Ne-Yo
Biography
Shaffer Chimere Smith, known by the stage name Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor born on October 18, 1979, in Camden, Arkansas.
His stage name was given to him by a friend in 1999, who compared him to the character Neo from the Matrix trilogy for his ability to “see” music; he changed the ending to “-yo” as a tribute to his hip-hop roots.
Signed to Def Jam Records, he released his debut album, In My Own Words, in 2006. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum, propelled by the number-one single So Sick.
Ne-Yo is also recognized as a songwriter for many other artists. He has written songs for Rihanna (Unfaithful), Beyoncé (Irreplaceable), Mario Piu (Let Me Love You), as well as for Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Christina Milian, and Whitney Houston, among others.
His second album, Because of You, released in 2007, earned him a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. He subsequently released Year of the Gentleman (2008) and Libra Scale (2010), whose single Beautiful Monster reached number one in the United Kingdom.
In 2007, he founded his own label, Compound Entertainment, and opened a recording studio named Carrington House. He is also known under the aliases Ne-Yo and Schaffer (2).