Trey Songz

Latest Release

Essential Albums

  • Ready (Deluxe Version)
    Ready (Deluxe Version)
    Ready (Deluxe Version)

    Trey Songz gets straight to letting you know what's on his mind in the opening moments of Ready. "This right here's a baby maker," he croons, "and we'll be making babies tonight." That he titles the song "Panty Droppa (Intro)" feels almost redundant, what with the nighttime mood created by his silky tenor and the sensuality exuded by the exquisitely supple groove. Songz takes every opportunity to flex his seductive powers on his third album, his first to go Platinum and the one the artist considered to be self-defining. Working again with his Songbook label boss, Troy Taylor, and producers such as Stargate and Bryan-Michael Cox, Songz was determined to show off his creative growth, expand his audience and establish his preeminence among contemporary R&B singers. His smooth delivery and air of effortlessness demonstrate just how much the Virginia-born performer had matured since he first emerged in 2004. In place of the brasher sensibility of his younger self comes a new finesse, even if the lyrics in the buttery likes of "Ready to Make Luv" share the decidedly sexual nature of his 2005 breakout, "Gotta Go". Songz' lusty ways may actually reach a new intensity on "Neighbors Know My Name", in which he provides a partner with step-by-step guidance on how to maximise her experience, and "I Invented Sex", a slinky midtempo track, features additional love tips from Drake. On his team-ups with Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em on "LOL :-)" and Fabolous on "Say Aah", Songz again proves how deftly he can ride the line between hip-hop banger and R&B slow jam. But Ready demonstrates his eagerness to push himself, too. With its soft layers of vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar, "I Need a Girl" sees Songz find a sweet spot in Quiet-Storm soul. More startling are the shades of '60s Stax/Volt balladry and psychedelic pop on "Black Roses", a collaboration with producer Bei Maejor. And when Songz bares a more sensitive side in "Love Lost"—a throwback to '90s R&B at its most endearing—he demonstrates a newfound ability to capture listeners' hearts, even if leaving their bodies rocked remains a high priority.

  • Anticipation I
    Anticipation I
    Anticipation I

    In the hip-hop world, mixtapes have long provided a place for MCs to be their most spontaneous, most unbridled and often most creative selves. They're also a way to give fans a preview of what's to come on the official releases. Yet, prior to Trey Songz and Anticipation I, R&B singers had rarely taken advantage of the format's freedoms. Released two months ahead of his third studio album, Ready, in 2009, Anticipation I qualified as a bold move by Songz and his mentor and producer Troy Taylor, one that could've felt like too much too soon. But the gamble pays off in every respect. Though largely comprising songs recorded during the making of Ready, Anticipation I is as consistently engaging as its successor, which is a testament to the singer's creativity and productivity. An ecstatic ode to pleasure featuring a grandly scaled production by Taylor, "Scratchin Me Up" elicits one of Songz's most impassioned vocal performances to date. He maintains the intensity levels on the brooding "Does She Know" and "You Belong to Me" before "On Top" and "It Would Be You" sees him trade that fire for some smouldering Quiet-Storm balladry. The latter song's shades of dreamy '70s soul come even more strongly to the fore on "Make It Rain". Whereas Ready features a starry line-up of guest artists and outside producers, Anticipation I gives Songz and Taylor space to be the dominant creative forces. And though they emphasise the sensuous vocal performances, rich textures and tight beats that are so fundamental to Songz's sound, they also embrace the mixtape's capacity for unpredictability. For proof of how well he adapts to the format's possibilities, just consider the cascading '80s-style synths that add lustre to "Famous" or the deft reworking of The-Dream's "I Luv Your Girl" on "She Ain't My Gurl", on which Songz and guest vocalist Sammie describe the advantages of being someone's piece on the side.

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About Trey Songz

Any artist who dares call himself “Mr. Steal Your Girl” must be confident about his charms. Yet the biggest reason why Trey Songz has enjoyed a long reign as R&B’s preeminent seducer is that he always balances displays of brashness like that nickname—one of many memorable boasts in “Bottoms Up”, his steamy 2010 hit featuring Nicki Minaj—with more tender expressions of vulnerability. That softer side is something he shares with Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and other inspirations. Born in Virginia in 1984, the future slow-jam master then known as Tremaine Neverson grew up on military bases before his talents landed him a record deal as he was finishing school. While his early albums cast the young artist as a kid brother to Usher and R. Kelly, he came into his own in 2009 with his third, Ready, a showcase for his yearning tenor and his ability to ratchet up the heat whenever necessary. On his hit match-ups with Drake on “Successful” and “I Invented Sex”, Trey Songz further smudged the increasingly blurry line between bedroom-friendly R&B and club-ready hip-hop. His fourth and fifth consecutive albums to hit the Top 3 on the Billboard album charts, 2014’s Trigga and 2017’s Tremaine are further testaments to his growing maturity even if sultry hits like the dancehall-styled “Na Na” prove he’s always ready to play the role of playboy.

HOMETOWN
Petersburg, VA, United States
BORN
28 November 1984
GENRE
R&B/Soul

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