Latest Release
- SEP 26, 2024
- 1 Song
- Globalization · 2014
- TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition (Deluxe Version) · 2011
- In My Own Words · 2005
- Year of the Gentleman (Deluxe Edition) · 2008
- Year of the Gentleman (Deluxe Edition) · 2008
- Planet Pit (Deluxe Version) · 2011
- Nothing But the Beat 2.0 · 2012
- In a Perfect World... (Bonus Track Version) · 2009
- Because of You · 2007
- Year of the Gentleman (Deluxe Edition) · 2008
Essential Albums
- Ne-Yo’s third full-length finds him moving away from R&B and towards acoustic-and-piano-driven pop in the mold of “Take A Bow” and “Irreplaceable," the hit singles he wrote for Rihanna and Beyoncé. “Closer” and “Miss Independent” maintain the rushing pulse of club music without becoming bombastic, while the smooth dance cut “Nobody” looks to the always-relevant Michael Jackson for inspiration.
- “Shorty, I ain’t got no game,” R&B hip-hopper Ne-Yo sings on “I Ain’t Gotta Tell You That,” working it even as he denies it. The latest, and one of the best, in a long row of artists melding luscious soul verities with boomin’-system beats, the singer multitracks himself into a vocal orchestra; the result is an album that pays off from end to end. Ne-Yo spins line after line, each a little worn and each freshened by his sensual, witty approach. He’s “So Sick” of love songs that remind him of you, loves the sex that happens “When You’re Mad,” wants to do it in front of the “Mirror,” “Ain’t Gotta Tell You” how fine you are ’cause he knows you hear it all the time. A boyishly raised eyebrow helps get him over, while never obscuring the beauty of this music.
- 2024
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
Artist Playlists
- He's written for the world's biggest stars—now he's happy telling his own tale.
- This prodigious pop songwriter defines smooth.
- The streetwise pop and danceable beats that inspired him.
More To Hear
- The MC discusses Step Up: High Water. ScHoolboy Q on CrasH Talk.
About Ne-Yo
Only a singer and writer of Ne-Yo’s suaveness and sensitivity could call an album Year of the Gentleman and mean it. Released in 2008, the third full-length studio effort by the R&B performer, songwriter, and producer—who was born Shaffer Chimere Smith in Camden, Arkansas, in 1979—demonstrated his mastery when it comes to crafting love songs that are sweet and sincere but never sentimental. The album’s biggest hit, “Miss Independent,” is equally remarkable as a male-sung celebration of women’s power, performed in the impeccably smooth manner that became one of Ne-Yo’s signatures after he made the transition from a writer of other people’s hits (including “Irreplaceable” for Beyoncé) to a star in his own right with his 2006 debut In My Own Words. His first hit, “So Sick,” pointed to his knack for instantly engaging yet subtly sophisticated melodies, a gift that served him well on solo smashes like “Miss Independent” and 2012’s “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself),” as well as on his club-friendly collaborations with Pitbull and Afrojack (2011’s “Give Me Everything”) and Akon and David Guetta (2013’s “Play Hard”). Whatever the tempo or the style of the song at hand, Ne-Yo is sure to maintain the poise and finesse that are hallmarks of the best kind of gentleman.
- HOMETOWN
- Camden, AR, United States
- BORN
- October 18, 1979
- GENRE
- R&B/Soul