# Southside (Lloyd album)

Southside is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Lloyd. It was released by The Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings on July 20, 2004 in the United States. Lloyd teamed with several of record producers to work on the album, including frequent The Inc. producers such as Chink Santana, Demi Doc, Jasper Camero, and label head Irv Gotti as well as Teddy Bishop, Corron Cole, Artie Green, Jimi Kendrix, and Rodney "Darkchid" Jerkins, among others.
The album garnered largely mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom felt that it lacked substance. Southside debuted and reached number three on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number eleven on the US Billboard 200, selling over 67,000 copies in its first week. The album produced the successful top thirty Billboard Hot 100 hit, "the title track" with label-mate Ashanti. A second and final single, "Hey Young Girl, was released in August 2004.

## Background

Lloyd began his musical career as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon, which was formed by former Klymaxx member Joyce Irby in 1996. The band made a minor dent with the DreamWorks single "Ready" but dissolved after its debut album. Irby later secured a recording contract for then 14-year-old Lloyd with Magic Johnson's MCA Records-distributed MJM label. though the label suspended operations before releasing his album. On his return to Atlanta, Lloyd eventually signed with record executive Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2003 to pursue a solo career.

## Promotion

The album's lead single, "Southside", featuring label-mate Ashanti, became a success on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-four, while also reaching number 13 the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 16, 2024 and reached Platinum status on October 16, 2024, based on sales and streaming figures in the United States. Commercially less successful, follow-up "Hey Young Girl" was released on August 14, 2004. It peaked at number 61 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Now | |
David Jeffries of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars. He wrote: "While there are no 'deep' moments on Southside, the glittery production is alive and inspired and Lloyd's cool persona never fails [...] Gotti never gives Lloyd anything lyrically out of his reach, and music-wise he's sprinkled a bunch of clever samples over the down-low beats." Jason Richards from Now found that on his "debut album, the tatted-up vocalist sings a duet with his labelmate Ashanti, and it's very hard to figure out who's who because he sounds so much like a woman. It's even more confusing – because you'd think Ja Rule and Irv Gotti would try to fortify their label with gangsta cred after getting crushed for months on end by everyone on Shady and G-Unit, rather than dropping a wimpy, languid record by an 18-year-old New Orleans singer no one's ever heard of. I've tasted tap water with more flavour than this overlong cliché on wax."

## Commercial performance

Southside debuted and peaked at number three on Billboard's US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number eleven on the US Billboard 200, selling over 67,000 copies in its first week. By March 2006, Southside had sold 322,000 copies domestically, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
Samples credits
* "Ride Wit Me" contains samples from the Fleetwood Mac recording "Little Lies", written by Christine McVie and Eddy Quintela.
* "Hey Young Girl" contains an interpolation of "Hey Young World", written by Ricky Walters.
* "Feels So Right" contains a sample from "Brothers Gonna Work It Out", written and performed by Willie Hutch.
* "Sweet Dreams" contains an interpolation of "Mockingbird" written by Charlie Foxx and Inez Foxx.

## Credits and personnel

Credits for Southside adapted from Allmusic.
Performers and musicians
* Greg "Neo" Anderson – keyboards
* Devine Evans – keyboards
* Devine Evans – drum programming
* Lloyd Jr. Polite – backing vocals
* Irv Polie – executive producer
* Wirlie Morris – drum programming
* Shawn Smith – keyboards
* Chink Santana – guitar
* Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson – backing vocals
Technical
* Won Allen – engineer
* David Ashton – engineer
* Teddy Bishop – engineer
* Leslie Braithwaite – mixing
* Milwaukee "Protools King" Buck – engineer
* Jasper Cameron – vocal producer
* Tom Coyne – mastering
* Indiana Joan – vocal producer
* Carlton Lynn – engineer
* Lloyd – vocal producer
* Chris "Gotti" Lorenzo – A&R
* Wirlie Morris – engineer
* Rick Patrick – creative director
* Patrick Reynolds – A&R
* Andrew Slade – engineer
* Alvin Speights – mixing
* Brian Springer – mixing
* Carol Vaughn, Jr. – A&R

## Certifications

Certifications for Southside :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||