Artist/Group: Lil Jon & the East Side BoyzAlbum: Crunk Juice
Released: 2004
Label: BME Recordings/TVT Records
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"Lovers and Friends" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring American singer Usher and American rapper Ludacris, from the group's fifth and final studio album, Crunk Juice (2004). The song was written by the artists alongside Michael Sterling, while produced by Lil Jon. It was released by BME and TVT Records in 2004, as the third single from the album. An R&B slow jam, the song consists of a piano melody and hook, and contains a sample of Sterling's song of the same name. The lyrics depict the three artists attempting to seduce women.
"Lovers and Friends" received mixed reviews from music critics; some praised the production, while other reviewers criticized the commercial sound and track placement on Crunk Juice. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 15 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. A music video was planned to be released, but never materialized. "Lovers and Friends" was sampled by DJ Khaled on "Do You Mind" and by Trevor Jackson on "Just Friends", while Pitbull and Prince Royce implemented elements of the song on "Quiero Saber".
Lil Jon conceived the idea of recording "Lovers and Friends" after continuously hearing the original song by American singer Michael Sterling and noticing the positive reaction it received when played in strip clubs. He gave a rough version of "Lovers and Friends" to Usher for his fourth studio album Confessions (2004), but was not included since Usher had finished the album and did not listen to the song. Lil Jon subsequently re-recorded the beat in his Miami recording studio to create a version for inclusion on Crunk Juice. Usher decided to appear on "Lovers and Friends" and recorded his vocals in the studio from September to November 2004, while Lil Jon sent the song to Ludacris. Lil Jon was the final artist to record his vocals. TVT Records had not intended to commercially release "Lovers and Friends" as a single due to legal paperwork complications, such as Sterling's compensation for the song's chart success. Disc jockeys began playing the song on the radio in 2004, despite it not having been released as an official single. In a 2004 interview with Billboard, Lil Jon described "Lovers and Friends" as a "classic booty shake record" from the "Keith Sweat era" and revealed he deliberately chose Usher to appear since nobody would expect him to sing the song. An accompanying music video was intended to be released, with Canadian director X expressing interest after having directed the video for the three artists' previous song "Yeah!" (2004). However, it never came to fruition, as none of their record labels could come to terms on a contractual agreement.
Musically, "Lovers and Friends" is an R&B slow jam, which samples Sterling's 1990 song of the same name. It contains a soft melodic piano and hook, as Usher croons with a "rap-soul" style and performs a falsetto coo. Ludacris and Lil Jon additionally rap their verses on the song. The former ad-libs during the closing refrain: "Please tell your lovers and friends that Usher, Jon and Luda had to do it again." LaMarquis Jefferson and Craig Love play the guitars, while L-Roc uses the keyboard. Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Caramanica compared "Lovers and Friends" to the Mary J. Blige song "Everything" (1997), which he considered as a "liquid love song". Rashaun Hall of Billboard wrote that the song is a "grooving ballad". According to Tyson Mccloud of Lancaster New Era, the song's lyrics do not depict women in "an inferior or stereotypical role" in contrast to the other album tracks. James Doolittle of The Morning Call stated that it is "a humorous attempt at being a mack daddy".
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