TSS PRESENTS SMOKING SESSIONS WITH THE DREAM

"Smoking Sessions With..."    By TSSCrew on December 3, 2007 at 11:30 am

Words By Lola Plaku

With his first solo project, LOVE HATE, Terius Nash, known to most as The Dream, hopes to take music to yet another level of inspiration. As the mastermind behind two of 2007’s most successful hits - Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and J Holiday’s “Bed” - The Dream is ready to push his solo career to the front & center. Writing lyrics since the tender age of seventeen, he has long been involved in the music industry. With B2K’s “Everything” as his first taste of achievement, he has patiently worked behind scenes on some of music’s most renowned talent. Nash was born in North Carolina, but was raised in Atlanta, GA by his grandfather after his mother passed away. “I remember my grandfather telling me that I wouldn’t make any money out of this business and that kind of pushed me to a whole other side of myself. It made me go after it, as crazy as that sounds,” he tells TSS.

He really wasn’t kidding about taking things seriously. After B2K’s “Everything,” Nash continued to write and produce songs for artists such as Britney Spears (”Me Against The Music”), Mya (”Like Crazy”), Nivea (”Okay”), 3LW (”You Ain’t Ready”) and an array of others. The first single of his album “Shawty Is A Ten” featuring Fabolous continues to heat up the charts and his second single “Falsetto,” aims at solidifying his fan base, as his album release dates approaches closer. He is putting tremendous work into his career not only as an artist but also as a songwriter/producer. “I write in my mood and my mood I think is just different all the time. It’s Celine sometimes, it’s Sting, it’s Michael, Prince and sometimes I write a 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg hook – I’m just music.”

At this point, The Dream is more than just music; he is a powerhouse of unstoppable talent. Nash has nine records on Mary J Blige’s upcoming album Growing Pains, including her first single “Just Fine,” as well as a lot more work with artists such as Celine Dion, Sting, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey. Usher. Nicole (PCD) and already is eight songs deep into his next album. The Dream was able to break away from his hectic schedule to chop it up with the Crew’s Lola P.

The Dream: Hey sweetie! How are you?

TSS: I’m doing well, what’s going on? I haven’t talked to you since Atlanta…

The Dream: I’m doing good!

TSS: So what are you doing’ now? Doing press prior to the album drops?

The Dream: Mhmm Just left TRL.

TSS: How was that? Did you perform or…

The Dream: No. I went to premiere my new video for “Falsetto”

TSS: Right that’s your second single after “Shawty Is A Ten”?

The Dream: Yup.

TSS: Is “I Love Your Girl” the third single?

The Dream: Yup.

TSS: Ok, well before I get into the album let’s talk a little about your career as a songwriter and producer. You grew up with your grandfather in Atlanta. How much of an influence was he in getting you acquainted with music?

The Dream: Other then the records around the house, he wasn’t really that influential in getting me acquainted with the music business…

TSS: (laughing) Not the business, I mean just music in general.

The Dream: Right…The introduction to music was just him playing the Sam Cook records and all the old hits. I lived in a musical household and that’s the most that he influenced on that particular thing.

TSS: Who was your favorite artist growing up?

The Dream: I think my mom and my grandfather played a lot of Sam Cooke records, but Prince was my favorite artist musically and Michael was my favorite in terms of showmanship.

TSS: What are two things that you learned from each of them?

The Dream: From Michael I learned that coordinated and uniform worked and it was a great thing. From Prince I learned how to be un-uniform but still be uniform as far as music. It kind of helped me distinguish the real thing about yourself because sometimes he lets it hang out to the left, or hang out to the right but he knows how to do it in a uniform type of way. You just never know what you’re going to get, but he KNOWS that you don’t know what you’re going to get, which is why he’s good at it.

TSS: So what got you into the music then?

The Dream: I had been in a musical band in school since the 3rd grade. When I got in high school I joined the group Guess Who and that got me in the music business. That’s what made me want to go after it as a career.

TSS: Right, and that was the band that was signed to Raheem. How did the situation come about and what happened with it?

The Dream: Well we did a record with him called “Most Beautiful Girl” but I think something happened within his label internally that kind of stopped everything overall with the stuff that he was doing. We kind of separated from that whole thing…

TSS: Was there anything particular in your career at that point that made you say “this is what I want my life to be?”

The Dream: I remember my grandfather telling me that I wouldn’t make any money out of this business and that kind of pushed me to a whole other side of myself. It made me go after it, as crazy as that sounds.

TSS: How old were you then?

The Dream: I was seventeen at that point.

TSS: And when was the first time that you actually saw a reward and were able to say to your grandfather “I did it!”

The Dream: Unfortunately, the next year when I was 18 he passed away.

TSS: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.

The Dream: Yea, so I was never able to show him even though I know he’s watching down… But you know the first time that I had to prove that I could do anything around here was with the B2K single “Everything.” That was the first song that I ever did that warranted me any type of success in this business.

TSS: Right, now you have written a lot of lyrics for other artists including of course the hit “Umbrella” for Rihanna and “Bed” for J Holiday. How do you choose the artists you want to work with? What makes you say ok this is not someone I want to work with?

