Shaffer “NE-YO” Chimere Smith: The artist with an exceptional talent

By Ardain Isma Jr.Special to CSMS MagazineShaffer Chimere Smith, commonly known as Ne-Yo, is an artist that has taken the music world by storm not only because of his song-writing talent, but also because of his ability to create masterpieces that have been sending every music lover across the world swept off their feet. His very first album went platinum in two months and debuted # 1 on the billboard hot 200 album charts. Before he became a singer, he was a songwriter who had been writing song for people like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Bilge, and Jamie Foxx.            But before he became famous, he was just a young boy growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ne-Yo was born Shaffer Chimere Smith in Camden, Arkansas, but as an infant his parents relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in hopes of creating a better life for themselves and their child. It was there Ne-Yo would grow up to cultivate his music abilities.             Growing up, Shaffer “Ne-Yo” always had a passion for singing and writing songs. While he was in high school, Ne-Yo belonged to a rap group called Envy. Though the group didn’t last long, Ne-Yo was able to get his first taste with fame. He was number one among his peers. After graduating from high school, Ne-Yo went on to college in Las Vegas. While in college, Ne-Yo got the chance to write for other artists.            The first major artist that he had worked for was mega-platinum star Mario. Ne-Yo was the one who wrote Mario’s # 1 smash hit Let me love you, which earned him a lot of praises. Soon after he wrote that hit, almost every singer in the industry wanted to work with him.  Then Ne-Yo started getting calls from artists like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige etc…                                                  Despite his successes in writing number one hits, in the beginning he espoused no ambitions to come out as a singer. He just wanted to remain a songwriter, writing songs for famous artists without coming out into the limelight. It was one night when he was in the studio writing a song for an artist that a friend named Shawn Milligan told him that he had arranged an interview for him with L.A Reid, who is the chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group, which is a subsidiary of the Universal Motown Music Group Label.            The very next day, Ne-Yo went and auditioned for Mr. Reid who signed him on the spot. The following year Ne-Yo released his highly anticipated album In my own words. It was last February. On its first week, the album debuted #1 at the top of the charts. From the same album, he later released singles like Sexy love, Stay, and When you’re mad. All three were songs that were successful in the album. But the most successful single out of the album was So sick of love songs, which spent numerous weeks as # 1 at the charts.            Since the release of his album, Ne-Yo has been writing movie scripts and more songs for new artists.  Ne-Yo is also going on tour to promote his already Platinum-certified album. The tour starts August 11^th. The name of the tour will be called The Up Close and Personal Tour, which will consist of Ne-Yo himself, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Juelz Santana. Many in the industry believe that Ne-Yo is a force to be reckoned with. With all of his talents, it is almost certain that Ne-Yo is an artist with bright future. Ne-Yo says that he just feels happy that he can take his five-month-old son with him anywhere he wants to go. Ne-Yo is of Puerto Rican, Chinese, and African American descent.  He is only 23 years old, and he currently lives with his son in Las Vega, Nevada.Ardain Isma Jr. is sophomore at South Plantation High in Plantation, Florida. He wrote this piece exclusively for CSMS Magazine.