By: Linda Hobbs
POSTED: 19:01 EST, February 27, 2007
The R&B powerhouse dispels the rumors - but gives us plenty more to talk about
Contrary to the May 2006 VIBE headline, Ne-Yo is not a sex addict. This is one of the "misconceptions" he plans to clear up on his highly anticipated sophomore effort, Know Me (due out April 24).
In 2006, with his debut album In My Own Words, the Def Jam recording artist had post-Maxwell R&B junkies - weary of tearjerker pop staples - singing his hit single "So Sick" until they turned blue. Words debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts that same year.
Now, instead of crafting an endless string of FM-friendly sing-alongs, Ne-Yo wants to get personal and talk more about his own life. And after a painful breakup from his girlfriend, Ne-Yo has been in workaholic zone.
After co-writing the female fist-pumping anthem of 2006, Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," he's since been writing for everyone from Whitney Houston to Enrique Iglesias.
He's also been penning songs for disgraced pop queen Britney Spears, who's become media fodder after shaving her head. "Demi Moore did it," Ne-Yo defends. "I mean, it was for a movie, but she did it."
Though he has no publicity stunts of his own in mind, Ne-Yo is more than ready to place all eyes on him in 2007. He called us last Thursday from the Def Jam office and gave it all up on on sex, his ex, Britney Spears and his VIBE diss track, "The Dickie."
Hey Ne-Yo. How's it going?
It's going good, I'm up here at the Def Jam's office surrounded by my friends - or people that front like they are my friends - but it's all good, I love them too.
Ever since Stomp the Yard, you've been kind of out the loop. But I do know that you have an album coming up.
Yes, yes, my new album is coming very soon - April 24th, to be exact. The album is entitled Know Me. And I'm calling it that because I feel that as well as In My Own Words did, you really didn't see me a whole whole whole lot last year. You saw a lot of my work, you saw my songs and you saw songs that I wrote for other people; people knew Ne-yo the songwriter. People knew Ne-yo the artist to a certain extent, but nobody knew Ne-yo the person. With this album, I dove a little bit deeper into my personality, trying to get people to really feel like they know who I am.
What do you want people to know? You?
I mean, that's the thing - some people think they know, but you have no idea.
Come on...
It is VIBE magazine; I got a soft spot in my heart for y'all. I really do. Even though y'all called me a sex addict. It's all good. I actually did a song in response to that accusation.
Called what?
Called "The Dickie." It's very self-explanatory; I just said that the kids know I am not addicted to sex. It's really what it is. I didn't go in on ya - nothing like that, I mean, I ain't stupid. But you know…
Do you have beef with VIBE magazine?
Nah, nah, nah, I don't have beef with ya. It just gave people something to talk about. You know, people were like, "What? For real?" It's all good. It gave me something to write a song about. You see, you inspired a song, dammit. There you go.
Why did you feel it was necessary to respond?
Because people kept coming at me. And when my mom called me, like, "Maybe if you would've called! You could've come and talk to me." I was like ok, let me set the record straight for everybody.
I mean, I guess my regular life wasn't lively enough, so the only headline [writer Laura Checkoway] could come up with was "Ne-yo: Addicted To Sex." I'm like "WOW - is that what it is?"
So, you are not addicted to sex?
No, I am not addicted to sex, I am 24 [editor's note: Ne-Yo's birth certificate says he was born in October 1979, which puts him at 27] years old and, you know, with a very healthy sexual appetite. You know, I am young and slightly rich and decently cute.
So, do you have a girlfriend?
No girlfriends. I am not in a place for a girlfriend right now. I like my career and the free time that I do have is given to my son. It's spliced up between the two: my career and my son.
Do you date?
I do date, from time to time, but it's difficult to find somebody that is not trying to be seen.
How old is your son?
My son is 18 months now. His name is Chimere. That's my middle name.
Were you pleased with the success of Stomp the Yard or do you feel you could've done better?
No - [it was] number one in America, two weeks in a row. I was definitely pleased. I was shocked, to tell you the truth, because when they told me when the movie was coming out, they was telling us not to expect really big numbers just because that's a bad time [to release] movies in general. And on top of that, it's a black movie and you know they are always trying to get us. So we were like if it does moderately good, we won, you know a success. And it did somewhat close to 30 million in the first week. We were like, "OOKKAAYY. All right that's good."
You know what I was going to ask you about? I heard you were writing for people right now. Like Britney Spears. What's going on with that?
I don't have a response for Britney Spears, I don't know what going happen with her; she going through her parent struggles. I ain't going comment on that, that ain't none of my business.
You know you better say something.
