Lloyd’s School Of Love Opens Up Early

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: In that interview with Lloyd that we posted yesterday, the young R & B singer talked about his fantasy of becoming a professor to a room of beautiful ladies, schooling them in the ways of love. Lessons In Love, his third album, is proof that he isn’t kidding, as it opens with “Sex Education,” where the singer declares that “class is in session.” “Education” is a slow jam that has slightly corny lyrics, including someone chanting over and over “I wanna make a A,” but it’s a slow jam that sounds pretty OK as a bridge to the still-irresistible “Girls Around The World.” Other highlights include the lighter-than-air dance track “I’m Wit It,” which has a barely there accompaniment that was produced by “Get It Shawty” producer J. Lack; “Treat U Good,” which is a sinewy slice of R & B that sounds like Lloyd’s attempt to channel every R & B love song he heard on the radio growing up; and “Year Of The Lover,” which is apparently the next single–it sounds like a better, Jeezy-free version of “Love In This Club” and has lyrics that could be reconstituted for some sort of Hands Across America II-type project. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention “Your Love,” which flips the hook from this track the same way that “You” did on last year’s Street Love:

The only real misstep is “Touched By An Angel,” which uses a little too much church organ for me to be comfortable with it as a baby-making accompaniment. But other than that, Lessons In Love is solid and sleek, and something that will probably get a lot of play around these parts for many months to come.