Along with his usual hustle of penning hits for other R&B stars, Ne-Yo is hard at work on his third album.
The singer told MTV that he’s deep in the recording process for the disc, which will be the follow-up to last year’s Grammy-winning Because of You. The tentative title, The Year of the Gentleman, reflects on where Ne-Yo wants the R&B genre to go.
“I’m trying to take it back to where you couldn’t walk out of the house unless you looked your best. Back in the day of, say, the Rat Pack and Nat King Cole … any picture you ever see, they’re suited and everything is right from top to bottom,” he said. “Not saying it has to be a suit, ’cause clothes don’t make the man — it’s the attitude and person. The music needs to personify that.”
He added that the album dabbles between urban and pop. The first single, “Closer,” just hit the airwaves.
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“The third [LP] is more of the good [music],” he said. “The second album proved I’m here to stay. I won a Grammy for that one. So, I’m here to win more Grammy’s. At the same time, I love what it is I do, so [this is] another excuse for me to pen more facets of my personality.“
