Today, Tuesday, Nov. 6 along with the historic significance of today’s election, Ne-Yo releases his R.E.D. album. And as while Ne-Yo fans have been waiting on pins and needles to hear what the singer has in store for them, reckoning day is here.
Ne-Yo’s storytelling talent differs from many of our young crooners who are currently trumping the radio. “Lazy Love” is a great example of how Ne-Yo tells the story that leads to lovemaking rather than focusing on singing about the act of lovemaking.
The moment we cringe in fear of comes though as were are reminded of why Ne-Yo is at the top of his songwriting game — the pop and dance tracks. In “Let Me Love You”, Ne-Yo attempts to spoon feed us the uptempo beat, similar to “Because of You”.
This album is definitely made for the ladies. With Ne-Yo’s favorite themes centered around powerful, independent women that like to enjoy life, R.E.D. reminds the ladies that chivalrous music is not lost forever.
R.E.D. gets really sexy with ” Be The One” and “Stress Reliever”, using harmonies and vocal arrangements that makes you break out the body roll.
“She Is” starts us back down a road of songs filled with country, pop, and dance infused songs. R&B is at a point where any successful-selling album wouldn’t be complete without songs that sounds more at home in non-urban genres. We have convinced ourselves that the public doesn’t want to hear a classic R&B album anymore. It’s at a point where we question whether the song was created as a reaction to fans opinions, for mainstream appeal (revenue), or solely as a creative decision from the artists themselves. Though many of us aren’t opposed to an artist spreading their wings, no one like to hear one of their favorite artists stretch too far from what is familiar to us.
Ne-Yo finishes R.E.D. on an uptempo mood that also includes features from rappers Fabolous, Diddy, and Wiz Khalifa. The eclectic album usher’s Ne-Yo’s artistry and his fanbase into a new time for R&B and Soul. A time of great change and innovation.
