Russell Myrie, Contributor

R&B singer Lloyd - Contributed

United States R&B singer Lloyd loves music, loves London and loves life, as Russell Myrie finds out.

"I love my life," says an overly animated Lloyd on the phone from Atlanta, United States of America.

And he has good reason to be happy. After a frustrating freshman run, one that saw his debut single and album, both called Southside, not so much flop as fall by the wayside, things are going his way.

The chief reason for this is the success he enjoyed last year with his single, Get It Shawty. But even better than that, his new joint, All Around The World, is getting props in all the right places. Now that Lil Waynes album, The Carter III, is finally out and about, a guest spot from Weezy is even harder to come by than it was last year.

But LLoyd got one for All Around The World. Despite that, you shouldn't believe the rumours about the joint album they're meant to be doing. It looks as if T-Pain might win that particular prize. But it's all good. Lloyd's new album, Lessons In Love, drops next month and another one of the album tracks, How We Do It (Around my Way) featuring Ludacris, is already getting radio spins. "It's a spaceship man," Lloyd jokes of his new long player.

club bangers

These days, there are more club bangers than you can shake a stick at, but Get It Shawty managed to stand out due to the sheer number of guest verses it attracted. It's easily the biggest song of Lloyd's career and is the reason why his second album, Street Love, went platinum.

The list is ridiculous. Lil Wayne appeared on the original. And Game, Big Boi and Ja Rule are just a few of a list that broke double figures. Some pirate DJs (but thankfully not too many club DJs) got into the habit of spinning the whole damn thing in one go. (Guess it gave them time to make a cup of tea or go to the toilet.) Ever the diplomat, Lloyd refuses to pick his favourite guest appearance. He's equally enthusiastic about them all.

Similarly, Lloyd's enthusiasm about modern R&B is infectious. And it's great to hear the perspective of someone from America, where soul music is celebrated and not denigrated by mainstream critics. "I love it," he says. "The coolest thing about R&B that I love now is that people are not afraid to take more of an international approach and have a universal appeal."

uncontrollable

"With electronic music being so popular and even the old school sound coming back with people like Gnarls Barkley, you know it's going everywhere and it's uncontrollable, uncontainable. It's like a whirlwind and I do really love everything about it. But do you know what I love most? "

We can guess.

"I love that I'm a part of it."

When visiting these shores, most US singers give props just to be polite. They're just going through the motions. Some have even been known to shout out the wrong country as they get confused about precisely which part of Europe they were in. (Blame Eurostar.) But when Lloyd bigs up London, he sounds like he actually means it.

incredible

"I love London; no really I do," he says. "I love coming to London and hanging out with The Sugababes, kicking it with Tim Westwood on the radio, walking up and down Oxford Street seeing people showing me love and going out to the clubs and hearing my songs!"

Anyone who has ever heard his shout out on Westwood knows it is one of the funniest, longest and best there is. "It's just about having fun," he laughs. "What we do for a living is incredible. To be able to make music for a living? It's something that I've loved doing since I was 10. To get to do it every day is the ultimate and you have to be appreciative and just have fun."