Lessons in Love (Lloyd album)

Lessons in Love
Studio album by Lloyd
Released	August 4, 2008 (see release history)
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	R&B, Hip hop
Length	45:53
Label	Young Goldie Music, The Inc., Universal Motown
Producer	Big Reese & Jasper, Eric Hudson, J. Lack, Polow da Don, Oak, Adonis "The Phenom"
Lloyd chronology
Street Love (2007) Lessons in Love (2008) King of Hearts (2011)
Singles from Lessons in Love
"How We Do It (Around My Way)" Released: March 4, 2008 "Girls Around the World" Released: May 12, 2008 "Year of the Lover" Released: September 2, 2008

Lessons in Love is the third studio album by American singer Lloyd, released by The Inc./Universal Motown on August 5, 2008. This is the last album to be released on Irv Gotti's label The Inc. Records label.

Production

The album was originally to be titled Sexual Education but was later changed to Lessons in Love for a more suitable title. Lloyd describle the album as '"The title concept derives from a schoolboy fantasy of mine".^[1] Following their participation on previous album Street Love (2007), the singer re-teamed with producers Big Reese and Jasper Cameron to work on the majority of the album, with additional production resulting from collaborations with Polow Da Don, Adonis Shropshire, James Lackey, Oak (of the Knightwritaz), and others.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with moderately successful first week sales 51,000.^[2][3]

The first single, "How We Do It (Around My Way)" features rapper Ludacris, only peaked at number seventy-seven on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[4] It peaked at number seventy-five on the UK Singles Chart. "Girls Around the World" was the album's second single. It features the rapper Lil Wayne. The single was sent to U.S. radio stations for airplay consideration on May 12, 2008.^[5] It peaked at sixty-four on Billboard's Hot 100 and thirteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[6] The third and final single was "Year of the Lover". The single version featured rapper Plies. It only peaked at number one on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles. "I Can Change Your Life" was supposed to be the fourth single from the album, but was cancelled due to the lackluster chart performance of "Year of the Lover".

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[7]
AllMusic	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	(C+)[9]
New York Daily News	[10]
Newsday	(B) link
Rolling Stone	link at the Wayback Machine (archived September 15, 2008)
Slant Magazine	[11]
The Guardian	[12]
UGO Networks	(C+) link
USA Today	[13]

Lessons in Love received mixed or average reviews from critics. It holds a 60 out of 100 from Metacritic.^[14] AllMusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars saying, "Between 'I'm Wit It', 'Girls', and a couple other standouts, Lessons in Love cannot be dismissed, but Lloyd will have to really change it up with his fourth album to evade a real holding pattern."^[8] Rolling Stone also gave the album 3 out of 5 stars saying, "Throughout Lessons in Love, Lloyd sounds like he's actually having fun dishing out come-ons, adding an emphatic exuberance to each one."^[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Sex Education"	Jasper Cameron, Lloyd Polite, Maurice Sinclair	Big Reese, Jasper Cameron	3:36
2.	"Girls Around the World" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Cameron, Dwayne Carter, Jr., L. Pinchback, Polite, Sinclair	Big Reese, Jasper Cameron	3:49
3.	"Treat U Good"	Johntá Austin, Eric Hudson	Eric Hudson	4:08
4.	"Year of the Lover"	Hudson, Richard Butler, Jr.	Eric Hudson	4:06
5.	"I Can Change Your Life"	Warren Felder, Robert Huggar, Polite	Warren "Oak" Felder	3:28
6.	"Lose Your Love"	Cameron, Polite, Sinclair, J. Spinks	Big Reese, Jasper Cameron	4:04
7.	"Have My Baby"	Cameron, Polite	Big Reese, Jasper Cameron	4:15
8.	"Love Making 101"	Hudson, Polite, Shropshire	Eric Hudson	4:04
9.	"Party All Over Your Body"	Cameron, Jamal Jones, Polite	Polow da Don	3:46
10.	"Touched By An Angel"	Cameron, Polite, Sinclair	Big Reese, Jasper Cameron	4:09
11.	"I'm Wit It"	James Lackey, Keri Hilson, Ryon Lovette	James "JLack" Lackey	3:05
12.	"Heart Attack"	Polite, Shropshire, J. White	Adonis Shropshire	3:23

United Kingdom bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"How We Do It (Around My Way)" (featuring Ludacris)	Christopher Bridges, Polite, Wood Works	Baby Boy, Superkidd	3:36
14.	"How We Do It (In the UK) (Sway Remix)" (featuring Sway)	Derek Safo, Polite, Works	Baby Boy, Superkidd	3:38

Circuit City exclusive bonus track
No.	Title	Length
13.	"If He Knew"	3:22

Lessons in Love 2.0
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lessons in Love"	2:40
2.	"Lights, Camera, Action"	3:06
3.	"I Need Love" (featuring The-Dream)	3:42
4.	"Can't Get Over"	3:04
5.	"I'm Wit It" (featuring Yung Joc)	3:39
6.	"Year of the Lover" (featuring Fabolous & Plies)	5:07
7.	"Do The Damn Thing"	3:35
8.	"Day in the Life"	4:21
9.	"Lose Control" (featuring Nelly)	4:19
10.	"Love Spaceship" (featuring Danah Lewis)	4:15
11.	"If He Knew"	3:27
12.	"Nobody But Me"	3:08
13.	"I Don't Wanna Be"	4:13

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position US Billboard 200[16] 7 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[18] 66

See also

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2008

Release history

Region	Date
United Kingdom	August 4, 2008
United States	August 5, 2008
Canada	September 30, 2008

References

1. blueandsoul. Accessed August 8, 2008
2. Katie Hasty (August 13, 2008). 'Mamma Mia!' Leaps To No. 1 On The Billboard 200 Billboard. Accessed August 13, 2008.
3. Andreas Hale (August 21, 2008). Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 8/17/08 Hip Hop DX. Accessed August 21, 2008.
4. "How We Do It (Around My Way)" (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart), Billboard, April 12, 2008.
5. FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!
6. Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales
7. Nero, Mark Edward. "Lloyd - Lessons In Love". About.com. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
8. Kellman, Andy. "Lessons in Love - Lloyd". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
9. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (August 1, 2008). "Lessons in Love". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
10. Farber, Jim (August 5, 2008). "Lloyd is R&B's new true falsetto". New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Archived from the original on August 6, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
11. Cinquemani, Sal (August 7, 2008). "Lloyd Lessons in Love". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
12. Macpherson, Alex (August 8, 2008). "CD: Urban review: Lloyd, Lessons in Love". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
13. Jones, Steve (August 4, 2008). "This week's reviews: Lloyd 'Lessons' impact; Randy in Weill humor". USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
14. Lloyd: Lessons In Love (2008): Reviews Metacritic. Accessed August 8, 2008
15. Lessons In Love : Lloyd : Review Rolling Stone. Accessed August 8, 2008
16. "Lloyd – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Lloyd. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
17. "Lloyd – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Lloyd. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
18. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2008". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 11, 2015.