"Lay It Down" is a song by American R&B recording artist

Lloyd Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to: People * Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' or ', which means "grey" or "brown" ** List of people with given name Lloyd ** List of people with surname Lloyd * Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), American ...

taken from his fourth studio album '' King of Hearts''. The track, which serves as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

, was produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including " Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014 ...

and samples

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

's "

Love, Need and Want You "Love, Need and Want You" is a song recorded by American singer Patti LaBelle from her sixth studio album, '' I'm in Love Again'' (1983). The mid-tempo R&B song was written and produced for LaBelle by Bunny Sigler and Kenny Gamble, and was relea ...

", as well as "Corn" by Zhnark. The single was originally released via YoungGoldie.com on August 15, 2010, and was released via iTunes on August 31, 2010.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and directed by Mickey Finnegan. It premiered on October 12, 2010, on BET's

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rat ...

. The video has peaked at #4 on the show. K.D. Aubert plays the leading lady with

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...

and

making

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s throughout the video. As of April 2021 the video has over 70 million views on Lloyd YouTube channel.

Remixes

In a radio interview, Lloyd revealed the song would have three official

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es. The first official remix released for pop radio features rock drums and American rapper B.o.B, and background vocals from the group Rock City on January 21, 2011. It was sent to radio in March 2011. The second official remix, with fellow singer

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwide ...

was for urban radio. It was released as the "G-Mix" featuring R. Kelly and

Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

on January 12, 2011. The third official remix featured a then unrevealed artist who people "wouldn't expect to hear." The third remix was released on December 29, 2010, entitled "Lay it Down Part II – A Tribute to the Legends." It features

and pays tribute to singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

and the late fellow singer

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...

. All three of the remixes were included and released on a digital EP via iTunes on February 15, 2011. R&B

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

RichGirl RichGirl was an American R&B vocal girl group consisting of four members: Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Kristal Lyndriette Smith (then known as Lyndriette and now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (n ...

created a remix to the song, released on their '' Fall in Love with RichGirl'' mixtape. R&B Artist K. Michelle also released an unofficial remix of the song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

2010 singles 2010 songs Lloyd (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Polow da Don Songs written by Ester Dean Songs written by Polow da Don Interscope Records singles {{2010s-R&B-song-stub