Ne-Yo is a 22 year old singer/songwriter. He wrote Mario's #1 hit "Let Me Love You." His current single "Stay" featuring Peedi Crack is doing it's thing on radio. Ne-Yo will be going out on tour with John Legend this fall. He's a real cool dude to talk to and has quite a sense of humor. His debut album is due February. Check out streams for his new single "So Sick" below!

Are you also a producer?
Ne-Yo-No, I'm not a producer. I'm a singer and a songwriter but I have my own production company Compound Entertainment so I have a couple of producers signed under me.

The reason I asked is because I've been hearing about a producer named Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo-His name Is actually Neo Da Matrix.

So Neo, the singer, the songwriter, that has a production company how long have you been writing songs?
Ne-Yo-I've been writing actual songs since I was like five years old. I believe the first song I ever wrote was about mustard I think. Professionally, I've been in the game for a minute. Not crazy long but a few years.

How did you manage to get into the song writing business? I know a lot of people want to write songs for stars but you've done it?
Ne-Yo-Honestly, it could all be accredited to running into the right people. My first major major placement was with Marques Houston, "That Girl," off of his first album I don't know if you remember that song. That came from the production company that I was with. I always tell people, it's kind of sad but getting in the business is a lot about relationships and who you know and who you meet and stuff like that. So you've just got to hone your skills and make sure you're the absolute best at what you do so when the opportunity comes you're ready and it ain't even a situation where it's like, "I missed out because of...." That's basically what I did. I've been writing forever so I made sure that when I met the right people, because I knew it was going to happen, that I was just the absolute dopest I can be, so that there was no denying it like, "We gotta deal with this dude."

Like when you write a song, you know how people demo the songs would you sing your own demos that you would give to the artists?
Ne-Yo-Yeah I.....actually that's how I got my first deal. I wasn't even really trying to be an artist. I was just writing songs. I would write them and then reference them. The people I was with would send them to different labels. The labels started to ask questions about the voice on the song. That's actually how I got my first deal ever.

I know you said you've been writing forever but did you ever aspire to be professional singer?
Ne-Yo-You know what, not at first just because my mom sings, my dad sings and plays bass, and they both had their opportunity to get into the business. My dad tried and it didn't really work. My mom was going to try but she found out the hard way about the snakes in the grass. She didn't want that for us. She wanted the music in our family to stay pure. She knew that the business side of it would kill the music side of it. It did that for her and she didn't want that for us. Coming up she saw how passionate I was about this and that's actually one of the reasons that made her go ahead and move to Las Vegas thinking there would be more opportunities for me to do what I wanted to do out there.

Listen to Neo

Is that where you are from?
Ne-Yo-Yeah I was born in Arkansas but I pretty much did all of my growing up in Las Vegas.


After you finished high school did you ever pursue a college career or did you just start with your music?
Ne-Yo-Right after high school I went out to California. California is where I live now. Right after high school I remember I was in a group with a couple of my friends from school. The day after graduation we were in a van and we traveled to California. We didn't have anywhere to go. We didn't have any money. We just knew we were going to stand in front of some record label and sing and somebody was going to say, "Ohmigod, I gotta give these guys a deal." We just knew that was going to happen but of course it didn't.

So now you are going on tour with John Legend. That's exciting.
Ne-Yo-John Legend.

I heard your song on the radio. What artists do people compare you to voice wise?
Ne-Yo-Wow, I hate answering this question because it always feels like I'm bragging. I've been compared to Usher, Mike vocally, somebody once said I sound like Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, I've heard before. Wow, those are the main ones. I don't' know what to say to that, it's like, to even put me in the same category with those people. I'm like are you sure you all are listening right? I don't put myself there.

Since you are headed out on tour is the album finished already?
Ne-Yo-The album is done. The album is complete and ready to be released this December, December 27th I believe.

Now I know you have Peedi Crack on the first single do you have any other featured artists on the album?
Ne-Yo- The whole Peedi Crack situation came from Jay. The song was finished before Peedi got on it. Jay heard it and felt it had the potential to be a really hot single but it needed something, it needed an edge. So he was the one who suggested Peedi. I had heard of Peedi but hadn't heard a lot of his stuff. I was just going off of , "This is Jay Z he's gotta know what he's doing." So I'm like, "Yeah, he does know what he's doing it's dope."Other than Peedi, nah there's no body else because between me, Jay-Z, LA and my production company Compound Entertainment we all decided that this being my introduction we didn't want to confuse the signal. I wanted people to check out my album because they dig me not because, "Oh you heard that song with that one signing dude and Jay Z?" You know how people do that. We kept it pretty much all me.

Okay. Did you write the Mario song "Let Me Love You?"
Ne-Yo-Yes I did.

I was just reading that. How did you feel that a song that you wrote, and you are only 22, that a song you wrote ended up being one of the most played songs in radio history?
Ne-Yo-You know what it still hasn't totally hit me. When people say that it doesn't sound real, it's like, "Really, are you serious?? I did that?" It still feels like a dream. It still seems surreal to me.

I know you are doing your own thing now but are you still writing for other artists?
Ne-Yo-I still am currently. I just did some stuff for Jamie Foxx. I wrote some stuff for Chris Brown. I did some stuff on his album. I'm about to go in with Beyonce as soon as she gets ready. I'm doing some stuff for Tyrese, Ruben Studdard, I got some stuff coming out with Mary J. Blige. I'm actually going to Toronto to shoot a piece in this movie. Do you remember Saved The Last Dance?

Yeah.
Ne-Yo-They are doing a part 2 to that. I'm going to be in that movie and I'm writing the whole soundtrack to that. Yeah man I'm all over the place, I have to get it while I can.

It's rare that I talk to a young person that is doing so many different thing in the industry. One last question. Can you describe your song writing process. Do you hear a melody first or is it lyric?
Ne-Yo- Normally with me, I like to call myself a walking, talking, living breathing melody. Everything I do is in melody. I brush my teeth in melody. The melody almost always comes first. Then I figure out what the song sounds like, needs to be about. A lot of that comes from the track depending on the feel of the music. Topics come from anywhere and everywhere. What I used to do is look around the room and find a random object and make up a story about it and write a song about it.

CHECK OUT THE NEW SINGLE "SO SICK" THAT'S TAKING OVER RADIO!
So Sick-RM format
So Sick-WMA format
NE-YO In My Own Words IN STORES FEBRUARY 28 Def Jam Recordings
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Ne-Yo is a 23-year old Las Vegas transplant (by way of Arkansas) who was given his name because one of his producers said the singer saw music like the movie character Neo saw the Matrix. His love and insight has made Ne-Yo one of the most sought after songwriters today. Responsible for the # 1 most played song at radio in 2004, Mario’s “Let Me Love You,” which he co-wrote with Scott Storch, Ne-Yo takes his songwriting to a whole new level on his solo album. “My proudest and happiest musical moment is when I heard that the Mario song, ‘Let Me Love You,’ was the most played song in radio history,’ stated Ne-Yo. Already featured in one of MTV’s coveted “You Hear It First” segments, on MSNBC, TV One and in the trendsetting magazines VIBE and Teen People, Ne-Yo is primed to be a force in the music industry. Already a budding actor, Ne-Yo recently wrapped filming for “Save The Last Dance 2,” the follow up to the 2001 smash film. Ne-Yo Stay Audio-WMA Format
Ne-Yo Stay Audio-Real Format
Ne-Yo Bio and John Legend Tour Dates