It appears rapper-producer-actor David Banner wants to move on from his “Like A Pimp” days and now wants his music to foster better relationships between men and women.

During a recent appearance on Essence Live, Banner explained that his conversations with black women led him to understand that black women didn’t feel protected or wanted in their community. As a result, he wrote an open love letter to women through his latest single, “Marry Me.”

Banner also took responsibility for past actions — anyone remember “Play“? — and explained what he learned the most from having “Get Like Me,” a number one song in 2008.

“When I had the number one song — as far as hip-hop was concerned ‘Get Like Me’ with Chris Brown — I got a global peak at how America is portraying black men from America,” Banner explained. “And at that time, reality shows — as we know it now– first started to take off so for the most part, what people got from black men globally was rap videos and reality TV shows, and honestly, we looked like monkeys. But I wasn’t living what I was speaking for the most part – as far as the positive aspect of it.”

Check out more of David Banner’s Essence Live interview in the clip above.

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