Lloyd is one of the premier crooners of his generation. Since embarking on a solo career in 2004, Lloyd has consistently released hit singles and acclaimed albums. With the release of his new album, King of Hearts, Lloyd seeks to bring the essence of love back to music. He discusses his thoughts on romance, music and reveals the lessons he learned from Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. –amir shaw
How did you approach this latest album?
Polow Da Don and I were just playing with new sounds. We were trying our best to stretch the boundaries of music through channeling all of our creative energy on record. I think Polo has an amazing energy creatively. He’s really aggressive when it comes to putting out new sounds. And it was great to be able to work with my peers such as Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Young Jeezy, Keri Hilson, K9, 2 Chainz, The Game and R. Kelly. I still consider him to be one of my inspirations musically.
What was the process of recording this album like?
We recorded it in L.A., which was different. I’m used to recording in the South. But I wanted to get a different result, so I went to a different environment. Creatively, that did a lot for me because it opened me up to more genres and styles. Dr. Dre was one of the first people to visit our recording session so it was great to have him there. Jimmy Iovine would be raving about the new inventions with Beats by Dre, or something Lady Gaga was coming out with. It was definitely a different atmosphere in that sense.
What have you learned most from being around individuals such as Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Polow?
I’m a sponge and I like to absorb everything. Because of that, I think it’s best for me to surround myself with the hardest workers and the most successful. I’m only the common denominator of the people I hang around. One day Jimmy came to me at the time that I was working with a lot of people and said, “Do you want to be a hot dog or a steak?” And I didn’t know what he meant and he said, “You can get a hot dog on every corner, but you have to go somewhere special to get a steak.” He was basically just giving me some game and I was soaking it up. Slowly but surely, I began to add my own flavor and that’s what we came up with.
Why name the album King of Hearts?
I love the ladies, I love women, and I love to love the ladies. And because of that, I’ve always wanted to be someone who gave joy and made a woman feel warm and adored. I wanted to make them feel like royalty, like a queen. I took a literal stance by naming the album King of Hearts. That’s because I want to be the king of love if you will. And with that said, I wanted the music to match the title.
