legislators in

in recognition of his humanitarian work in response to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. National Black Caucus Honors David Banner For His Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts With Humanitarian Award
November 2006 On September 25, 2007, Banner testified before Congress at a hearing about racism and misogyny in hip hop music titled ''From

Imus Imus (), officially the City of Imus (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and ''de jure'' Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...

to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images''.Abrams, Jim
"House Panel Debates Hip-Hop Lyrics"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', September 25, 2011. He defended his use of offensive language and argued: "Change the situation in my neighborhood and maybe I'll get better." In his opening statement, Banner stated: "I can admit there are some problems in hip hop but it is only a reflection of what's taking place in our society. Hip hop is sick because America is sick."

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. 1'' (2000) * '' Mississippi: The Album'' (2003) * '' MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (2008) * '' #TheGodBox'' (2017) ;Collaborative albums * '' Death of a Pop Star'' (2010)

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Video games

Awards

* BET Hip Hop Awards ** 2008, Best Hip-Hop Video ("Get Like Me") with Chris Brown & Yung Joc ominated** 2008, Best Hip-Hop Collabo ("Get Like Me") with Chris Brown & Yung Joc ominated** 2008, Best Producer ominated* Ozone Awards ** 2008, Best Rap/R&B Collaboration ("Get Like Me"), featuring Chris Brown & Yung Joc ominated

References

External links

DavidBanner.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banner, David 1974 births Living people 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American activists African-American crunk musicians American crunk musicians African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American poets African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers American male film actors American male television actors American activists Rappers from Mississippi Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Southern hip-hop musicians Southern University alumni SRC Records artists University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumni Businesspeople from Jackson, Mississippi Male actors from Jackson, Mississippi 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male musicians Universal Motown Records artists 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American musicians