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Trey Songz
HE’S YOUNG. HE’S PASSIONATE. HE’S FROM THE STREETS.
HE’S CHARISMATIC. HE’S A RAPPER. HE’S A SINGER.
HE’S TREYSONGZ AND HE’S HERE TO STAY.
| Listen to some of Trey's latest work: |
Trey Songz & Mumeet Daddy
"Welcome To The King & The Prince" Lo-Fi / Hi-Fi
Gerald Levert F. Trey Songz & Eddie Levert
"What Happened To The Loving" Lo-Fi / Hi-Fi
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TREY SONGZ
Call it R&B with a hip hop urgency. “We’re
just making sure that I’m felt in the streets as much as
I’m felt on the soulful level,” says 20-year-old
Songbook/Atlantic Records artist Trey Songz.
The Petersburg, VA phenom didn’t always
have a musical career in mind. As a child, there were no
rigorous voice or piano lessons. In fact, all through high
school, Trey was doing what most kids his age were doing:
playing basketball, throwing parties, and getting dragged
to church by his devout grandmother, who sang in a gospel
choir. “I wasn’t even paying attention to R&B at the
time,” says Trey. “I was listening to straight rap, like
Biggie, Jay-Z and Nas.” The only R&B artist that caught
his attention was R.Kelly, whose work Trey reveres. “When
it comes to R&B, he kills it. He gives you every part of
the soul he can think of, from the gangsta to the
gentleman,” says Trey, whose elastic tenor today conjures
a younger, fresher R.Kelly.
At the behest of his mother and friends,
Trey entered, and won, a total of 20 local talent shows.
Quite rapidly, he was building a name for himself. But the
real epiphany didn’t occur until age 15, when Trey met his
producer and mentor, Troy Taylor—a veteran whose resume
includes everybody from Patti Labelle to SWV, Lionel
Richie to B2K. Impressed by an a cappella version of “All
The Things I Do,” a song Trey himself had written, Taylor
urged Trey to get serious. So upon finishing high school,
Trey moved to New Jersey to focus solely on music. Taylor,
in turn, focused on teaching his protégé music history.
“We would go to the New York studio every day, and during
the drive, he’d play me all sorts of old stuff, like
Steely Dan. When it came time to learn about falsetto,
he’d play me Prince. When it came time to learn about
soul, he’d play me Motown,” recalls Trey, who eventually
became Taylor’s vocal production assistant. Working with
other artists in the studio gave Trey invaluable technical
experience, and prepared the young singer for his bright,
not-too-distant future.
To date, Trey has written and co-produced
for labelmate Kevin Lyttle’s self-titled debut, sings solo
on “About The Game,” from Coach Carter: Music From The
Motion Picture, and is featured on “Ain’t A Thug,” on
Trick Daddy’s latest album, Thug Matrimony. Trey
co-wrote and guests on the tracks “I Know” and “Line of
Fire” on Juvenile’s upcoming album. In addition, Trey will
collaborate with Lil Kim, Trina, and Snoop Dogg on their
forthcoming projects.
Most importantly, Trey is busy perfecting
his own soulful debut,I Gotta Make It, an 11-entry
diary about a young man and his fascinating dreams, loves,
and hustles— a work of street and sweet sensibility
produced mostly by Taylor. From the inspirational first
single (“Gotta Make It,” featuring Twista), to the
realization that maybe you’re in love with the wrong
person (“Cheat On You,” produced by Troy Taylor), to the
assertion that there’s no one else in the world for you
(“Let’s Make Love Tonight”), the album has something for
everybody. I Gotta Make It also features production
from Organized Noise (“Coming For You”) and Warryn
Campbell (“Ooo”).
At the same time, Trey’s alter ego, the
“Prince of Virginia,” is maintaining his street cred by
aggressively attacking the mixtape circuit. This route,
normally used by rap artists, has made this R&B
singer/songwriter a standout amongst his peers. By
churning out mixtape buzzers like “You Can Get It,”
featuring T.I, “Dreams Freestyle,” and “Ghetto People,”
his own spin on The Game’s “Dreams” and R.Kelly’s “Happy
People,” he has the streets begging for more. “There’s so
much on my mind that I can’t say on a regular R&B record,”
confesses Trey. “But mixtapes are a great outlet to sing
about some wild, crazy, stuff.”
With Trey Songz, there’s no doubt you’re
getting the best of both worlds.
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www.d2musicmgmt.com |
