The Rap Pack

Songwriters behind the hits are often forgotten. What we’re buying is the end product; the package of video clips, pop beats and the image of the performer. Ne-Yo, or rather, Shaffer Chimere Smith is 28 and he's already responsible for a tirade of pop hits. He’s written for the likes of Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, and Enrique Iglesias. He wrote Rihanna’s hit, Unfaithful and Beyonce’s Irreplacable. Ne-Yo is now working with Will-I-Am on Michael Jackson’s upcoming album. He’s a songwriter you can’t ignore, especially because in the last three years, he’s snuck out of the writer’s seat to perform his own work, releasing three albums. All of which did extremely well on the charts.

His debut Album In My Own Words was released in 2006 and debuted at number one of the Billboard 200 chart. His singles competed for number one with some of the greatest hits of that year. Hits that he wrote.

In 2007, he released Because of You, and started his own record label, Compound Entertainment. His songwriting is smart, neat and sentimental. He knows how to hook an audience in, he knows how to work the words with the beat and his writing has brought out undiscovered aspects and emotional depth in all of the pop stars that perform his songs. Earlier this year he gave us his third Album Year of the Gentleman spawning the number one hit Miss Independent. The album was heavily influenced by Rat Packers like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. The general attitude conveyed is one of 1940s post-war charm. There’s a pressed-suit feel to the tracks, each one carefully tailored and buttoned up. He croons along in his classic black and white video clips, looking every part the gentleman he wants to be. He performs with class and his material has a personal and genuine style that is irresistible. Smoothing out the rim of his fedora and sliding along the stage like Jackson, the singer/songwriter/rapper/dancer/record producer and actor is an all round star like they used to make ‘em.

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