About me:14-6-09 Can't believe I haven't written a review for the whole of 2009, watch this space...
Member since:02.06.2007
Reviews:180
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Review rated by 57 Ciao members on average: very helpful
PROMOTION I'm sorry I got it in for your girlfriend
America has always been about living the dream, apparently. One artist who certainly is living that American dream right now is, The-Dream, who you have probably heard me mentioning a lot lately. That's because this guy, born Terius Nash, has been garnering the reputation of Timbaland for his production and praise for writing like Ne-Yo. Whilst he has been around for a while, writing the Britney Spears and Madonna collaboration, 'Me Against The Music' -- The-Dream has worked with artists on more recent projects including; Mariah Carey's request to 'Touch My Body' and Usher 'Moving Mountains'.
When recently promoting his aspirations to be a recognised solo artist on the BET channel, The-Dream also advised we watch out for Ciara's upcoming project where he has worked with her and Ludacris on 'High Price', apparently it's set to be one of the 'illest' tracks we've heard for quite sometime. Dream did not really shoot to fame until last year however, and this was all down to the success of 'Umbrella' -- without a doubt his biggest writing credit to date is on the Rihanna-sung hit. Clearly it takes great minds to write a track that is going to be as big of a hit as 'Umbrella' came to be, and I am willing to suggest that if it wasn't for Rihanna's success that The-Dream would still be another face in the crowd.
Not to say, "I will hunt you down," didn't become one of the lyrics for Spring '08.
At twenty-five years old, The-Dream is one of the younger producers going -- Neyo is pushing towards the thirty mark, and Timbaland would love to be mistaken for someone in their mid-thirties. Nash's stagename was inspired by his uncle, who motivated him to have goals for higher things. After working closely with female solo artist, Nivea, the pair began to date and were married to coincide with the birth of their daughter Navy-Talia in 2005. Their marriage woudl soon breakdown with a divorce in 2007.
RECEPTION She said I'm like the air and without me she'll die
'Love Hate', the debt album from The-Dream, was released to the US market on December 11th 2007 selling 59,000 copies in its first week and peaking on the Billboard at #30. Whilst these figures sound somewhat disappointing, for someone who is generally unknown and works behind the scenes, rather than having the charisma of a long-term stage act, these figures are pretty healthy and sales have since increased with added promotion of the album.
Whilst the public may not have quite caught on to The-Dream just yet, the critical reception from media
sources was incredibly positive. Rolling Stone magazine described it as one of the most likeable R&B records of the year, whilst Entertainment Weekly graded the album 'A-'. The title of the album is short for 'Love Me All Summer, Hate Me All Winter' and apparently this has nothing to do with the weather, but rather that when you are hot people cannot get enough of you but when you are cold no one is interested.
An R&B artist would not be complete without the skeletons in his closet, and the controversy surrounding The-Dream actually refers to a feud with child (teen) hip-hop sensation Chris Brown. Many of you will have heard the huge track 'Bed' by J Holiday last year, just another one of Dream's song writing credits, and Chris Brown took offence to Dream not giving him the track. The-Dream stated, "Chris said the record won't be number one unless he's on it." When asked about working with Chris Brown in the future, Dream said, "At the end of the day, I'm big on principle and loyalty. Put that to bed." So, it appears that at the early stage of his all-star career Chris has locked out one of the most exciting producers.
Personally, I think I would have liked 'Bed' even more if it was sung by Chris Brown. Everyone knows 'Bed' is the only track J Holiday will ever do that anyone likes. TRACKS She never gone for long, she be right back, be right back
01, Shawty is Da Shit ft. Fabolous (4.23), 4*
02, I Luv Your Girl (4.28), 5*
Rather than the released track, 'Shawty is a 10', Dream opted for opening the album with an explicit version of the song featuring one of my favourite artists who doesn't get much work in Fabolous. Whilst Dream's vocal ability is quite bland, when you listen to his tracks you will hear all the different layers to the beat, and that is why you are unlikely to fall immediately in love with The-Dream. If you give The-Dream a chance though you are likely to fall for him, and 'Shawty' is a brilliant way to open the album as he praises his girl through music. As his debt single it is also his biggest success to date, peaking at #17 on the Billboard. If you didn't enjoy the opening track at all, hopefully 'I Luv Your Girl' will be more your thing as it is the track that made me realise The-Dream is more than a few pretty words. You don't often hear someone openly singing about having a crush on a friends girlfriend, but in real-life we all know it happens. A brilliant track to kickback to and is rightfully the third single released, although it is not correct that it should only peak at #43. Young Jeezy was quick to throw himself on an official remix of the track, and I wonder if his recent appearance on huge tracks by Usher and Mariah Carey has anything to do with his friendship with The-Dream. Knowing people in high places certainly helps.
03, Fast Car (4.50), 3*
04, Nikki (4.06), 2*
05, She Needs My Love (4.30), 4*
I am very sceptical about the name of a track when its called 'Fast Car', as it immediately makes me think of 'Shut up and Drive', which was a bit of a rock-out track. 'Fast Car' is refreshing, leaves a good taste in my mouth, and doesn't even knock me down with 100mph speeds. The track feels as though it's doing under the speed limit, and following the highway code to the letter of the law as he waits for the green light to 'love you'. Unfortunately though, it is all a bit ordinary. As the previous track chills out, it leads perfectly into 'Nikki'. Just as you would expect from the name of the track, the lyrics centre around a person called Nikki who it sounds as though Dream has been sleeping with to make himself feel better about a more important, broken relationship. Whilst there is a pretty powerful message to this track, once again it falls into the trap of being too ordinary.With the anger of 'Nikki' behind us try and chillout again, 'Need My Love' opens strangely and if you do not give a track a chance you will miss out on the greatest unrelease moment of the album thus far. The track brings together the speeding traffic of 'Fast Car' with the message of 'Nikki' into a song that even Ne-Yo would be proud of.
