to listen or purchase
We are figuratively and literally introduced to R&B crooner Lloyd on his new release, Street Love. No he is no newcomer to the game, but instead of just running with the big dogs, Lloyd has taken his place at the head of the pack. "Street Love" is a hip-hop soul amalgam with steady heart-pounding grooves, and Lloyd is a pleasing new star on the music scene.
During a cadre of songs including: "Certified," "I Don't Mind," "Get It Shawty," and "Player's Prayer," Lloyd channels the likes of Omarion, Marques Houston, and Usher, but his similarities are more chameleon than copycat. His varying cadences on the microphone make you stalk his every lyric, dodging catchy, head-bopping beats until you are lost in his unique enjoyment.
We are figuratively and literally introduced to R&B crooner Lloyd on his new release, Street Love. No he is no newcomer to the game, but instead of just running with the big dogs, Lloyd has taken his place at the head of the pack. "Street Love" is a hip-hop soul amalgam with steady heart-pounding grooves, and Lloyd is a pleasing new star on the music scene.
During a cadre of songs including: "Certified," "I Don't Mind," "Get It Shawty," and "Player's Prayer," Lloyd channels the likes of Omarion, Marques Houston, and Usher, but his similarities are more chameleon than copycat. His varying cadences on the microphone make you stalk his every lyric, dodging catchy, head-bopping beats until you are lost in his unique enjoyment.
"You" featuring Lil Wayne is a cut well deserving of its playlist regularity. Lloyd is an able tumbler rifting through "Valentine," the strongest showing of his singular song style. "Killing Me" stabs at the royalty of hip-hop R& B chart-toppers like a Brutus too close to Caesar. "Take Me Home" shows the potential to become a street anthem, with a chorus that everyone will want to hit together: Damn, why you gotta be so fine/I just wanna take you home tonight/So I can work the left, the middle, the right all night/. Hey yooo /Hey yo Hey yo/Hey yooo /Hey yo Hey yo/Hey yooo /Hey yo Hey yo/Hey yooo.
"What You Wanna Do" and the title track field familiar rhythms but Lloyd, true player that he is, scores quickly on both hits.
"One For You" features the cleverest reuse of the "Moments in Time" beat since the original. Lloyd's love themes will surely warm your heart as much as they do the publisher, whether you know the Art of Noise or not. You opened up my eyes/To the other side of love/I've been waiting all my life/Since, I can't get enough/Cause girl you're so fly/Could she be the one for me.../
"I Want You " is a gutsy risk that pays off. Either Andre 3000 or Nas could have easily owned this song within their sixty seconds. Fortunately Lloyd pulls out his own combinations with cool timing and a confident refrain: I'm a player yes it's true but/ Can I be for real/This is how I feel/I'm in need of love/Let's step up out of here.
Lloyd's Street Love is true to its hype. He is a versatile song storyteller whose CD reflects shades of his talent previously unseen. While his R&B chops may not be hard, they are definitely strong. Lloyd is a burgeoning soldier who's Street Love will recruit just that.
By Arnold Stovell