Patti LaBelle Tells Lloyd to 'Lay Off the Apple Juice'
When a veteran like Patti LaBelle imparts some wisdom on a young crooner like Lloyd, he pays attention. After the legendary soul songstress heard “Lay It Down,” the first single off his forthcoming album King of Hearts, Patti not only wanted to jump on the remix, she wanted to leave a lasting impression on him.
“She told me to lay off the apple juice,” Lloyd tells staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud with a laugh. “You wouldn’t understand that; that’s an inside joke. I just learned from her to leave it all out there. Every time I get on the stage, every time I pick up the mic, every time I do this [song], just do it all. She embodies soul, and leaving everything out there for people to see and feel.”
The ATL resident aims to do just that for his listeners. While fans were originally set on grabbing a copy of his fourth LP next month, they’ll now have to wait until April 19 to get their hands on it. But Lloyd promises it’ll be worth the wait. “I heard some more music recently before going on tour to Europe,” he states. “I decided to record it. I thought it was a great song; Polow [Da Don] brought it to me. It ended up being such a crazy song that the label [Interscope Records] wants to make that the new single.”
Besides selecting “Cupid” as his new single, he did provide details about another tune that’ll be featured on the album: “Angel.” “That’s really a great song,” Lloyd admits. “It’s one of my favorite songs. That was produced by a collection of people, a collective effort. The premise is wanting something you can’t fathom, like an angel because they always fly away, like it’s out of this world. I picked up the piano for that song.”
Lloyd will perform material from his new album at BET’s “Rip the Runway,” along with Wiz Khalifa, Keri Hilson, Melanie Fiona, Miguel, and more. The special airs March 21 at 10 p.m.
–Georgette Cline