Thanks to the success of the 2009 track "Bed Rock" a song by Lil Wayne's Young Money collective that featured a catchy hook by Lloyd and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 early speculation had Lloyd headed to Young Money's crowded roster.
In March 2010, shortly after Lil Wayne went to jail in New York for weapons possession, Lloyd chose to go in a different direction and signed to super-producer and longtime friend Polow Da Don's label Zone 4, with distribution through Interscope.
On July 6, Lloyd will release his fourth album, "King of Hearts," through Zone 4. During the last 18 months, Polow has devoted nearly all of his energy to Lloyd's new project. In addition to executive-producing the album, Polow has had a hand in producing or co-producing every song on it, going so far as to hold string and horn sessions with different musicians and to call in background singers to help round out the sound and bring Lloyd's voice to life like never before.
The result is a cohesive album that has already started to make noise.
Both Lloyd and Polow are adamant about "King of Hearts" being more than just a pop-friendly R&B album that yields a couple of summer anthems and is then forgotten about after the project's final single. It was built, they say, to stand the test of time.
Lloyd will be opening up for Lil Wayne on the second leg of the I Am Music 2 tour this summer to help promote the project.
