An Intimate Conversation With David Banner On The State Of Black Love & Marriage

The David Banner that I spoke with on a Friday afternoon isn’t much different than the Banner that I was introduced to years ago when his first hit single “Like A Pimp” hit the airwaves, and later the more thought-provoking “Cadillac on 22s.” He’s still unapologetically blunt, still speaking his mind, and still delivering messages that reflect all aspects of life—from sex and relationships to spirituality and racial disparity.

But he’s definitely an evolved man. After all, if you’re not growing, you’re dying—and Banner is letting us know through glimpses into the next chapter of his life that his mission isn’t fulfilled until his last exhale.

His latest single, “Marry Me,” has been greeted with open arms by those tired of the same old “f-ck love” narrative of broken relationships, promiscuity, and empty intimacy that a seemingly loveless generation has brought to the forefront. It dispels the myth that Black men and marriage are mutually exclusive, and shifts the conversation from one of hopelessness and despair to one of progression and possibilities.

“This song is for [all] Black women, but it’s especially for the dark-skinned black women,” says Banner. “If you look at our culture, our women don’t feel protected. They don’t feel wanted. You look at most of who so-called people of success cater to—nine times out of 10 it may not be a Black woman at all. And if it is, it’s definitely not ones that look like our cousins or our great-grandmothers. And I said man, if nobody in the world says that they love them and that they respect them and that they want them, it’ll be me.”

While the song may be geared towards women, there’s a lesson in it for everybody in that in order to change our families and our communities we have to change the stories that we’re telling, and change how we treat and speak to one another.

To get more insight into how David Banner is using his platform to shift the culture, we sat down with the Mississippi artist to discuss the idea of marriage and relationships in the Black community, rebranding himself as not just another artist contributing to the problem, and how he plans to be a part of the solution.

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