Many of the biggest stars in the music world don’t write and produce their own music. In fact, most of the biggest songs and albums produced every year are created by a team of expert songwriters, producers, mixers, and then given to the famous artistes to sing.
The people who actually create music are not famous, even though they have talents so extraordinary. They have a career of their own, while working behind the scenes to create chart-toppers for artistes.
American R&B star, Shaffer Smith, popularly known on the stage as Ne-Yo, is one such artiste, and he’s truly one of the best.
The R&B crooner recently granted an interview with Forbes at an event in New York City, USA to promote his latest record, ‘Non-Fiction,’ where he talked about everything from his fans inspiring him, to Beyoncé being the only diva who really understood one of his greatest hits.
The interview went thus:Congrats on the new album! You seem to always have your R&B songs mixed with your pop and dance tracks on your albums, at least recently. Do you feel more like one or the other as an artist?
No, not really. R&B is the foundation, because that’s where it all started. Without R&B and my initial love of music because of R&B, there would be no Ne-Yo pop songs. I always keep R&B very close to my heart because that started it all. However, I feel like I’m an artist, not an R&B artist, not an EDM artist, just an artist. Music is my business, and Lord willing, I feel like if given the opportunity, I could do something pretty good in every genre. I intend to try before I’m done.
So we’re going to get a rock or country album from Ne-Yo?
Possibly! You never know! If not an album, at least a song.
We’d be really interested to hear that.
I’d be interested to try.
When you are writing songs, do you sometimes finish a track and realise that it isn’t right for you? Also, do people approach you specifically, asking to write songs for them?
Both. Say you’re an artist and you’re putting together a project and you run into me and ask me to be a part of it. Your record label then purchases studio time—which is XYZ amount of hours—and whatever songs come out of those hours [four or five typically], they go to you. You get first right of refusal on them. Whereas if I go into the studio of my own free will and create something amazing, I of course get to keep those songs…unless of course I feel like it would feel better coming from such and such artist. I’ll call an artist and say that I have something I want them to hear. If they like it, the rest is history. If they don’t, it’s kind of back to the drawing board.
Would you say that half of the songs you write go to other people?
There really isn’t a percentage… it’s really song by song. I will say that normally when I write something for somebody, they take it, if it’s custom-made for them. There have been a couple of times where it didn’t end up going to who I intended it for, but the song ended up being successful anyway.
Such as?
Beyonce’s ‘Irreplaceable.’ That was not done specifically for her; it was actually done for me. I wrote it for myself initially and then realised that the subject matter and the overall feel of the song would work better coming from a female perspective. I actually shopped it around to a few other female singers before it fell in her hands.
Really? Who turned that one down?
Oh, I can’t say. I’d get in trouble!
Is there anyone you’re writing for now that you’re excited about?
Honestly, not right now. I’ve been pretty busy writing and recording for myself, as well as promoting the album. I haven’t really had time to sleep or eat.
You’ve been a bit busy lately
Yeah, a bit busy, I guess (laughs). But, that’s not a complaint. Busy is a blessing.
The real Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo was born on October 18, 1979 to musician parents in Camden, Arkansas, USA and is an all-rounder guy – an R&B singer, a songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. He gained fame for his song-writing abilities when he penned the 2004 hit ‘Let Me Love You’ for singer, Mario. The single’s successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam’s label head, and the signing of a recording contract.
Aside from working on his own album, Ne-Yo also collaborates with several other artistes. His works include: Rihanna’s top-ten singles ‘Unfaithful,’ ‘Russian Roulette,’ and her number-one hit ‘Take a Bow’; Mario Vazquez’s ‘Gallery’; Paula DeAnda’s ‘Walk Away (Remember Me),’ and Beyoncé Knowles’ Billboard Hot 100 number-one single ‘Irreplaceable,’ which stayed at the top of the chart for ten consecutive weeks.
He has written several other songs for top artistes.
Apart from owning his own recording studio, Carrington House, in Atlanta, Georgia, he also has his own production company, Compound Entertainment, and has hired several producers and songwriters in hopes of turning it into a full-fledged record label. It successfully became a label, and artistes such as RaVaughn, Paula Campbell, Sixx John, Adrienne Bailon and Shanell are now associated with Compound.
Ne-Yo’s luxurious mansions and fast cars
His Georgia mansion boasts six bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home overlooks a golf course in the Milton area of the city. The 5,900-square-foot brick home includes a massive deck for entertaining, spacious kitchen with double ovens and tray ceilings throughout the space.
In his Alpharetta, Georgia house, Ne-Yo owns another home that has seven bathrooms, five full bathrooms and half, wine cellar, a gym with a sauna, massage room, an elevator that reaches all levels, an outdoor kitchen/BBQ & bar, huge Pebble Tech pool and a Grotto-style hot tub.
Ne-Yo still owns a condo in the new Gallery Residences tower located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia that he purchased in 2008 for $1.2m (N240m). The Gallery Residences offers a fitness facility, swimming pool, tennis court, landscaped courtyard, clubroom, a library on the first floor, and an art gallery.
The R&B crooner has a Porsche Panamera, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid among other luxurious supercars.
These are not too much for a man with a reported net worth of N3.2bn.
Sources: forbes.com, en.wikipedia.org, bornrich.com
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