Shaffer Chimere Smith a.k.a. ; Ne - yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and occasional rapper. Since his debut, Ne-Yo has five top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Ne-Yo has also amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists.

Ne-Yo broke into the recording industry as a songwriter, penning the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam label head to signing a recording contract. He released in 2006 his debut album, In My Own Words, which contained the US number-one hit "So Sick".

Ne-Yo was born on October 18, 1979 in Arkansas hometown of Camden, and baptized by the name Shaffer Chimere Smith.[1] His father is African American and his mother is of mixed African American and Chinese American descent,[2] both were musicians. As a young child, he was raised by his mother alone after she separated from his father.[3] In hopes of better opportunity, his mother relocated the family to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ne-Yo emerged into the recording industry as member of the Las Vegas-based quartet Envy.[4] After the group disbanded in 2000, Ne-Yo was signed to Columbia Records, but, after recording his first album, was dropped from the label before he could even release it.[5] American singer Marques Houston happened to hear one of Ne-Yo's tracks, "That Girl", which was supposed to be the latter's debut single off his then-unreleased album. Houston rerecorded "That Girl" and released it as a single to his 2003 album MH.[4] The release of the song led to Ne-Yo being recognized as a songwriter that has led to his decision to continue writing songs for other artists.[4]

For the next two years, in his teenage years, Ne-Yo continued writing songs, some of which have not been officially released.[4] He contributed songs to American singer Teedra Moses's 2004 album Complex Simplicity, Christina Milian's It's About Time, and the American boy band Youngstown,[6] but all of which failed to give Ne-Yo much attention from the mainstream.[4] Ne-Yo has also contributed songs to American singer Mary J. Blige, B2K, Faith Evans and Musiq, among others.[7]

Ne-Yo broke into the industry after "Let Me Love You", a song he wrote for American singer Mario, reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, and later stayed on the top spot for nine weeks, becoming one of the most-played songs in the United States.[8][6] After the successful release, Tina Davis, former A&R representative for Def Jam Recordings, arranged an informal meeting with label head L.A. Reid.[4] Originally, Ne-Yo was not seeking a new contract, but, after he had performed to them, he was signed by American hip hop artist Jay-Z, then-CEO of Def Jam.[