The-Dream "Love King"

Love King, the third album from The-Dream a.k.a Terius Nash was proclaimed to be his last. But four tracks into the album and he’s declaring on Sex Intelligent (Remix) that Love Affair is a year away. “I ain’t going nowhere. Who the fucks gonna replace me?” he says. Of course, he brings up a good point. Even though you may not recognise his name, Nash has been dominating your airwaves for a few years now. He’s penned tracks for the biggest names in R&B including Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, and he’s proven his worthiness even more since writing Rihanna’s Umbrella (undoubtedly the biggest smash of 2008) and Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It). Between all this, he’s nurtured Electrik Red, the R&B group that he writes all the songs for and easily become one of the most prolific R&B songwriters around.

Let’s get one thing straight: this is no Love Vs. Money.  That album was exact in its lush production, feathery vocals and emotionally filled subject matter. But that’s not to say that this isn’t great, it’s just a little less focused and a little more fun. On Make Up Bag, there’s Nash’s anthem to winning over an angry girlfriend after things have gone slightly awry (the answer being to drop $5000 on a new handbag) and on the title track he references every possible label and brand and he can fit into the song, as if he’s getting paid for it. The line “Got girls on the Nuvo, girls on Patrón/girls on that Belvedere, pay me for this song” almost signals that he might be getting paid. Then there’s Florida University, probably the most – lets be honest – ridiculous song he’s ever written. “What rhyme with ‘asshole’? Asshole,” goes one line, while the repeated “eff you’s” of the chorus jokingly stand for Florida University.

But despite some ill-advised humour that turns up, each track is draped with triumphant production that forces them to be given attention. There’s also the tracks that will be talked about for awhile yet; Abyss carries the darkest moments of the album and is reminiscent of Love Vs. Money while Yamaha is a throwback to Prince and Turnt Up is another “sex” song to add to his repertoire (that like most of his other songs about sex, is damn near perfection). F.I.L.A or Fall In Love Again no longer features the verses from T.I. that pushed the song in another direction when it leaked a few months back. Instead it takes a sweet turn on the album, tightened up and ready for radio. Love King is not necessarily an album showing Nash taking things in a new direction, because for the most part he’s not, but it is a showcase of him playing around and having fun with something that is tried and true. Who can blame him for that?