Months after getting his requested release from Murder Inc., Lloyd has found a new recording home. The singer recently inked a deal with Interscope, according to MTV.
Although it seemed like the 25-year-old Irv Gotti mentee would join Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew at one point—since he’s featured on the group’s popular single, “Bed Rock”—the deal fell through.
“Baby and Wayne were definitely the first people to reach out to me. I talked to them about a deal. That’s who I thought I’d end up with in my heart,” Lloyd told MTV. “The problem is that Young Money/Cash Money is exclusive to Universal/Motown. As you and I know, that’s where I did my last two albums. I wasn’t excited about going back. I tried to do a Young Money/Cash Money deal through another distributor, but it couldn’t be done. At the end of the day, I’m still family, though.”
With a more solid home base, Lloyd is now taking his time planning his as-yet-untitled fourth album, which will be the follow-up to 2008’s Lessons in Love. Last week, he dropped the single, “Set Me Free,” featuring Mystikal, the rapper’s first song since being released from prison in January.
“I don’t feel the need to rush to release an album. It’ll be out later this year. I got a couple of title options, but I’m not 100 percent sure yet,” said Lloyd. “Signing with Interscope was just a small step. This year I’m really focused on a classic album and staying in the public eye with more guest features. I have a few surprise collaborations coming. In the past two months, I’ve recorded some really surprising features that will shake up the game a little bit.”
The singer added that he’s looking forward to working closely with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine and producer Polow Da Don, whose Zone 4 imprint is distributed through the label.
“I’ve always had a good working relationship with Polow. Having that creative partner is something I wanted to have, since the very beginning,” said Lloyd. “Mike [Jackson] had it with Quincy [Jones], Janet [Jackson] had it with Jimmy [Jam] and Terry [Lewis]. Justin has it with Timbaland. I feel that me and Polow have something special.” —Clover Hope