Before he exited his teenage years, he penned material for Youngstown. After 2018's Good Man, Ne-Yo offered up his first Christmas album and continued to release singles throughout 2021.īorn Shaffer Smith in Camden, Arkansas, and raised in Las Vegas, Ne-Yo broke into the music industry as a songwriter, though he had a false start with a short-lived group called Envy. His streak of Top Ten studio albums continued through Non-Fiction (2015). Although he wasn't as prolific in the 2010s - he worked extensively behind the scenes as a Motown executive, amid a slew of acting and televised talent competitions - he continued to be known for sophisticated pop-oriented R&B, inspired as ever by the likes of Michael Jackson and Babyface. Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" (2006) and Rihanna's "Take a Bow" (2008), two of the many songs he wrote for other artists, were smash hits as well. Seven of his singles, as well as five on which he appeared as a featured artist, peaked within the Top Ten of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. He had platinum certifications for In My Own Words (2006), Because of You (2007), and Year of the Gentleman (2008), the second of which won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Contemporary R&B Album. By the time Billboard determined that the romantic ballad was the eighth most successful single of its decade, Ne-Yo had racked up a career's worth of accomplishments as a composer and recording artist. It is now a word to generally describe full-length albums released for free, which is the modern form of mixtape that was made a popular following by 50 Cent and his group G-Unit in the early 2000s, sometimes containing all original music, other times composed of freestyles and remixes of popular tracks.One of the most acclaimed R&B artists of the 2000s, Ne-Yo entered the mainstream as a songwriter for Mario's "Let Me Love You" (2004), a number one pop hit.
In the hip hop scene, mix tape is often displayed as a single term mixtape. Also since the 1990s, it describes releases used to promote one or more new artists, or as a pre-release by more established artists to promote upcoming "official" albums. Blend tapes became increasingly popular by the mid-1990s, and fans increasingly looked for exclusive tracks and freestyles on the tapes. Ron G moved the mixtape forward in the early 1990s by blending R&B a cappellas with hip hop beats (known as "blends").
In the mid-1980s, DJs, such as Brucie B, began recording their live music and selling their own mixtapes, which was soon followed by other DJs such as Kid Capri and Doo Wop. (who later became known as Whiz Kid) and DJ Super V would create personalized House Tapes which would eventually circulate throughout New York City. In the late 70's into the early 80's DJs began recording mixtapes out of their homes, referring to them as House Tapes. As more tapes became available, they began to be collected and traded by fans. Hip hop mixtapes first appeared in the mid-1970s in New York City, featuring artists such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. In hip hop's earliest days, the music only existed in live form, and the music was spread via tapes of parties and shows.