06, Falsetto (4.31), 2*
07, Playin' in Her Hair (3.15), 3*
08, Purple Kisses (5.14), 2*
The-Dream must have purposefully planned for all his tracks to slighty run-in to one another, because if you do not keep a watch it is likely you can miss the track change. 'Falsetto' was the second single released off the album, peaking at #30 on the Billboard. Sadly, the track sounds like everything else that has been average on the project up to this point.You only gain a reputation like Ne-Yo if you constantly sing about love and women, luckily that is one of The-Dream's favourite past-times. Considering there is such a large amount of competition in this market, you wonder if we really need another artist that is going to try and wow the market with a few mixed-up ballads. It would be unfair to completly dismiss 'In Her Hair' but it's not one of the best things about the album. 'Purple Kisses' is the longest track on the album, and I think it's a big risk to go ridiculously long with tracks when they're not uptempo as it is easy to get bored. You also know that it's unlikely the longer tracks are ever going to make it to the radio. My main interest in this track was to see what the difference is with purple kisses to normal kisses, and I'm not sure there is a difference. I'll certainly keep a look out for women with purple lipstick though.
09, Ditch That (5.00), 3*
10, Luv Songs (4.42), 3*
'Ditch That' sounds as though the album has suddenly got fun and is ready to go to the club, is it Missy Elliot? Is it Rihanna? I don't think it's either but it's certainly some woman that is more interested in her recreational drug use than a healthy music career. Sadly the track wasn't as much fun as my immediate impression was, but a nice change. The ending sounds as though they're in a club listening to "Yeah" in the background but we're more interested in the fight between two men for their girl, not literally of course. Love has became a strong theme on almost every project going, but for those guys afraid to use the word love, there are still Americans out there using the cutesy luv. Anyone for wuv? This is a luv-making track to put on when you've returned back from the club a victor, the girl obviously ditched the other guy (see the previous track). Love songs are moans for the record. and Dream is not afraid to borrow a few sounds back off J Holiday to make this track sound almost as though its his 'Bed'.
11, Livin a Lie ft. Rihanna (4.16), 5*
12, Mama (4.02), 3*
The-Dream is the reason Rihanna is actually considered a reputable artist now, so the least she could do is feature on 'Love Hate' I guess. 'Livin a Lie' was actually the first track I heard from the album and I wasn't sure who's project it was even going to be for, as they really do share the content out between themselves. It may not quite be a Rihanna and Ne-Yo collaboration but it is without a doubt one of the best ignored tracks of 2007. You are likely to hear it now and again on the radio though, if you're lucky.
Kanye West isn't the only guy who is man enough to pour his heart out about his mother, and Dream joints him with this dedication in 'Mama'. Take a magic carpet ride with The-Dream to close the album, although you feel this track is more for him than the listeners.
CONTENT Now I got what she want and she see what she want in me
I feel that most artists these days think it's much easier to not ride their luck and create a half-assed lovey dovey track that a female audiance may fall for, rather than fail on a dance track that no one will like. Whilst I have fallen for the charm, and very apparent talent, of The-Dream this is clearly based on more of an overview of the guy rather than the work on this album. 'Love Hate' does begin well, but by the end of the hour I wasn't heartbroken that it was over. I think that Dream will need to try a lot harder on his followup later this year.
Young Jeezy has brought 'Luv Your Girl' forward to the present time by mentioning the huge US election in the remix, "Clinton and Obama". These guys certainly love their politics. What Dream does do that a lot of the bigname produces don't is use the n-word on a regular basis, I think he must say n***** on every track, and that is what earns an explicit sticker for the album. Oh, and he says sh*t once. When you listen to the project as well it doesn't surprise you at all that this is the guy behind 'Bed' and 'Umbrella', there are so many similar sounding lyrics and vocals. Rihanna even opens her featured appearance on the album with, "E, e, Dreamer, aw, aw, e, e, e." Dream isn't entirely blameless though with his stuttering "I...I, I, I."
How The-Dream sometimes mixes things up though is one of the most excitable things about him as an artist, going from some hard-ass to a man in love. "I pray that ya'll ain't serious, cause seriously she's on my d*ck."
IN CLOSING I wanna tell the world that your my girl and that I'm your man, ahh baby
What have we learnt today then? Well, we know that The-Dream has his work cut out when you see the millions of albums his competition has shifted. Ne-Yo also has his third album due for release later this year, 'The Year of the Gentlemen'. I don't expect these two men to be gentle about any competition. These are a couple of guys that I'm sure if they got in a fight they'd feel bad for a while, but not that bad.
I would like to say that I see exactly what the critics saw, but I am going to have to sit on the fence about this guy until I hear any follow-up material. The-Dream's remix of 'Touch My Body' brought the track back to life for me, but it's just not going to be the same situation for people that don't care about who wrote the track -- just who's singing it. Dream seems to use the word, 'she', a lot so apparently the women in his life don't have a name. I guess the only exception to the rule is Nikki, and he openly admits she was a pawn in his game. This guys going to have to show his face a bit more though if he wants to begin getting recognised in the streets.
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by (16%):
17.06.2008 01:52
brill review, not my kind of music
16.06.2008 21:52
Excellent review
03.06.2008 23:29
Fab review - I'd heard of him but didn't know much - I now know a whole lot more! Paula