Ne-Yo Addresses R&B/Hip-Hop and Songwriters Too...

I am sure that many of you know that Ne-Yo started off as a songwriter before making it big as an artist. He has really had a lot of success as an artist and in his songwriting career. Ne-Yo is not the only songwriter that has decided to progress into being an artist. The Dream and Sean Garrett were successful songwriters before they decided that they would take the "artist route". Ne-Yo recently made some comments, which got me thinking about this subject. In this post, I will be addressing two things since he made different points in two different interviews. His statements were:

"For one, I think Keri Hilson’s too freakin’ pretty to be in the background. For two, her voice is incredible—on top of the fact that she can write. So I think that she’s definitely one that deserves the spotlight, if anybody. Me being a guy that came from the comfort of the background into what’s a little bit uncomfortable, which is the foreground, it’s really not what you think it is. For any songwriters trying to jump into that foreground, just know what you’re getting yourself into. There’s a lot to be said about the comfort of the background.”

As far as music is concerned, Ne-Yo recently talked about R&B/Hip-Hop:

AP: Did you ever want to do the kind of R&B that 1990s groups like Jodeci, Shai and Silk did?

Ne-Yo: I definitely had a respect for that kind of R&B. That was an era when I thought R&B was real. 'Cause for a minute R&B was very phony.

AP: What do you mean?

Ne-Yo: I don't wanna name any names right now. You're gonna get me in trouble. But you know what I'm talking about. There was an era when R&B wasn't hot. ... The whole hip-hop/R&B era just kinda threw me for a loop. Around early 2000 when every song kinda sounded like (one note repeated). Like for real, one note the whole song? That never made sense to me. 'Cause like, if you're gonna rap — rap. If you're gonna sing — sing. Don't try to do this combination hybrid of the two of them that sounds like (garbage). I didn't dig it. I just never got into it.

AP: And that made you do what?

Ne-Yo: That made me go back to my roots. That made me go back to the R&B I grew up listening to. The New Editions. The Boyz II Mens. Even farther back. The Temptations. The Billy Oceans and Smokey Robinsons. That type of thing. Where it was more about melodies and lyrics that actually had something to say. So I went back to that. So that's where inspiration for the first record came from. And we was real scared with the first record 'cause it didn't sound like what was going on with the radio at the time. Everybody was very much hip-hop/R&B. Everybody was very much Ciara- and Sean Garretted-out. No disrespect to Sean Garrett (writer of Ciara's debut single "Goodies"), but I think he kind of fathered that era. And it was a cool little era for what it was. But it wasn't necessarily for me.

Okay so two questions here...Do you think it is safe for a songwriter to progress into an artist? An individual would actually get more money as a songwriter rather than being an artist. That is just something to think about, but I guess it's just really a risk that the songwriter has to personally evaluate. Artists like Ne-Yo and Keri Hilson are definitely doing their thing!! I also like Ryan Leslie. He is a songwriter, producer, and singer. I hope he gets more recognition with his upcoming album. Also, do you think the music industry in saturated right now? I actually miss a lot of the music from back in the day. R&B and Hip-Hop seemed more real back then. Don't get me wrong. I like some stuff out right now, but man I wish we could go way back to when music was "really" good. Anyway, I just tossed out a few ideas. I would love to hear your comments on both subjects....

Source: Starpulse and Rap-Up