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Lloyd reveals that he nearly passed on collaborating with Drake, for his seminal ‘So Far Gone’ mixtape

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With over 15 years of performing under his belt, Lloyd has remained a fixture in R&B’s ever-changing landscape. 

In the time since his debut single, “Southside,” hit airwaves, the Atlanta-born singer has set the precedent for vocalists to come, been lauded by the likes of Keith Sweat, and aligned himself with a handful of today’s biggest stars, such as Childish Gambino and Drake, before they achieved success. 

Surprisingly, Lloyd nearly passed on working with Drizzy for his career-launching mixtape, So Far Gone. In a recent interview with VIBE, the 33-year-old revealed that the fan-favorite cut “A Night Off” almost didn’t see the light of day. 

According to Lloyd, Drake’s close friend and business associate Jas Prince presented him with the record and asked him to be featured on the 2009 effort. However, Lloyd was initially hesitant to work with the then-rising artist Drake due to his Canadian roots. 

“I said, ‘Oh no. Nobody has soul in Canada.’ So, in my mind I was thinking: ‘What’s this gonna be?’,” Lloyd recalled. 

After Jas persisted, Lloyd decided to give the Toronto rapper a listen. 

“I went and listened to it and it was one of the most amazing things I had ever heard in my life,” Lloyd admitted. “And, I immediately thought: ‘Wow. Wow. Like, how stupid of me?’ You know? And I recorded it in Atlanta, at one of the studios that I was working at. It’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever done.”

Earlier this year, So Far Gone celebrated its 10-year anniversary by being re-released on all streaming platforms. The mixtape now accounts for Drake’s 10th consecutive album on the Billboard 200 album chart.

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