Lessons In Love - Lloyd

"Lessons In Love" is Lloyd (Polite)'s, third album. From my perspective, it has been his most anticipated as he came with some big singles since his debut "Southside" to give us "Get It Shawty", "You", and big singles from this album. Something which sets this one apart from the other two albums is that he has been getting a lot of UK airtime before the release with "How We Do It", which features ...
...The World".

1. "Sex Education"

I found this to be a good way to start the album, but not something which really eases you into his music. I felt that it was quite immediately as we seem to be getting straight into the core ideas of the album as he begins it with a sexual education tutorial to kick us off.

**Three Stars"

2. "Girls Around the World" (feat. Lil' ... more

"Lessons In Love" is Lloyd (Polite)'s, third album. From my perspective, it has been his most anticipated as he came with some big singles since his debut "Southside" to give us "Get It Shawty", "You", and big singles from this album. Something which sets this one apart from the other two albums is that he has been getting a lot of UK airtime before the release with "How We Do It", which features Ludacris, and the compulsory Lil' Wayne contribution on "Girls Around The World".

1. "Sex Education"

I found this to be a good way to start the album, but not something which really eases you into his music. I felt that it was quite immediately as we seem to be getting straight into the core ideas of the album as he begins it with a sexual education tutorial to kick us off.

**Three Stars"

2. "Girls Around the World" (feat. Lil' Wayne)

This is my favourite track from the album, and possibly the best that I have heard from the artist, but I'm not sure that it's Lloyd specifically that is the reason for my enjoyment, it's probably more likely to be due to my biases towards having so much Hip Hop included into it.

To begin it you have a sample of Digital Underground to provide the title an chorus for the tune, but then you have another big input by the producers Big Reese & Jasper Cameron, who chose to put Eric B. & Rakim's big tune "Paid In Full" as the main beat. However it doesn't stop here for Hip Hop fans as you also get Lil' Wayne providing a rap (as he has to be on every big R&B and rap record), and as he has done before when he rapped on a sample for this on "Tha Carter II", he jacks Rakim's line "I'm thinking up a master plan...", but then unpredictably switches it up with "...nah. I'm lying, shawty on my mind.

**Five Stars**

3. "Treat U Good"

Following on from the biggest track on the album, Lloyd slows things down as he gets intimate with the listener, just him and the female audience it is directed towards. As a result I felt as though I wasn't really meant to be listening to it, and so I couldn't really get into it, but the dreamy effect which is created by the production Eric Hudson & John Frazier is good at comforting you, as Lloyd does with the lyrics.

**Two Stars**

4. "Year of The Lover"

This is set to be the third single from the album, and recently it has been ruined by a remix with the Floridian rapper Plies, however thi version does what it is designed to do as you have minimalistic production by Eric Hudson, focusing everything upon the great songwriting, and amazing vocals by Lloyd as he describes how things are changing in the "Year Of The Lover".

**Three Stars**

5. "I Can Change Your Life"

With so many tunes on the album similar to this by this point I was bored of these slow tunes which just have him directing his energy towards pleasing the girls as he does rinse-out the topic by going at it at so many direction, these overlaps meant that another attempt at a calm, yet powerful, love song left it unmemorable.

**Two Stars**

6. "Lose Your Love"

Things finally change as the producer behind "Girls Around The World" return to do the beat for this one, as a result you have a more up-beat tune from Lloyd as he's able to sing on a funkier groove from Big Reese & Jasper Cameron. However, just because he's changed up the mood a bit doesn't make it any better, and really I thought it had little to offer.

**Two Stars**

7. "Have My Baby"

Finally, he is able to come out with an appealing track for all to enjoy as he comes with another sensual one, but this time he goes for production which really suits the mood of loving making. Big Reese & Jasper Cameron return, but go for slow-down beats, which have your atmosphere altered by the changes in mood whihc Lloyd puts you in.

**Four Stars**

8. "Love Making 101"

When you become aware of the fact that this album was originally entitled "Sex Education", then the title of this one seems to fit in very well with the concept of the record, and as we've already had a track like this ealier, you are forcced to compare it with that one, but I thought that this one was more like what you would expect to hear as he talks you through the motions.

**Three Stars**

9. "Party All Over Your Body"

You know that things are going to change when you read that the big Hip Hop producer Polow Da Don has crossed over onto the R&B scene to join Lloyd for his new album, but as the only other R&B song whcih I heard him do the beat for was Chris Brown's "Forever", I wasn't sure whether I'd liek this one that much as that one was just a Euro-Pop tune, but this one didn't follow that pattern, and instead had him go for an R&B track which is more in line with modern trends as it has LLoyd utilise the T-Pain auto-tuner. Although I haven't liekd how many people have jum,pde on that tehcinque, when singers use it (as opposed to rappers), it's always effective.

**Four Stars**

10. "Touched By An Angel"

Once again as Big Reese & Jasper Cameron join him, he is able to go for an R&B trakc which fits in with what's going on in today's game as they come ith some thumping beats, and these allow for LLoyd to sing in a way which soudns more familiar to me as a fan of R&B. think it makes his voice sound much better as the more soulful tunes were quite strict in making him sing in a smooth way, whereas he is free to come with the odd falsetto through this one.

**Four Stars**

11. "I'm Wit It"

You get some spacey production as J Lack comes with a Neptunes-esque beat for this tune, I felt as though it suited LLoyd's stlye of singing, despite the fact I hadn't heard him perform alongside something so original. The fact that it was quite experimental allowed freedom in what Lloyd came with, and he seemed to make the most out of it as he showed his broad vocal range.

**Four Stars**

12. "Heart Attack"

I was pleased to here that the final track on the album gave a good impresson as it didn't have him revert to the style of the songs on the first half of the album, and so he kept the ending sounding modern as it should be, and it was the productio which made the biggest impact upon this as it was varied with lots of small things like the screwed technique with a contrasting smooth beat. It aslso features Lloyd change things up by performing a little rap, just to express the things which he couldn't come out with in a melodic way.

**Four Stars**

I liked that Lloyd kept the collaborations to a minimum, because there are too many albums (in Hip Hop and R&B), which are overcrowded with featured guests, and Lloyd has got to the stage where he doesn't need lots of big artist to launch him an higher, because he has got to the stage where he needs to be. Of course, Lil' Wayne had to be one of the people who just managed to get himself a position on the album, but now that "Tha Carter III" has dropped, and been successful, he can relax for a bit.

Although there's quite a lot to liek about this album, the enjoyment really came out of the second half of the record as the first part of it was filled with soulful tunes from him. The only reason why I couldn't get into them is down to the way which he sings, not a way whch adapts well to the smooth Soul tracks which he aspires to recreate. With such a high-pitched voice in him, he should have played up to it thoughtout because it leaves a strong and weak side to the album (good that they were divided without some leaking through to the stronger side). 

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