Published: Wednesday - July 9, 2008
Words by Tonya Raymond
Ne-Yo (Photo: Def Jam)
He's the guy that every rapper wants on their hook and every R&B singer wants their songs written by. He was the mastermind behind Mario's Let Me Love You, yet we didn't know who he was until In My Own Words came out in 2006 and sold more than 300,000 copies in it's first week.
"So Sick", "When You're Mad" and "Stay" all made appearances on the Billboard charts, not to mention Rihanna's "Unfaithful" and Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," which were written by him as well. One year later, Because Of You (his second album) came out and it wasn't long before "Do You" and the self-titled single shared time on the chart.
Now two tears later, you can still hear his voice on the radio with the smash hit from Plies called "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" and his new single, "Closer," off the much anticipated upcoming opus, the Year of the Gentleman.
Whistling into this interview, Ne-Yo talks to Ballerstatus.com about what it takes to be a gentleman, his new album, and what songs he has coming out.
BallerStatus.com: When does the Year of the Gentleman hit stores?
Ne-Yo: Right now the date is August 5th, but that's subject to change so we're going to cross our fingers and hope I make that mark.
BallerStatus.com: Why did you pick that title for your album?
Ne-Yo: Basically I'm trying to lead by example and show these cats what it is to be the coolest cat in the room without trying to be the coolest cat in the room. Show these cats how they suppose to treat women, show these cats how they suppose to dress, and all of that. Just showing these cats what it is to be an entertainer again.
BallerStatus.com: To you what makes a guy a gentleman?
Ne-Yo: To be a gentleman, there's a swag involved, but it's an effortless cool. It's not the guy with the big huge chain saying "Hey everybody look over here at me." It's the guy that is charming and he's debonair and he's classy and everybody is going to look at him anyway because he's that guy. I'm not going to say there's no gentlemen in the industry anymore because that's absolutely not true. I think that Kanye West is, I think Jay-Z is a gentleman, I think John Legend is a gentleman, I think Robin Thicke, Usher, just to name a few, but there's not as many as there should be.
BallerStatus.com: How would you say this album differs from In Your Own Words and Because of You?
Ne-Yo: The thing that makes this album different from my other two albums is that on this particular album, I dabbled in a few other genres of music. The music on this record sounds a little different than anything I've ever done just because it's not rooted solely on R&B. There's some stuff on there that's for my urban audience especially, but there's also some stuff on there that's something the Beatles might have done, stuff that something Billy Joel might have done, some stuff inspired by Radiohead and Cold Play, so it's going to be a little different.
BallerStatus.com: How do you stay fresh in this industry, but still have the same style that everybody loves?
Ne-Yo: Just by trying to be as innovative as I can. I personally get bored very, very easily, so it's not really a challenge to venture out and try something new as far as music is concerned. I personally can't do the same thing over and over again, I'll get bored. And if I get bored, my fans are going to get bored, so I can't have that.
BallerStatus.com: By now everyone has watched the music video to your first single, "Closer," where did you learn those dance moves from?
Ne-Yo: I learned a lot from a good dancer friend of mine and my choreographer. They were showing me that style of dancing that goes with that music.
BallerStatus.com: Do you know what the second single might be?
Ne-Yo: Not yet, there's a song that's a top candidate for the second single, it's a ballad I did called "Stop This World," but that's not set in stone just yet. As soon as I know, I'll make sure I'll get somebody to let you know.
BallerStatus.com: Tell us some of the people that you work with on your album?
Ne-Yo: So far there's no features on this record, it's just me. This will be the first album that I drop where there's nobody featured on it at all. I did it like that because I'm really looking at this like an experiment. In doing something new there's always the risk of things going wrong and if for whatever reason, God forbid, if things do go wrong, I don't want to be able to blame anybody but myself.
BallerStatus.com: You also have a blog connected to the Year of the Gentleman. What do you write about?
Ne-Yo: The gentleman's blog is just my different opinions about being a gentleman. It talks about the tour going on right now. I've been on tour with Alicia Keys and Jordin Sparks, so I get on there every now and then and let people know what's going on with the tour. I get on there and talk about the different laws of being a gentleman, just trying to basically school these cats a little bit and what it is to be that.
BallerStatus.com: What's one thing you admire about Alicia Keys and Jordin Sparks?
Ne-Yo: Jordin Sparks is a beautiful person. Her voice is incredible. I like that she's still very raw with it. She's still new. She definitely still has a lot to learn, but if she keeps it up the way she's doing, I'm sure she'll be fine. I hope [coming into this] business doesn't turn her into something than what she is because right now she's a beautiful person. She's humble [and] I pray that she keeps that. Alicia Keys is just a strong willed person, a strong minded person. You can see it, you can hear it in the way she talks, you can see it in the way she walks. She definitely is very secure within herself and preaches to other women that they should be secure within themselves and kind of leads by that example by that right. Besides the fact that she's an amazing talent and a beautiful woman.
BallerStatus.com: Touring is nothing new to you, but it's usually a tiring process, how do you keep your energy up?
Ne-Yo: Man, by sleeping and working out when I can. Normally what I would do, I'll sleep in between cities on the tour bus whether it be an 8-hour drive, 10-hour drive, 12-hour drive and I'll try to get as much sleep as I can on the bus.
BallerStatus.com: Finally, What's in next for you after the album drops?
Ne-Yo: I'm writing for a bunch of people. John Legend is on the way; Robin Thicke is on the way; I got one on Usher's album right now; Jennifer Hudson's single that's out right now; Ciara [is] coming soon; PussyCat Dolls coming soon; Lindsay Lohan coming soon; [and] Michael Jackson. I won't say coming soon, but I'm definitely writing songs for him.
BallerStatus.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Ne-Yo: The album, the Year of the Gentleman should be out around August 5th. Open up your mind to something new and different and I guarantee you'll enjoy this record.
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