Ne-Yo - Non-Fiction

Ne-Yo
Non-Fiction
2015


"Non-Fiction" is the latest album from Ne-Yo. He released both a regular sized 14 track record and a super sized 19 track deluxe version with the same title. This review will be of the 14 track version, because god damn 19 is a lot of tracks. This record is really well done. Ne-Yo throughout does not pigeon hole himself into one genre, R&B or otherwise. He lends his always strong vocals to everything from EDM to acoustic tracks and somehow it is really successful. The songs despite a couple outliers (She Said I'm Hood Tho and Story Time) take a genre and place a great vocalist right on top. Ne-Yo could have just released another R&B album, but instead he took a risk and expanded his horizons, for me it really works.

The usual tropes of love, the club and drinking are ever present throughout the album, which can be a bit tiring. Story Time is a song about one's attempt to get their lady friend involved in a threesome situation, which I hope is supposed to be more comical than serious, because it made me laugh out loud while listening to it. However I think that may be what Ne-Yo is going for here, not taking himself to seriously, not letting his ego dictate where his music can go. I would say give Ne-Yo a shot on this one, you just might like what you hear.  

6 out of 10 Stars