The Dream: It just depends on who I’ve worked with, and who I respect. If I’ve already worked with somebody then I’m not going to go back at least not right now because it’s so early in my career…this part of me being in the hype that I’m in as far as me doing music. But I think it has a lot to do with my respect for other artists. If I respect an artist I’m going to get on them no matter what. I just did a record on Celine Dion’s new album. Basically to sum it up it’s just about the artists that I respect.

TSS: So what was the situation with Chris Brown? Are you guys cool now?

The Dream: Yeah, I mean we was even cool even when it was a situation so to speak. It was just a disagreement on how each other handled the situation that was at hand. It’s just like fighting with brothers and sisters all the time. You can agree to disagree; it just depends on how you want to handle it.

TSS: How come you gave J. Holiday the record “Bed” instead of Chris?

The Dream: I think that it more so had to do with the type of record that it was. Chris had just turned 18 and to say that “I’m gonna put you to bed,” it’s just not a good look. J Holiday also works out of my building in Atlanta. It was real easy to turn to him because he had a deal and he was trying to come out. He was having problems with his label over at Capitol after his first single, so I just wanted to make sure he got the record.

TSS: Do you ever look for new artists, unsigned artists to do work with?

The Dream: Oh yea, definitely. I’m working with a group right now that’s on Def Jam. We had a lot to do with their signing. It’s a group called Velvet Angels, a four girl group. There’s also a country singer here called Jesse Jaimz and she’s also great so. I’m always looking for talent…

TSS: All from ATL or …

The Dream: Jesse is from South Georgia, and Velvet Angels I think are from Florida actually.

TSS: Seeing that you have been in this industry for a quite a while now, what do you see as the best attribute of an artists character that helps them in achieving long-term success?

The Dream: I think staying humble and being consistent…even with how you are. Like if you are a jerk, be consistent with being a jerk; if you’re a nice guy then be consistent, don’t tell a person lies about who/how you are because once they get used to something, they’re either going to like you or not. And something you don’t want to do is confuse people about who you are.

TSS: In the bio on your MySpace page you have said: “Music is uninspiring right now. The bar needs to be raised; a creative standard should be set in music. I’m hoping that the real quality in these songs shines through, and leaves a sounding impact on the listeners.” With your album LOVE HATE coming out in December, how do you feel it is going to raise the bar?

The Dream: I think it’s going to raise the bar tremendously because I made the decision to do it within the last 6 months. Either someone is going to look at it like “okay that’s easy to do” or “no, it takes a lot to do it at that particular pace.” It’s about how much you really want it and what you put into it. I put a lot into this record and I’m just raising the bar about the content and what I’m talking about; making sure it makes sense; making sure I’m telling a story throughout the whole album. I want to tell a story from one record to another. Also I want to commit to an album instead of just committing to a single.

TSS: Where do you find the inspiration for the songs that you write?

The Dream: In all things. I pay very close attention to everything. I enjoy life, even the bad times. I enjoy having the bad times so that I don’t have to go through it again; having the bad times that make me evoke an emotion that makes me care for another person. At the end of the day I take it all in. Like if I see a girl and she smiles at me a certain way, it doesn’t mean that it has to go any further than that, but it’s how I felt when she smiled at me. I would probably write about something like that

TSS: Does it make you feel better when writing about certain things…

The Dream: Yea, it just releases that feeling of what I had; that emotion or that affection.

TSS: Has there ever been a record that you wrote, produced, or recorded that you regret doing?

The Dream: That I regret….(thinking) No, not to this point because I feel it’s a form of art at the end of the day, and I also think that at whatever time you are true to yourself then that’s what you should write about, even when you’re not having a good day. If you say something bad it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person, but it does mean that you’re a real person.

TSS: Was there anything you were trying to stay away from with the album?

The Dream: Yeah, I wanted to stay away from the destruction of women. I was trying to make sure that I glorified and gratified the ladies out here. I had a mother and I care about her tremendously. With all the music now, nobody understands a woman’s job and what she has to do day to day. I was talking to a friend of mine actually – and I want to make sure this gets printed – and it was about girls and girls that say “if guys can go around and act like dogs, then so I can do the same thing too if you do it while you hold me to a certain standard.” And what I told this young lady I was talking to was “We hold you to that because we expect that from you. It’s an expectation. You shouldn’t look at it like it’s a bad thing if we expect you to not run around like guys do. It’s just a lower expectation of a guy’s self. That’s what it is.” She said she never heard it put like that, but that’s exactly what it is; the expectation of good in a woman.

TSS: So does the album then raise the bar in expectations from a man as well as a woman?

The Dream: Right, it definitely does because with the album I’m glorifying what it is to be a woman. I have one song on the album called “Nikki” which is about one particular kind of woman, which is that other thing, and not wanting to be herself as a woman. I talk about her cheating on me, or her not being the woman that I expected her to be. I trusted her and gave her my love, but I was making love to somebody else, and you can tell that I’m kind of angry about it. Other than that, it’s just the realness…I just love the woman.

TSS: If you could describe the album in three words what would they be?

