Album Review: Lloyd ‘King of Hearts’

When I learned Lloyd was putting out a 4th studio album, my enthusiasm was minimal to say the least. Lloyd had some hits but to me, his rep as a quality R&B singer was mediocre at best. When his first single, Lay it Down dropped in late 2010, this opinion began to change. This is one song that possess
quality production from Polow Da Don and brings out the better qualities of Lloyd’s voice. Why this
song wasn’t pushed even more is beyond me.

With that single in hand, I began to raise my expectations for his latest project. Would it live up to my
rising expectations?

Here’s the Track Listing and my observations…

1. Intro (MDMA) Feat. The Game – Lloyd isn’t on this intro but the spaced out synthesizers and percussion puts one into a 80’s, Miami Vice mindset. It’s too bad that the Game’s flow just
seems sub par and uninspired.

2. Dedication to my Ex (Miss That *****) Feat. Andre 3 Stacks and Lil’ Wayne – Lloyd proclaims his admiration and desire to have his ex-girlfriend sexually over a upbeat, Motown inspired production. The best part of this track is of course Andre 3000’s verse and the fact that Weezy didn’t rap on this track, just talked at the beginning.

3. Cupid Feat. Awesome Jones – Now King of Hearts seems to hit its stride with the first of quality songs with Polow Da Don on the boards.

4. Luv Me Girl Feat. Chris Brown & Vega – Another Polow-produced, club ready track that the ladies will love. Chris Brown and Vega decently add to the upbeat song.

5. Naked – Another Polow-produced ballad that is absolutely one of my favorites. I am also sure that the gentlemen will love to play this for their ladies. Lloyd also recently dropped two NSFW videos which one featured Kamille Leai who won the second season of VH1’s Real Chance of
Love.

6. Jigsaw – Another mid-tempo ballad that features hypnotic synthesizers and excellent harmonizing by Llyod. It really seems that Polow and Lloyd have a good chemistry.

7. Bang Feat. 2 Chains AKA Titti Boi and Solo – Although this is produced by Polow, this seems to be the first miss involving this duo. It also doesn’t help that Lloyd seems to unsuccessfully channel his inner R. Kelly for this track. Also, can we please keep 2 chains, Titti Boi or whatever he calls himself from ever doing a R&;B collaboration. He just doesn’t fit the track. Definite album filler that could have been left on the cutting room floor.

8. Be The One Feat. Trey Songz and Young Jeezy – Another single that kind of bangs unlike the previous one. Trey and Jeezy are cool on the track. This is another “club banger” of sorts.

9. Shake it 4 Daddy – Here the album begins to cool down a bit. When I first heard this, I thought Swizz Beatz was doing his ad-libs on the track. That is the worst part of this song and it almost
ruins it.

10. Lay it Down – The main single of the album and I think it’s one of the best tracks on the album. I think Patti LeBelle would be and is proud of this song, hence the remix that featured Patti.

11. Angel – The Album definitely takes slows down with this track. A decent slow tempo ballad were Lloyd is doing a good job carrying the track.

12. This is 4 My Baby – Well besides the Trey Songz inspired ad-libs on the Hook, it’s another decent ballad.

13. You2 – This is most definitely a popish sounding track that could be played on the top-40 radio stations. Has a 80’s new wave vibe with the production.

14. World Cry – This song was unexpected from Lloyd but it’s refreshing to hear him with help from R. Kelly, Keri Hilson
and K’Naan get political and create a uplifting song. Why this song is not being pushed by the label is beyond me.

Honestly, I have to say that King of Hearts lived up to my rising expectations. It is one of the better R&B albums of 2011. Lloyd and Polow have a growing chemistry with one another in the studio and it showed. These two really seem to bring out the best out of one another. It’s very disappointing that to learn that this album only sold 22,000 copies in its first week.

Best Songs: Cupid, Naked, Be the One, Lay it Down, World Cry

Overall: I would give this album 3.5 stars out of 5. It’s worth a listen, however, this album verifies that Lloyd’s inability to become a big star can’t reasonably be attributed to his music.