[2] In 2010, Lloyd was featured on the Young Money hit single "BedRock" and signed to Zone 4, the label of producer and longtime friend Polow da Don.

[23] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called it "clearly the singer’s best album yet [...] his most unified set of songs", adding that "Lloyd has pretty much perfected the art of transcending the modern-R&B Lothario cliché".

[3] Maura Johnston of The Village Voice described the album as "utterly replayable" and commented that it "veers back and forth between unabashed romanticism [...], club-borne lust [...], and the brooding, yet unleashed love songs that helped him initially break onto the scene".

Club's Evan Rytlewski complimented Polow da Don's material for Lloyd and wrote that the album "doubles down on his amorous enthusiasm, pushing it to such delirious extremes that these songs feel risky and uncharted even as they play to his most obvious strengths".

[...] The heart of the record, though, are tracks like the euphoric headrush 'Jigsaw', where Lloyd's sense of rhythm lets his vocals dance confidently in the subdivisions of the groove, balancing sugary enthusiasm with deft physicality.

[15] Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole criticized its "trendy production choices" and found its songs ill-suited for Lloyd, writing that he "fares best when he stays on the sillier, sexier side of things".

[20] Despite calling it a "strong-laced R&B vocal album", Mireya Fernandez of The Source perceived an "inability to definitively differentiate from the vast sea of other R&B singers".

[25] The Washington Post's Allison Stewart complimented "Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)", but stated, "it’s the first and only track on 'King of Hearts' to inspire any kind of strong reaction at all".

[26] Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss commented that "Lloyd possesses a levitating croon and admirably fills out most of producer Polow Da Don’s synthetic boudoir songs", while noting "not a cliché left unemployed".

[16] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed a lack of "focus" with the songs, but commended Polow da Don for "feeling the full range of [Lloyd's] lushness" in his production.