The-Dream – biography

After proving himself throughout 2007-2008 as a masterful hit songwriter for an A-list of stars including Rihanna (“Umbrella”), Mariah Carey (“Touch My Body”), J. Holiday (“The Bed,” “Suffocate”), and Beyoncé (“Single Ladies”) – to name a few! -The-Dream announces the completion of his second album, LOVE vs. MONEY, arriving in the physical and digital marketplace on March 10th.

“Rockin’ That Thang,” the first single from LOVE vs. MONEY, rises to #4-bullet this week on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Total Mediabase Urban and Rhythmic audience for “Rockin’ That Thang” jumps to over 50 million this week, with over 6,700 spins. A special Rap Remix was released two weeks ago, featuring the `Def Jam All-Stars’ lineup of Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross and Ludacris. The video for “Rockin’ That Thang” was recently shot with Norwegian director Ray Kay, whose credits include The-Dream’s debut smash of last year, “Shawty Is A 10” featuring Fabolous.

“My Love” featuring Mariah Carey, the second single from LOVE vs. MONEY, is set to impact at Rhythm and Urban radio formats on March 2nd. Although officially unreleased as yet, the track is already taking off at Top 40. The video for “My Love” was shot in Los Angeles two weeks ago, directed by Nick Cannon.

LOVE vs. MONEY is follows-up The-Dream’s RIAA gold Radio Killa/Def Jam debut album Love Hate (released December 2007). The album’s back-to-back hits dominated 2008, including “Shawty Is A 10” featuring Fabolous (Top 10 R&B); “Falsetto” (#3 R&B); and “I Luv Your Girl” (#1 Rhythmic, #3 R&B). The-Dream finished out the year by winning Best New Artist honors at the annual BET Awards – in addition to his Grammy Award nomination for Song Of The Year for “Umbrella” (as songwriter), and American Music Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

Executive produced by Island Def Jam chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid and co-produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart with Carlos “LOS” McKinney, LOVE vs. MONEY is a futuristic mix of radio bangin’ hooks that define this era as much as The-Dream’s hero Sam Cooke defined the ’60s and Prince defined the ’80s. “The LOVE vs. MONEY songs are rife with layered vocals, sensual yet comical lyrics and wall-shaking bass,” wrote Billboard last month. “`Sweat It Out’ concerns a night of lovemaking, while `Let Me See the Booty’ boasts strip club-ready lyrics while Lil’ Jon provides his trademark yelling in the background.” In addition to Lil’ Jon, the only other guests on the album are Kanye West (“Walkin’ On The Moon”) and Mariah Carey (“My Love”).

The final track listing for LOVE vs. MONEY is as follows: 1. Rockin’ That Thang * 2. Walkin’ On The Moon” featuring Kanye West * 3. My Love featuring Mariah Carey * 4. Put It Down * 5. Sweat It Out * 6. Take U Home 2 My Mama * 7. Love Vs. Money * 8. Love Vs. Money: Part 2 * 9. Fancy * 10. Right Side Of My Brain * 11. Mr. Yeah * 12. Kelly’s 12 Play * 13. Let Me See The Booty featuring Lil Jon * 14. Touch & Feel * 15. Nothing But Love.

The-Dream exploded in 2007 as the go-to songwriter behind two of the year’s biggest hits, Rihanna’s worldwide #1 smash “Umbrella” and J. Holiday’s breakout debut “Bed,” as well as J’s follow-up “Suffocate.” The-Dream’s streak continued in 2008 with Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body,” and several other high-profile tracks: “You” from Chris Brown’s album Exclusive; “Skies of L.A.,” the climactic closing track of Celine Dion’s Taking Chances; “Just Fine,” the first single from Mary J. Blige’s Growing Pains; and “Moving Mountains” from Usher’s Where I Stand.

While The-Dream (Terius Youngdell Nash) seemed like the overnight success story of 2007, he’s been at it for the better part of a decade. After meeting and partnering with fellow-Atlantian Tricky Stewart, the two soon achieved notoriety as writer/producers on B2K’s Pandemonium! album, and “Me Against The Music,” the timely 2003 duet by Britney Spears and Madonna. Four years later, The-Dream and Tricky were “suddenly one of the most in-demand songwriting teams in urban music,” according to USA Today.

In March 2008, The-Dream commenced the first major cross-country North American tour of his career, when he joined Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z for their “Heart Of The City” tour. The 22-city U.S. and Canadian tour climaxed in May with three homecoming concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

LOVE vs. MONEY begins the next chapter of The-Dream’s odyssey, as he stands ready to surpass the accomplishments of his 2007 debut. “It took me awhile to know that the new album is better than the first one,” he says. “But it is. So now we know what you’re capable of, we know how many songs you’ve written for everybody, and you know we’re gonna do it again!”