Lyrics B+ Flow A+ Beats A- Originality B+ Grade B+
This Lloyd guy always seems to get the job done. After years in the industry, a number of chart topping hits and unforgettable features, the Atlanta native has now found himself among hip hop/soul’s elite.
Lloyds usual approach is the nice guy that gets the job done but not on his fourth album King of Hearts.
He has now turned into the nasty, enthusiastic Lloyd, even pushing the topics on his songs to being risky with no boundaries. Surprisingly this works out in his favor as this album highlights all of the singer’s vocal qualities. If you are not familiar with Lloyds work it’s never bad, this man always puts out quality albums so it’s hard to say this is his best but it’s still pretty damn good.
From front to back King of Hearts never disappoints. The production is one of the reasons this album is a keeper. As expected Polow Da Don is overseeing all tempos and does Lloyd justice as he did for Usher for all of his strobe light anthems.
This album is also feature heavy with A-list names like The Game on the into track (MDMA) and Andre 3000 with Lil Wayne on “Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)”. This track is complete with a hook admitting that “I miss that pussy, that pussy, that pussy” , great output from Lloyd and the always spectacular Andre all over an intoxicating organ groove that’s the type of raunchy yet clever new generation soul which reminds you instantly of Cee-Lo Green. Even with no verse from Weezy, his ad libs and commentary complement this soon to be anthem.
“Cupid” and “Lay it Down” are known hits yet it’s surprising that those aren’t the standouts; Lloyd has some hidden gems on this piece. “Naked”, “Angels”, and “Bang” with street favorite Tity Boi and newcomer Salo are sure shot IPod favorites along with “Be the One” featuring Trey Songs and Young Jeezy.
Other guest appearances from Chris Brown, R.Kelly, and Keri Hilson certainly don’t hurt Lloyd’s chances in having a great album. To sum it all up, King of Hearts is just as good as or worse than his last 2 albums and you just hate to see a great artist use so many big names on one piece. Still Lloyd stands out on every track and somehow establishes his place in R&B royalty as the King of Hearts.
Here is the track list for King of Hearts:
1. Intro (MDMA) (feat. Game)
2. Dedication to My Ex (Miss That) (feat. André 3000) (narrated by Lil Wayne)
3. Cupid (feat. Awesome Jones)
4. Luv Me Girl (feat. Chris Brown & Vega)
5. Naked
6. Jigsaw
7. Bang (feat. Tity Boi & Sal)
8. Be the One) feat. Trey Songz & Young Jeezy)
9. Shake It 4 Daddy
10. Lay It Down
11. Angels
12. This Is for My Baby
13. You II
14. World Cry (feat. R. Kelly, Keri Hilson, & K’naan)
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