March 19, 2007 @ 1:07 pm

Lloyd: Love is All

Shauna Barbosa

Street Lover Lloyd on how he got so fly - and it could be all in the hair.

You can see the passion in his eyes. Hear the energy in his voice. And when you ask him about his interests other than music, he'll tell you like his mother told him: Lloyd learned to sing before he could talk, learned to dance before he could walk. With his sophomore album, Street Love just dropped and his single "You" still riding high in Billboard's top 100, Lloyd is far away from the basement where he recorded that first hit single with Lil Wayne over a year ago. Despite the dramas of his label, The Inc., the "young Jermaine Jackson" (he likes to think sounds like him) is adding Executive Producer to his resume. His career is steadily going up, and maybe, just maybe, it's all in the hair. His Lion's Mane represents him. Yeah, yeah, long hair don't care. You just turned 21 in January, how did you celebrate?
I'm not really a partier; I'd rather work. I was actually in the studio finishing the album. I had a few friends drop by. A few days later, they threw a surprise party for me at the Velvet Room Lounge in Atlanta. My friend Cee Lo Green came by, Michael Vick, TI, Lil Wayne and Jazze Pha was the host. It was a way to bring it in. Since the release of your first album in 2004, Southside, you've missing in action.
I've been perfecting my craft. People ask me all the time where have I been. I just tell them, "Listening to Young Jeezy and Rick Ross, Lil Scrappy and 8Ball & MJG." I've been doing a lot of other projects with other people. Just trying to stay moving, always in the studio making music. You appear to be heavy into Hip Hop.
I really think R&B influences rap a lot. And even they'll tell you. That's kind of where it all started, with R&B music. To know that they appreciate what I do is very overwhelming. I look up to a lot of these guys. The fact that they're reaching out to me and want to involve me in what they are doing is a great thing. You're originally from New Orleans. Were you at all influenced by the culture of New Orleans?
I was there until I was the age of two years old, when my father was murdered. My mother felt like there wasn't a lot of opportunity there. Even before Hurricane Katrina, people didn't really have much down there. She decided to take me out of that and move to Atlanta. From birth I was influenced by the culture. My father is a saxophonist and my mother was in the choir. Music is very strong down there. I would go back and people would always tell me stories about how good my father was when he was around, how people loved his voice. Some of my first fans come from New Orleans. It's been a long ways since Ntoon - describe the growth you've experienced within music?
I witnessed a lot of growth and development amongst my peers. When I was younger, people really took the time out to develop an artist. Sometimes it would take a year to make a record and you would practice, and have media training and they would really prep you. Now you have to have a following before people are interested. Today, people are taking more control of their careers and forming their own labels and companies. I read an article a couple years back where you expressed your feelings about music; you mentioned it was in a "cornball" state. Do you still feel this way?
People are becoming more innovative these days. We're trying new things and not being afraid to take it there. My only problem was that music was just content with itself. For me, I can never be content. There's always another place to take it, always a higher level to reach. I love music period. Even when I feel like its saturated with too much of one thing, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel that pulls me back and makes me love it again. The remix to the hit single "You" featuring Andre 3000 and Nas has received has been hitting the radio in a major way. Dre 3000 only gets on a track if he personally feels it.
I've wanted to work with Andre for a very long time. He recorded his verse on Thanksgiving Day. He called me said, "I really like this song. I don't care what anybody says, I'm going to rap on it." The first time I heard it, I was like "wow," because I grew up admiring these guys. He was the first person to put Decatur, Georgia on the map in his song "Elevators" (from the album Big Boi and Dre Present Outkast, 2001). Tell us about Street Love.
I try not to limit myself, and to hit every angle. I wrote one of the songs on the album, "My Valentine" when I was 16 years old. At the time, people would tell me, "It's too grown, too old for your sound." Now that I'm 21 I decided to revamp it. It's timeless. What's your relationship like with The Inc.?
The Inc is one of the first labels to believe in me. At one point in time things kind of slowed down and I just got really frustrated. The most frustrating thing to me is sitting on the sideline and watching the game knowing that I should be apart of it. I just had this music lying around and I didn't know what to do with it. I just took my career into my own hands. The whole Inc is like a big family. The thing about the family is you don't always get along, you don't always see eye-to-eye. But at the end of the day, that's what makes you closer, what makes you stronger. I've just been so focused lately I had to separate myself from everyone in order to find my zone. When did you realize performing is your destiny?
I had this Michael Jackson movie called Moonwalker (1988). I would watch it back to back. Everyone was chasing Michael, and he was just invincible. I wanted to be like that when I was a kid. I remember going to my first concert and I would just witness the energy that was on the stage and their ability to really touch people. I always thought that was the coolest thing in the world, to be able to showcase your gift. Acting is on the to-do list for many artists who dominate R&B and Hip Hop genres. Is it something you plan on checking off?
Well if you dabble in it again, do you have a dream role you'd like to play?
I always wanted to play Jackie Wilson; he's a very entertaining guy. What keeps you moving in an industry so cutthroat and growing?
I do music because I love music. I don't do it for the money, fame and notoriety. Dreams come true. And I encourage everyone to follow them. I'm a living testament of that.

Article tags: Lloyd, Love, All 

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