8 Things You Need To Know About Ne-Yo’s R.E.D. Album - Page 2

Grammy-Award winning singer/songwriter Ne-Yo invited a very select few media outlets to preview his new album, R.E.D. (Realizing Every Dream). The intimate session included a candid Q&A with the R&B superstar, and although we don’t usually do this with R&B albums, we made an exception. 

With guest stars like Wiz Khalifa, Diddy, Fabolous, Calvin Harris and Tim McGraw, Ne-Yo’s new album continues to blend genres that all result in chart-topping success.

Continuing in our musical preview series, Hip-Hop Wired takes you into the listening session to learn 8 things you need to know about Ne-Yo’s R.E.D. , hitting stores on November 6th.

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Photo: Singers Room

“Cracks In Mr. Perfect”

“Word to Tupac, this is some of the realest s**t I ever wrote,” Ne-Yo prefaced before he played this song. This record, which he says draws from many real life experiences is about the struggles of keeping up the appearance of what is perceived to be a “perfect life.” He speaks about how quickly he’ll run through upwards of $20,000 in one night just to seem “perfect,” when he knows he’s far from it.

“In reality, it’s the imperfections that truly make us perfect,” Ne-Yo says in a monologue towards the end of the song, right before he introduces the album.

“Faith Hill Cooked Me Chicken, Man!” 

Yeah, that’s right. Faith Hill cooked him chicken. On a record called “She Is,” Ne-Yo collaborates with country music superstar Tim McGraw in a session that seemed to have changed his outlook on how music is made. “We went to their ranch, which was like…big as hell. It’s an estate,” begins Ne-Yo. “So after Tim showed us around I asked ‘so…we’re going to go to the studio?’ And he said, no and we just sat down in a living with just me, him and one guy on a guitar. It was so different down there man, it’s all about the music,” Ne-Yo explained.

“Faith Hill came down and asked if we were hungry and cooked us all chicken. Faith Hill cooked me chicken, man. It was great!”

Should Be You ft. Diddy and Fabolous

“This song is about being with a woman, and you know you shouldn’t be. When you know you should be with someone else,” Ne-Yo said in the sit-down. One of the favorites and sure shot hits on this album, “Should Be You,” has a 90s feel to the record. Fabolous and Ne-Yo continue their seemingly spotless track record of working together on Rap/R&B tracks, while Diddy channels Puff Daddy on this record aimed at the ladies.

Explanation behind making Dance Music. 

The R&B star caught a little bit of flack as he began to expand his music to the dance realm. On songs like “Closer,” and on “Forever Now,” off of R.E.D. “I wasn’t getting some of the respect my peers were getting. And it wasn’t because my music wasn’t as good or I wasn’t doing as well. I’m actually doing better,” says the Grammy winner “But it was because I’m not this hood dude, so because i’m not that i’m gay. Because i’m not that i’m this, and that s**t use to bug the hell out of me. I don’t get it. But now, i’m like you know what? All these people over here, f**k America. All these people over here, i’m rocking with y’all. And if the rest of you want to come along that’s cool too. If not, f**k you stay over there. Meanwhile, over here in Spain, over here in Brazil, over in the UK, i’m good. The world is bigger than American and you have to leave America to realize it.”

“Carry On (Letter To Him)” 

This song puts the star in a situation where his woman knows he’s been creeping. In this song, the artist has been stepping out on his girl and the girl knows about it. It gets to a point where the woman leaves a note behind at the home that they share, with the words “Go on, carry on” as the final kiss off.

“I’ve got to lose for what you think is winning,” Ne-Yo attempts to explain from the female perspective. “So go on, carry on. Personal experience, kinda sorta…I ain’t perfect, y’all.”

Ranking R.E.D. with his catalogue

“The Year Of The Gentlemen album or my first album is what a lot of people tell me my best album is. I feel like the only thing that was wrong with the Gentlemen album is there was only one song on it like “Closer.” If you are a person who is new to Ne-Yo, and you love “Closer,” but you know nothing else about me, you bought the Year Of The Gentlemen album and all you get is that one record. So I made sure I didn’t do that with this album.

After admitting that he’s bad at being phony, Ne-Yo reveals that this is as honest as an album that he’s ever made. “This album is about doing what felt good to me. Not the music that I needed to do, not the music the record label was telling me I need to do,” he explains. “It was just like, look I’m going to go into the studio every day, and where the vibe takes me is where I’m going to go.

As an artist you cannot change the world, because you’ll lose yourself. If you become that dude that says “Oh this is what’s hot right now? This is what i’m doing.” If you continue doing that, then who the f**k are you? You don’t have an identity.”

Overall

Ne-Yo’s R.E.D. album is a culmination of most of his previous work. The songwriter extraordinaire blends soulful R&B, exciting dance music, poignant country music, and a splash of knocking Hip-Hop all on one album. With an extensive guest list ranging from Wiz Khalifa, Fabolous, Tim Mcgraw, Diddy and Calvin Harris, Ne-Yo’s ability to blend genres is starting to supercede his notoriety for writing hit records. That’s a good thing.

“I eventually want to get to a place where you don’t put me in a genre. I’m trying to be genre-less,” says Ne-Yo  “I want to be the guy that can turn around and do some pop s**t, some R&B s**t, some country s**t, some turn up s**t. I just want to be known as a guy who does music. He can do all of that.”

Ne-Yo’s R.E.D. hits stores no November 6th.