The-Dream

Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 21, 1977) better known by his stage name The-Dream, is a Grammy-Award-nominated American singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised by his mother Reva Nash until her death at age 35. The-Dream moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he was raised by his grandfather.

The-Dream met R&B producer Laney Stewart in 2001, who helped him sign a publishing deal. He spent two years working on Nivea's second album Complicated, and continued to write and produce with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Laney's brother. Together, The-Dream and Tricky produced Rihanna's 2007 smash hit "Umbrella", which boosted The-Dream's music career. He signed a deal with Def Jam Records in 2007, and released his debut studio album Love Hate later that year. In March 2009, The-Dream released his sophomore album Love vs. Money, and is currently working on his third album titled Love King, which is targeted for a December 2009 release.

The-Dream married girlfriend Nivea in 2004; however, Nivea filed for divorce in December 2007. The-Dream began dating Christina Milian in 2009, and the two got married on September 4, 2009. In July 2009, The-Dream announced that Love King will be his last solo album; however, he will still be producing, writing, and featuring on other artist albums. In August 2009, The-Dream was appointed Executive Vice President of Island Def Jam Records.

Early life

Born in Rockingham, North Carolina, The-Dream moved with his mother Reva Nash to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of three. Reva raised him until her death at the age of 35. After his mother's passing, The-Dream was raised by his grandfather in the Bankhead section of Atlanta. Influenced at a young age by his grandfather's appreciation of music and the soulful sounds of Sam Cooke and Al Green, The-Dream enrolled in trumpet classes at Grove Park Elementary School. He continued playing the trumpet throughout high school at Charles L. Harper High and later added to his musical repertoire by learning to play the drums and guitar. The-Dream's musical influences also broadened to include artists such as Prince Rogers Nelson, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Aaliyah and Tupac Shakur.^[1] Before officially becoming a musician, The-Dream made ends meet doing everything from working at Checkers to becoming a collections agent.^[2]

According to The-Dream, his stage name was made by deez who told him that he needed to be "the dream now" and "to have goals for higher things".^[3] The-Dream is quoted as saying:

"That [stage name] was coined, actually, by an uncle of mine, from a long time ago. I grew up in Atlanta on the West Side. A lot of my family was kind of like into this and into that so it's basically – the name came from me just tryin' to be the dream of the family, and he thought that I needed to be that. I'm quite sure he was probably thinking about college, and being a lawyer or something, not really in the music business. But either way, this is what I'm doin' and I’m livin' it. Demi (*)"^[4]

Music career

The-Dream met R&B producer Laney Stewart in 2001; Stewart helped him get a publishing deal after writing "Everything" from B2K's album Pandemonium!.^[5] Under the pen name "The-Dream", he began writing lyrics for many popular artists. He spent two years working on Nivea's second album Complicated, which he executive produced, and continued to write and produce with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Laney's brother, which led to Rihanna's 2007 smash hit "Umbrella". The success of "Umbrella" boosted Dream's music career, and in 2007, he signed a deal with Def Jam Records and began working on various projects, as well as completing his debut studio album Love Hate with his production partner Tricky Stewart.^[2] The-Dream also began writing for numerous artists, most notably J. Holiday's "Bed", Usher's "Moving Mountains", Yung Joc's "Coffee Shop" and Jesse McCartney's "Leavin'". He also co-wrote Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body", Ciara's "High Price," and took part in co-writing a majority of Mary J. Blige's 2007 Growing Pains album, including the smash hit "Just Fine".

In December 2007, The-Dream was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Umbrella", but lost to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab". However, in June 2008, The-Dream won the award for Best New Artist at the 2008 BET Awards. Throughout 2008, The-Dream appeared on a number of records including Plies' "Please Excuse My Hands" with Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J's "Baby", Gym Class Heroes' "Cookie Jar" and Kardinal Offishall's "Gimme Some". In addition, The-Dream signed female R&B girl-group Electrik Red to Radio Killa Records and they released their debut album, How to Be a Lady: Volume 1, under the label.^[6] The-Dream and production partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart recently produced "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" off Beyoncé's album I Am… Sasha Fierce, co-produced two tracks ("Just Like Me" & "Digital Girl") and was featured on Jamie Foxx's album Intuition, and is scheduled to work with Mario and Lionel Richie in the coming months.^[7] He will also be featured on a number of upcoming albums from; Phyzikal, Ciara, Sterling Simms, Young Chris, Dear Jayne, Brandy and Cassie.

