Sometimes, when I feel down and out, I listen to music. Back in the day I had an Aiwa 3-CD changer stereo to get my music fix. I don’t care what nobody say, that machine sounded amazing. I wonder if they still sell stereo systems like that anymore?
These days, I mostly listen to music on YouTube. I can pick the song I want, while playing puzzles or spider solitaire on the computer. Once I pick the initial song I want, I just let the algorithm do its thing. It’s a hit or miss whether the next song is one I want to hear. I usually can go a few songs before I have to go in and change it myself.
I was doing that a couple of weeks ago when YouTube’s algorithm reintroduced me to Lloyd – do, do, doooo – making me wonder how I could’ve ever forgotten.
Lloyd burst on the scene during that transition period, I like to call it, when 90s R&B had melded into 2000s hip-hop, producing a sound that was distinctly neither. It was that time period when songs had the last vestiges of 90s R&B, before it we devolved into what we have today. I said it!
Lord, how did I grow up to be one of those people lamenting that they don’t make music like they used to. When I was younger people of my mother’s generation used to say that, but somebody done told them wrong. Now, as an elder, when I say it, I know this much is true.
Anyway, it was nice to get reacquainted with Lloyd’s falsetto and I thought to myself, perhaps you might want to too. Whether it’s your first time or you’re taking a stroll back down memory lane, here are three of my all-time favorite Lloyd songs – do, do, doooo, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.
You
Chris Rock once joked that a man is only as faithful as his options. Part of what makes that so funny is that there’s some truth to it. However Lloyd’s biggest hit “You” offers up a different take on having multiple choices in the dating pool.
Lil Wayne kicks off the song with bars outlining the typical player attitude towards women. In line with Chris Rock’s joke, he’s letting a woman know that, for him, “women come frequent like flight mileage.” At the end of his verse, he basically dismisses the woman telling her to send him a text message if she’s “feeling desperate.”
Next thing you know, Lloyd comes in, with the first words of his verse being, “Stop! Wait a minute.” As the saying goes, birds of the same feather flock together, so he’s a player too, but apparently he’s been instantly reformed by his desire to get to know this girl. In this verse he’s trying to prevent the woman from walking away after Lil Wayne sent her packing.
In addition to its catchy beat and Lloyd’s vocals, I like the way song contrasts Lloyd’s suddenly reformed player with Lil Wayne’s typical womanizer ones. Of course no one would be surprised if what Lloyd sings is all game, but in a world where it can sometimes seem like life is one big competition – we’re competing with others for everything from jobs to parking spaces, I like the message in this song that this man had other options, other good options, but he still choses you.
Dedication To My Ex (Miss That)
It was hard to decide between “You” and this song for the No.2 and 3 spots, but ultimately this one edged the former out for its quirkiness. I remember this song getting a lot of buzz back in the day for its video and also some controversy for its lyrics. There is an uncensored version that I’ve never actually listened to before putting this list together. I’ll admit, after being so used to the radio version for so many years, just a few lines into the explicit version and I found it jarring
I remember it being somewhat of a big deal that Wayne Brady was featured in the video, causing some black folks who thought of him as an Oreo to loosen their grip on taking his black card and I ain’t talkin’ about the AMEX one.
If ever a song could be considered eclectic, this one is it, with notes of 90s R&B, hip-hop, Jackson 5 Motown and even the bygone era of do-wop. My favorite part is when Lloyd changes up his cadence to sing “Your lovin’ done changed. It ain’t the same, girl and that’s a shame.”
I also like that Andre 3000 is featured as a cat in the video, with my favorite line of his verse being “You were perfect before you went on a diet.” Talk about music to a fat girl’s ears.
It’s just such a fun song with a fun title that, by the way, appears nowhere in the lyrics (other than the parenthetical Miss That).
Cupid
Finally, my all-time favorite Lloyd song is “Cupid.” Since I’m not into Greek gods or whatever Cupid is supposed to be ‘round these parts, I like to replace that chubby arrow-welding baby’s name with Jesus. And Jesus has done it aggaiiiiiiiiin. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
All joking aside, I don’t mind singing the word Cupid, but I think it would be dope if it said Jesus, so sometimes I just take it upon myself to swap them out.
The things I like most about this song, is that it gives you all the feels of a slow R&B song, while being an up-tempo song you can still cut a rug to. As a matter of fact, it’s the song’s beat that attracted me to it in the first place. I didn’t really pay much attention to the lyrics (other than the chorus) until years later. It opens with that synthesized percussion reminiscent of the opening to TI’s “Bring Em Out.” When I finally paid more attention to the lyrics I found them to be cute, but nothing particularly special or poetic about them. What’s special is the sweet, melodic tone of Lloyd’s voice laid over a crazy beat that transforms the simple into the extraordinary. Can you even think of someone else who could do this song justice? I can’t.
This has been a dedication to Lloyd post – the king of delivering songs that manage to intertwine hip-hop and R&B so flawlessly, fans of neither genre tend to miss out.
What songs will I be inspired to write about next?
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