Lloyd: The R&B Singer From New Orleans You Should Know

The R&B Singer From New Orleans You Should Know

Lloyd Polite Jr. goes by just Lloyd, which is fitting for a singer whose style is all about stripping away the excess and letting the voice do the work. Born in New Orleans in 1986, he became one of the most successful R&B artists of the 2000s, scoring multi-platinum albums and hit singles that dominated urban radio. And he did it all starting from a childhood in New Orleans that was anything but easy.

Lloyd grew up in the Desire housing development and Hollygrove, neighborhoods that produced more than their share of hardship. His father was murdered when Lloyd was young, and his mother raised him through circumstances that would have derailed most kids. But Lloyd had a voice—a smooth, supple tenor that could float over a beat with an ease that belied the effort behind it—and that voice became his ticket out.

He was discovered young and signed to Murder Inc. Records, the label run by Irv Gotti. His debut single "Southside" featuring Ashanti hit the charts in 2004, and his career took off. The albums Street Love and Lessons in Love produced hit after hit, including "You" featuring Lil Wayne—a collaboration that brought two New Orleans natives together on a track that dominated radio for months.

Lloyd's sound was rooted in the New Orleans tradition of smooth, soulful singing—the tradition of Aaron Neville and Irma Thomas—but translated into the contemporary R&B language of the 2000s. His voice had that quality that New Orleans puts into its singers: a warmth, an emotional directness, a refusal to hide behind studio tricks when raw feeling would do the job better.

His collaboration with Lil Wayne on "You" was a homecoming of sorts—two kids from New Orleans who'd made it to the top of the music industry, working together on a song that let both of them do what they did best. It was a reminder that New Orleans doesn't just produce one kind of music. The city that made jazz and bounce also makes R&B singers who can compete with anyone.

Lloyd proved that New Orleans' musical reach extends well beyond the genres most people associate with the city. He took the soulfulness that the city breeds into its musicians and turned it into platinum records and sold-out tours, carrying a piece of Hollygrove and the Desire with him to stages around the world.