In March 10, 2009 The-Dream released his sophomore album Love vs. Money, and stated in an interview that he is currently working on his third album titled Love King. Initially The-Dream told Billboard magazine that the album will be released in December 2009^[8], however, in September 2009, Christopher Stewart (music producer) told Rap-Up magazine that it will be released in 2010.^[9]. According to The-Dream, he collaborated with T-Pain for at least one track and also expressed that he would like to make a collaboration album with Kanye West in the future.^[10] The-Dream announced that Love King will be his last solo album; however, he will still be producing, writing, and featuring on other artist albums.^[7][11]

In early 2009, The-Dream began working with Christina Milian on her fourth studio album Elope,^[12] which led to her signing a joint-deal with Radio Killa Records.^[13] The-Dream said that when he was building his label, he went looking for Milian because he believed she was a talented singer.^[14] The singer confirmed that her second single would be a duet with The-Dream called "Supersonic".^[15] Throughout 2009, The-Dream has also been working on new material for Mariah Carey, Brandy, and Diddy. Diddy's song "Change" is described by The-Dream as, "probably one of the best male records I've ever written...the best record I've written besides 'Umbrella'."^[7]

In August 2009, The-Dream was appointed Executive Vice President of Island Def Jam Records.^[16]

Its has recently been confirmed that he and Tricky Stewart are currently in the studio at work on Ciara's yet-to-be-titled fourth studio album. The two are set to produce the entire album, and it is slated to be released in 2010. As Stewart confirmed himself, they are already 14 songs into the album.^[17]

Personal life

The-Dream married girlfriend Nivea in 2004, who he had been dating for one year. Together they had three children, daughter Navy Talia who was born on May 10, 2005. They were married for three years when Nivea filed for legal separation in December 2007. The-Dream said that although he was in love with Nivea, his lack of experience in a family growing up meant he was "not taught how much more than love does it take to run a relationship. Like, 'cause love isn't just where it's gonna end. It can't start and stop with love. There has to be a certain amount of knowledge and patience that's acquired in order to keep it going and keep it straight, and I found out the hard way".^[18]

On September 4, 2009, The-Dream married Christina Milian at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas.^[19] The-Dream began dating Milian in early 2009, and they soon became engaged.^[20] In August, it was reported that they had applied for a marriage license in Los Angeles. The-Dream said he was eager to start a family with Milian, saying, "you have to do your work — then whenever she makes that time for herself, she'll make that time [to have a baby]. In the next couple of years, there'll be something around."^[21] The-Dream said in an interview that Nivea was still a good friend of his, and that she was also friends with Milian.^[22] On September 11, 2009, it was announced that Milian and The-Dream are expecting their first child together. The Daily Mail reported that "the pregnancy was a surprise, but they were getting married regardless".^[23]

The-Dream's song, "Bed," sparked a short feud with singer Chris Brown, whom he has vowed to never work with again. The feud started when Brown claimed to Vibe that the song was originally his. The-Dream replied to the comment saying that the tracks were considered for Brown, but that it was never his.^[24] The-Dream later apologized for his comments after talking to Brown, who said his comments were directed towards another part of the situation surrounding the song.^[24]

In addition to music, The-Dream revealed he is currently working on a TV reality series for MTV where he will scout aspiring singers,^[7] and plans to release a clothing line called Millionaire Love Affair.^[6] The-Dream is also an accomplished artist who has created many paintings and sculptures, some of which have been shown at various art galleries throughout Atlanta.^[1]

Discography

• Love Hate (2007)
• Love vs. Money (2009)
• Love King (2010)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Radio Killa Records