How I became a Gentleman

So today I'm going to touch a little on my past and talk about how Ne-Yo became such a strong influence in my life and why his music has impacted me so much.

Before I even knew Ne-Yo existed as an artist I was a fan of his work.  Before starting out as an artist, Ne-Yo was a songwriter for different artists.  Two of the songs he wrote I really liked was Marques Houston's "That Girl" and Mario's "Let Me Love You."  Still to this day, "Let Me Love You" is one of my top 10 favorite songs; I don't know what part of it hooked me, but the song does tell a story that most can relate to with a smooth melody.  

However, the first time I listened to Ne-Yo's voice was in the parking lot of a Walgreens freshman year of high school.  I was waiting in the car for my dad, listening to the radio and suddenly a song caught my attention.  It was his breakthrough hit "So Sick," and it really moved me because of the situation that I was going through at the time.  After weeks of searching for the song and the artist, I found him and instantly became addicted to his music.

A couple of years later he released The Year of the Gentleman and a whole-new me was solidified.  I remembered the first time I listened to the album in its entirety in my room and thought that there was not a single song I disliked on it.  From that point on, I molded my life around the concept of the album and trying to be chivalrous at all times.  Year of the Gentleman might have been topped by R.E.D., which came out earlier this year.  R.E.D. features, in my opinion, a more mature and reality-based lookout on life; it highlights the fact that we all have flaws, but deep down we have that spark of goodness in us.

I guess I could talk a couple of songs that really stick out to me by him.  The first one I'm going to talk about is from 2008 called "Go on Girl."  There are a lot of songs that give women empowerment and the closure in past relationships, but this is really the first song like this that is from the male point-of-view.  Ne-Yo pretty much sums up a crappy situation, and is able to move on because he knows he deserves to be treated better.  

The second one is currently the most played song on my iTunes with 359 plays called "Part of the List."  It's a sad but beautiful song about a past love; Ne-Yo brings us on a journey about little things that we grow to love about a person and how they grow on you.  However, once this person leaves you're pretty much a train wreck.  It's a very relatable song because there is always that one person in your life that got away and something reminds you of them constantly.  

And finally, the last song I'll cover today is "Jealous" from R.E.D.  This is #2 on my most played and it came out about 4 months ago, so you can probably tell how much I love this song.  This extra smooth song is explaining how a beautiful woman, both inside and out, makes you jealous everytime she gives her attention to someone else.  It's to a point where you just want to be everything she interacts with so you'll be the only person/thing that makes her happy.  My favorite lyric from the song is, "Tattoo on your waistline. Oooo what I wouldn't do, Said what I wouldn't give to be a permanent part of you."  In my opinion, it is the ultimate song you can use to show your love and affection to her.  

Yeah, I might get a lot of crap with people saying that I'm gay for Ne-Yo (this might also be a reason everyone think gay too, smh), but I'm happy I chose to idolize him because of the class he brings and him broadcasting that it's okay to be the good guy in this world.  

So hopefully y'all understand me a little more now, and enjoyed the song links as well.

Until next time,

Corey