Come on... Yo, I don't know what's going on with her. I mean I heard she's back in rehab - you know that's a good thing, at least she's trying to get some help. But yo... why the hair? So you just going to cut off your hair? Serious? So you are just going to cut it all off? OK... all right... go ahead. Go ahead baby, do what you do. Dammit... her life is her life. And she felt like cutting all that damn hair off. Demi Moore did it. I mean, it was for a movie, but she did it. What's the other one? Sinead O'Connor did it. Do what you do, it really ain't my business.
Ok, what about the songs that you wrote for her?
I did some uptempos, some ballads; I just don't know what's going to happen with 'em, cause as I said, she's going through parent struggles and I ain't going to sit on some songs just cause you're going through something - the song gotta move. So they either wind up with Britney or they don't. I did about six to eight songs. So let's see what happens with that. But I'm doing some stuff with Whitney Houston as we speak - her and Jennifer Hudson, as a matter of fact. I just had a really, really good talk with Celine Dion and her husband about doing some stuff for her. She's trying to come back; you know, we talking about how it's been a minute since she had an album out, so she definitely wants to do something new, but not so much current. She said, "I don't want 'Irreplaceable'; I don't want what you've done before. I'm not Beyonce, I can't do what Beyonce does."
So even though you do have a son and you're not trying to glorify that fact that you are "not a sex addict," I'm hearing that the album is really sexual.
Who told you that? Me... sexual? No way. I'm a saint.
There are girls who are actually like, "Ne-yo is sexy as hell." You're like a sex symbol.
Really? Are you serious? Come on man, you're gassing me right now.
No, I'm not gassing you.
People think I am sex symbol? That's disgusting! Nah, I'm playing.
I mean, like I said, I'm young, healthy, I'm 24 years old, I have a sexual appetite. So yes, I'm a sexual person, but it's not an addiction, VIBE magazine. But you know, it is what it is; sex is part of life, which is part of sex, which is part of life…. dammit. It is what it is. So with the album, I definitely touched on my sexual side - no pun intended. That didn't come out right…. "I touched on my sexual side." Wow, you gotta stop me when start doing stuff like that.
You could go on.
Oh, see. See. A little freak in you yet! No, you know I definitely touched on that side of it. My personal life - we always gotta delve into that. Through In My Own Words, I was going through an on-again, off-again relationship with a young lady. It was good when it was good, but horrible, horrible when it was bad.
So you're officially broke up?
Yeah.
How did you meet?
How did we meet? Um, do I wanna give this information? Just through different people. You meet different people through mutual friends.
So, you met her after you were "Ne-yo," after you already got into the industry?
I met her as Shaffer was becoming Ne-yo. I had songs out that I had written for other people, but nothing out on my own just yet. The album was, "I love you, I hate you... on-again, off-again... I want to do very disgusting things to you" - all that is in a relationship.
Is there anything on there about your son?
I've tried to write that song and I can't write that song. There's too much to say. When I finally do write that song, and I will, because I'm not gonna let it beat me, it'll probably be ten minutes long. Because I have so much to say about him and what he means to me and what he will be to the world. It's too much to say to try to cram it into three minutes and 30 seconds.
Is there anymore juicy information you want to tell me?
Juicy information? See, that's what's throwing me. I don't have enough dirt. I need some more dirt. Maybe I should take some more pictures or something! Just playing. In this album, I took some chances. It's not as clean cut as In My Own Words was. I did a lot of odes to the people that are responsible for who I am and what it is I do. The first single, "Because of You," is very, very Michael Jackson. That song is my loosely my ode to my respect for Michael Jackson. The song "Addicted" sounds a lot like something Prince might have done. So that was my ode to Prince and how much I respect him. I did that a lot throughout the whole album and you'll hear it. There are some songs that sound like what you would expect from a Ne-yo song. That was another thing I was dealing with, because when I first came out, I had no sound, so there was no boundaries. I could basically do what I wanted to do and carve out my own niche. Now that I've done that, there's an expectation. People want "Sexy Love," people want "So Sick," people want that sound. So I definitely did some songs within that realm so as to not completely turn into a whole other person to people, because that is very very dangerous. But I did take some risks. I've grown as a writer, I've grown as an artist, I've grown as just a man period and I definitely wanted the album to exemplify that. So, just listen with an open mind when it does come out. When you listen, don't listen expecting to hear "In My Own Words Part II," because that's definitely not what this is.
Are you feeling competition from any of your peers?
Hell no. And that's not even to sound cocky or to say what they're doing is wack or nothing like that. I just feel that I do what I do, and they do what they do and there's room for good music. Be it mine, be it Omarion, be it Chris Brown, be it Usher, whoever the case may be, there's room for good music. I feel I've proven to the world that I can produce some pretty decent music. So with that being said, I don't feel any pressure from anybody else doing it.
Thank you for talking to me today. If there's anything else you want to add, hit me up.
Well, if you feel like starting some more sex addiction rumors, just feel free. It gives people something to talk about.
