Ne-Yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith (born on October 18, 1982 in Camden, Arkansas), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is a Grammy Award winning American R&B singer, producer and actor currently signed to Def Jam Records. In 2006 he released his debut album In My Own Words, which featured the hit single "So Sick". The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped his album debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. He has since released 2007's Grammy award winning Because of You and 2008's Year of the Gentleman, with both experiencing commercial and critical success.

Ne-Yo was a song writer before he became a recording artist. He has written songs for a number of artists, including Mary J. Blige, Ruben Studdard, Marques Houston, Faith Evans, Christina Milian, B2K, Nivea, Tyrese, Jamie Foxx and Heather Headley. After coming off a bad deal with Columbia Records, Ne-Yo originally decided to remain as a songwriter until a close friend introduced him to L.A. Reid who signed him to Def Jam Records on the spot.

The origin of the name Ne-Yo was given by a mutual friend who called him Neo because he could 'see' music akin to the character Neo from The Matrix trilogy. He altered the '...