The Dream: Prince, Michael, the 1980’s.

TSS: Why the title “Love me all summer, Hate me all winter”

The Dream: Because I’m getting a lot of love right now and even though it’s winter right now in America, it feels like summer time just because my career is heating up and everything around me is really hot. I feel like it was winter just last year or the years before that when I was trying to get everything together and up and running; it was just real cold. It ain’t that they really hate you in the winter or in that part of your career, but nobody is really checking for you.

TSS: Are you happy with how the album turned out? You finished it in 9 days…

The Dream: I recorded everything within nine days with the exception of one track – the “I Love Your Girl” track, which I did later because I had shows in between the time. I accomplished exactly what I wanted to do with this album, but I’m nowhere near accomplishing what it is overall that I want to do even within my twelve month period.

TSS: Do you think that a lot of artists, who have hot singles, expect that one single to carry the whole weight of the album?

The Dream: I think it has a lot to do with the labels also. We’re in this mess of selling a single and it’s really not even the artists fault. There’s not enough pressure put on us as song writers or as artists to make sure we do our job and make sure that we deliver a whole album. The consumer is not stupid and they’re making the decision to only buy the single because they’re listening to the whole album and they’re saying it’s not worth buying.

TSS: Being that the music has fallen in a digital era a lot of artists have sort “given up” that idea that they can sell physical records and therefore focus more on their online promotions. What do you expect with this album - that ringtone and online success or album sales? Or even just to put The Dream on the map as an artist?

The Dream: Hmmm. When you have people with the online thing buying certain things, they’re trying to stay unattached from the artist, of physically having something in their hand or going out to get something. I would rather someone go to the store and buy my album because that means that they’re physically attached to me and want to know more about me as opposed to kind of this space in between them and the music and me. I more so want to have it that way.

TSS: I think a lot of people would expect your wife, Nivea, to be on the album…

The Dream: This is my first record…I wasn’t on her first record. At the end of the day, you have to be able to stand on your own before you can stand next to somebody else. There are things she has already accomplished in her career and I have to start my career off. This is me accomplishing what I need to accomplish on my own.

TSS: Great, okay so moving on to your future projects. Currently you are working with a ton of artists like Mary J, Nicole S (PCD), and you also worked with Celine Dion on “Skies of L.A.” How did the record with Celine come about? Celine is a complete different genre from that hip-hop/R&B music.

The Dream: Well I don’t know if what I do is considered hip-hop/R&B. I can’t categorize myself as one type of artist because “Umbrella” wasn’t a hip-hop/R&B record at the end of the day either. It’s almost as rhythmic as a pop record. Same thing with the new Mary J Blige record. I don’t really write in categories. I write the record for what it is. I have records with Sting also so I wouldn’t categorize myself as a hip-hop/R&B songwriter – just a songwriter. With her it was just a beautiful ballad.

TSS: Do you feel that when you know the artist you’re writing for, it draws a different type of character for you, or it doesn’t really matter?

The Dream: I write in my mood and my mood I think is just different all the time. It’s Celine sometimes, it’s Sting, it’s Michael, Prince and sometimes I write a 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg hook – I’m just music.

TSS: Can you tell us more details about projects you have coming up?

The Dream: Other than the Mary J record coming up, I have another nine records on her album, two records on Chris Brown’s, I am four records into Rihanna’s next album. I’m eight records into my own next album…

TSS: You already started recording your next album? Any plans as to when you want to release it?

The Dream: Yeah. I’m trying to push for a May (2008) date right now, but LA Reid said that the records on this album are so deep – and that’s another thing too – I don’t hear it the way you hear it. You’ll hear it as either “oh my god” or “you suck” or “1to12; how did you do it?” I don’t hear it like that. I’m just trying to pound them out, so that if I can have a record by May that will be great. But LA is saying that there are so many singles on this album that there isn’t enough time…but I’m ready!

TSS: I heard you’ll be touring with Jagged Edge and Fabolous in the early part of 2008.

The Dream: I think we’re doing a House of Blues tour.

TSS: What can fans look forward to in your performances?

The Dream: It’s real edgy especially because of this Falsetto record. It’s young, but it’s not that young. If you’re 18-25 we’re good. You’re going to love it. It’s not just me sitting there on the mic, singing. I’m not one of those R&B kids who sit on the chair and sing.

TSS: I saw you on 106 & Park the other day and I think your voice sounds great live. With a lot of artists, when they’re performing the voice sounds scratchy, or like they’re running out of breath – I guess it’s just not as clean as it sounds on the record, but with you I think I got the same vibe that I did when listening to the record on the computer, radio etc. I really appreciated that.

The Dream: Awe, thank you.

TSS: I’m serious…anything else that you’d like to talk about or promote?

The Dream: December 11th man…

TSS: Ok well that’s it for me then. Thank you so much I appreciate it.

The Dream: Nah, I appreciate you Lola.

The album, LOVE HATE, is in stores on 12.11.07.

For more info, visit myspace.com/thedreamteam.

Posted in "Smoking Sessions With...", ARTIST INTERVIEWS, GENERAL