Ne-Yo - Non-Fiction - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Soul/R&B/Hip Hop/Rap (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=15) +--- Thread: Ne-Yo - Non-Fiction (/showthread.php?tid=12603)

Ne-Yo - Non-Fiction - Music Head - 05-02-2015 enters the Billboard chart this week at #5 Spotify online listen 4.0 of 5.0 by allmusic 6th studio album only 8 featured artists from smooth r&b to rap a few tracks passed Bio - from allmusic Ne-Yo was one of the most successful songwriters and artists of the 2000s. His breakthrough didn't come until late 2004, as the co-songwriter of Mario's "Let Me Love You," a number one Hot 100 hit that Billboard later determined to be the eighth most successful single of the decade. By the close of 2009, however, Ne-Yo had racked up a career's worth of accomplishments. He released three albums, all of which went platinum in the United States. Seven of his singles, as well as five on which he appeared as a featured artist, peaked within the Top Ten of the country's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" and Rihanna's "Take a Bow," two of the many songs he wrote for other artists, were smash hits as well. His music added a high level of sophistication to pop-R&B while appealing to younger audiences. The following decade, he wasn't as busy as a recording artist and devoted time to artist development. Born Shaffer Smith in Camden, Arkansas and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ne-Yo broke into the music industry as a songwriter, though he had a false start with a short-lived group called Envy. Prior to exiting his teenage years, he penned material for Youngstown. Shortly thereafter, he co-wrote "That Girl" for Marques Houston and "I'm Sorry" for Christina Milian; the former composition had been intended for Smith's own debut album, which was recorded for Columbia but never released. In late 2004, he became known throughout the industry as the co-writer of Mario's "Let Me Love You," one of the most-played songs on urban radio stations across the U.S. Ne-Yo subsequently signed a solo deal with Def Jam. In My Own Words came out in February 2006 and reached the top of the Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop album charts, supported by the number one hit "So Sick" -- one of his many collaborations with Norwegian production duo Stargate. During the same year, he appeared on Remy Ma's There's Something About Remy and Ghostface Killah's Fishscale, and he had a hand in writing a pair of Top Ten hits: Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" and Rihanna's "Unfaithful." Because of You, his second album, followed in May 2007. It went to number one on the Billboard 200 and Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts as well, with its upbeat title track topping out at number two on the Hot 100. After another series of songwriting triumphs, including Rihanna's "Take a Bow" and Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight," Ne-Yo released his third album, Year of the Gentleman, in September 2008. Propelled by the hits "Closer," the Grammy-winning "Miss Independent," and "Mad," the set eventually went platinum, which made Ne- Yo three for three in that regard. Ne-Yo then went relatively quiet for a brief period but returned in 2010 with Libra Scale, an album inspired by science fiction and comic books, as well as Stevie Wonder's and Michael Jackson's most ambitious recordings. It debuted in the Top 10 but didn't even come close to attaining gold status. He maintained his mainstream presence as a featured artist on Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" and Young Jeezy's "Leave You Alone," among a handful of minor hits. In November 2012, after he signed to Motown and was named the label's Senior Vice President of A&R, he released R.E.D. ("Realizing Every Dream"). The album found him continuing to embrace dance-pop while maintaining his connection to R&B. While it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, it was his slowest selling album to that point. The singer spent much of 2013 collaborating with other artists, including Akon, David Guetta, Cher Lloyd, and Celine Dion. The build-up to Non- Fiction, Ne-Yo's sixth studio album, started during the first half of 2014 with the release of "Money Can't Buy," a single featuring Jeezy that failed to crack the Top 40 of the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Additional collaborative singles with Juicy J ("She Knows") and Pitbull ("Time of Our Lives") fared better commercially. The parent album arrived in January 2015. Album Review - from allmusic There are considerable reasons to approach Non-Fiction with doubt. It follows R.E.D., Shaffer Smith's least satisfying studio set. His first release to fall short of gold- selling status, R.E.D. was trailed by another series of support roles on dance-pop singles and rap album cuts. David Guetta's "Play Hard" was the lone track to leave an impression, and it did so far outside the U.S. The first single from Non-Fiction preceded the album by eight months. It and those that followed were all high-profile collaborations, like it didn't matter that eight of Ne-Yo's nine Top Ten R&B hits were made without the involvement of a rapper. A look at the back of Non-Fiction's standard 14-track edition prompts more skepticism: the first three songs are propped up by guests, while track five is "Time of Our Lives," the fifth single from Pitbull's Globalization, featuring Ne-Yo. Patched together and sprawling even in standard form -- it's the television edit compared to the director's cut deluxe edition -- Non-Fiction nonetheless contains more standouts than any Ne-Yo album since Because of You. There's some frivolous content, such as the fireside acoustic number "Story Time" and rote EDM squib "Who's Taking You Home." Beyond that, there's a lot of imaginative and high-quality modern R&B, like "She Knows," "She Said I'm Hood Though," and "One More," all tough but finely crafted slow jams. In the last of that bunch, listeners who dismiss Ne-Yo as soft might chuckle at "I would love the opportunity to rub your feet" and miss that it's a set up for the suggestion of a three-way. The smaller uptempo portion is highlighted by "Coming with You," a dazzling Stargate production like no other that contains a hip-house core and soars. Closing track "Congratulations," another superlative ballad, is like a more mature alternate version of Year of the Gentleman cut "Fade Into the Background," where Ne-Yo once again concedes the loss of a woman who's "wifey material." [The album's standard edition lacks "Non- Fiction," "Everybody Loves You/The Def of You," "Let You What...," "Take You There," "Why," and some intra-track spoken interludes of the deluxe edition.] that's pretty funny: [video=youtube;tIcrlQTT_3A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIcrlQTT_3A[/video] Track Listing 1. Run 2. Integrity 3. One More 4. Who's Taking You Home 5. Time of Our Lives 6. Coming With You 7. Good Morning 8. Make It Easy 9. Money Can't Buy 10. Religious 11. She Knows 12. She Said I'm Hood Tho 13. Story Time 14. Congratulations Ne-Yo - Non-Fiction - CRAZY-HORSE - 05-02-2015 your linked track didnt make the pass for me, so i'll pass on it...