Lloyd Harlin Polite, Jr. was born January 3, 1986 in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Known professionally as Lloyd, Polite is an American R&B singer-songwriter and dancer, as well as a record producer and actor. Lloyd attended Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, but had already begun pursuing a music career by his teen years.
Lloyd is a Louisiana Creole crooner who got his start with the teen pop group N-Toon in 1996. The group, formed by Klymaxx’s Joyce Irby, was featured on Radio Disney. Llolyd stayed with the group through their 2000 album Toon Time, released by Dreamworks.
As he got older, Lloyd changed his sound and his influences, and his vocal talents were discovered by L.A. Reid, who became the head of the Def Jam label. Reid turned to The Inc., the former Murder Inc. label of producer Irv Gotti, and commissioned the subsidiary to partner Lloyd with superstar R&B singer Ashanti for the single “Southside.” The song went to #24 on the U.S. Hot 100 and #13 on the R&B chart in 2004. Lloyd’s album, also titled Southside, went gold in the U.S.
Lloyd released his most popular album, Street Love, in 2007. The album spawned two popular singles, “Get It Shawty” and “You” featuring Lil Wayne. “Get It Shawty” hit #16 on the Hot 100, and #4 on the U.S. R&B chart, while “You,” Llyod’s most successful single to date, hit #9 and #1 on the same charts, respectively. Lloyd released his third studo album, Lessons in Love, in August of 2008. Lloyd’s popularity has led to a multitude of collaborations with other successful rap stars, including Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne, Chingy, and Rick Ross, among others.
Lloyd has also made guest appearances on television shows such as One on One, Wild 'n Out, and Gotti's Way on VH1.