You've heard his latest single So Sick and the hot single before it Stay. So who is Ne Yo ? Born into a family of musicians from Arkansas, Shaffer C. Smith a.k.a. Ne-Yo was raised in a single parent home by his mother. In hopes of a better opportunity, Ne-Yo’s mother relocated the family to Las Vegas Nevada; where Ne-Yo would discover his passion.
The singer/songwriter, penned on the biggest radio records of history (189.5 million listeners in one week) Billboards ..1 R&B chart for several weeks, the words on “Let Me Love You” touch your heart and makes you feel good in your soul. Written with Scott Storch and Kam Houf and performed by the R&B artist Mario, “Let Me Love You” is just a glimpse into the mind of a true writer. “It’s a great song, and I’m really happy to have written it,” he says.”
A master in the art of storytelling, Ne-Yo began writing at an early age. A vivid imagination and creative energy has allowed Ne-Yo to write songs for multi-platinum artists such as Mary J. Blige, B2K, Faith Evans, and Musiq. When asked about writing number one hits for other artists, simply put, Ne-Yo said, “I feel there is always room for good music. I want to reach people’s soul with my lyrics thru whatever vessel God chooses.”
Relying on mostly his own in-house crew Compound, Ne-Yo creates both a unique sound and sentiment for his records. Songs like the first single “Stay” (featuring Peedi Crack) exemplify Ne- Yo’s nuanced, layered vocals and sample free production. “So Sick”, a beautiful track in which he laments hearing love songs on the radio due to the feelings they conjure, reveals his voice to be clean and almost elated, but rich and weathered at the same time. But true to his charismatic character, the album shows many sides of Ne-Yo and even finds him lighter, more playful, even coy, on “When You’re Mad.” Sure cello hits move the track as Ne-Yo floats above, telling his woman that she’s even more beautiful when she’s mad.
If the current singles are a sign expect Ne Yo to do big things in 2006. New tracks will be added to this page and images of Ne Yo as they become available.
Watch out for Ne Yo's Debut album slated to be released February 28, 2006. |
