Lloyd‘s anticipated new EP Tru is due out this Friday (Dec. 9), lead by the title track, which has been climbing the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, currently at No. 16.
But, don’t call Lloyd’s five-year absence a comeback. “I’m simply picking up where I left off,” Lloyd told Billboard. “It’s not a comeback. I’m just making up for some lost time.”
And he’s doing so with the most introspective and honest material he’s ever presented, as fans will learn on the forthcoming EP. Beyond the single and its remix featuring 2 Chainz, the EP is comprised of the tracks “Heavenly Body” featuring Rick Ross, “Holding” and “Excited.”
“I’ve never attacked the content of my life like this,” says Lloyd. “The EP and album were inspired by all kinds of biographical storylines of the past few years. And the bottom line message is that there’s nothing wrong with being who you are. I really enjoy the fact that no one is perfect or imperfect. That’s the message I’m sharing.”
Career success aside, Lloyd says his five-year recording hiatus was more about simply living life than anything else. During that period, he helped his sister graduate from medical school (“a big moment,” says Lloyd), watched his niece being born, earned his GED (“which I wouldn’t have considered before”) and also learned to play the guitar. Out of that came something else he hadn’t initially anticipated: a renewed openness to experiment musically and lyrically.
“The only thing that can get in the way is yourself,” says Lloyd. “And now here was the chance to work on more intimate and experimental material. I didn’t expect to put ‘Tru’ out. I wasn’t even shopping it so I didn’t imagine it would mean any kind of a resurgence. But a friend through a friend through a friend heard it and found me.”
As for his provocative photo on the Tru EP cover taken in north Georgia, Lloyd says its another offshoot of his “way more fearless” outlook. “The same kid fans met before is still deep in me,” he explains. “But this Lloyd is more comfortable in his skin, having eliminated so many fears like how you might look to someone or what someone else may think of you. That’s what I’ve tried to tackle with this photo—and my new music.”
The Tru EP is available for pre-order on iTunes now. Coming next year is Lloyd’s first album since 2011, Out My Window, via the singer’s Empire-distributed label Young Goldie Music.
via Billboard
(Photo by Ben Styles)
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