May 23, 2026
The Ultimate Ne-Yo Curation | The Playlist

There are few artists who came around in the 2000s who have connected with me as a music fan like the artists of my youth did. One who did is Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known as Ne-Yo.
Ne-Yo's strength was as a song writer for others, but I'd say that his first three albums show that the song writing was just his ticket in; similarly to how Kanye West used his producing chops to get his album deal.
Mike and I talked about our Top 5 Ne-Yo faves and Mike used that as the basis for the playlist that you'll see below.
Kick back and enjoy some Champagne Life.
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Las Vegas native Ne-Yo spent a solid decade at or near the top of the pop/R&B world, as a songwriter and performer. His pen game is what got him in the door, thanks to songs like “Unfaithful” (made popular by Rihanna), “Let Me …
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At one point, Kanye West was near the top of my mountain of music artists. Kanye was the underdog, the up and comer, the guy who had to produce first to get a chance to rock the mic. His big brother Jay-Z was pretty much a titan of the game since hi…



