Living The Dream

The-Dream

Terius Youngdell Nash better known by his stage name, The-Dream, is a Grammy Award nominated American singer-songwriter and record producer.

Personal life

Born in Rockingham, North Carolina, The-Dream moved with his mother Reva Nash to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of two. Reva raised him until her untimely death at the age of 35. After his mothers passing, Dream was raised by his grandfather in the Bankhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. Influenced at a young age by his grandfather's appreciation of music and the soulful sounds of Sam Cooke and Al Green, Dream enrolled in trumpet classes at Grove Park Elementary School. He continued playing the trumpet throughout high school and later added to his musical repertoire by learning to play the drums and guitar. His musical influences also broadened to include artists such as Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Aaliyah and Tupac Shakur. Before officially becoming a musician, Dream made ends meet doing everything from working at Checkers to becoming a collections agent. Dream married girlfriend Nivea in 2004, who later gave birth to their daughter Navy Talia on May 10, 2005. However, Nivea filed for divorce in December 2007. In addition to music, Dream is also an accomplished artist who has created many paintings and sculptures, some of which have been shown at various art galleries throughout Atlanta.

Music career

After graduating from High School, Dream joined the singing group, Guess Who, signed by local rapper Raheem. They sang the hook to "Most Beautiful Girl," which became moderately successful. A few years later, The-Dream began writing songs for up-and-coming rappers and hooks for his peers. He got his first publishing deal in 2003, when he signed to Peer Music after writing B2K's single, "Everything," off B2K's platinum sophomore album, Pandemonium!.

After the success of "Everything," Terius began to build momentum and soon found himself associating with the music industry's most popular artists. In 2003, Dream co-wrote Britney Spears' pop infused "Me Against the Music." In an interview Dream stated:

I recorded vocals and wrote to that record after Tricky, the guy I did 'Umbrella' with, decided he didn't want the track anymore. I was the new guy in the building so I stayed overnight running in and out the booth recording myself in Pro Tools. Tricky and a writer before me, Penelope, went up to N.Y. [to meet] Britney. They played a lot of songs and Britney was like, I dunno. Then they got to "Me Against the Music" and she was like, "Oh, I'm digging that. I love that hook!"

Unfortunately, "Me Against the Music" didn't push The-Dream to the level he wanted to reach. He spent two years working on other projects including Nivea's second album Complicated, which he executive produced. Dream continued to write and produce with good friend Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, which led to Rihanna's 2007 smash hit "Umbrella". After the success of "Umbrella", Dream signed a deal with Def Jam Records and began working on various projects, as well as completing his debut studio album Love Hate with his production partner Tricky Stewart.

In addition to "Umbrella," Dream has written numerous songs, most notably J. Holiday's "Bed", Usher's "Moving Mountains", Yung Joc's "Coffee Shop" and Jesse McCartney's "Leavin'". He also co-wrote Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" and Ciara's "High Price", along with over 20 songs for her new album Fantasy Ride. Dream also took part in co-writing a majority of Mary J. Blige's 2007 Growing Pains album, including the smash hit "Just Fine". Dream most recently entered the UK charts with Gym Class Heroes' "Cookie Jar."

Stage Name

According to Dream, his stage name was coined by his uncle who told Nash that he needed to be "the dream now" and "to have goals for higher things". Dream is quoted as saying:

That [stage name] was coined, actually, by an uncle of mine, from a long time ago. I grew up in Atlanta on the West Side. A lot of my family was kind of like into this and into that so it’s basically – the name came from me just tryin’ to be the dream of the family, and he thought that I needed to be that. I’m quite sure he was probably thinking about college, and being a lawyer or something, not really in the music business. But either way, this is what I’m doin’ and I’m livin’ it.

Feud with Chris Brown

Dream's, "Bed," sparked a short feud with singer Chris Brown, whom he has vowed to never work with again. The feud started when Brown claimed to Vibe that the song was originally his. Dream replied to the comment saying:

The track was considered for Chris Brown -- he thought it was his -- but it was my record and I decided to give it up to J. Holiday. Chris said the record won't be No. 1 unless he's on it. I bet someone $500,000 that it would go to No. 1 and I collected my money just last week. He said the wrong thing to me. He has a track from me now that I was paid for already and I want to give him his money back. At the end of the day, I'm big on principle and loyalty. Put that to bed.

However, Nash would eventually dispel his comments and the feud with Brown issuing the following statement,

I spoke to Chris Brown and I advised him that when he made the public statement in the September issue of Vibe Magazine I was disappointed because we worked on his project and I thought he made comments that were directed to me. Chris said the comments were towards another part of the situation surrounding the song and I stand here to not defend my comments but to take full responsibility for my classless choice of talking through the media...I apologize to Chris Brown, Mark Pitts, and Jive Records.

2008

The-Dream was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Umbrella, but lost to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab." However, on June 24, 2008, Dream won the award for Best New Artist at the 2008 BET Awards. Throughout 2008, Dream appeared on a number of records including Plies' "Please Excuse My Hands" with Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J's "Baby", Gym Class Heroes' "Cookie Jar" and Kardinal Offishall's "Gimme Some". He has also been featured on a number of upcoming albums from Phyzikal, Ciara, Sterling Simms, Young Chris, Dear Jayne, and Cassie. Currently gearing up for the release of his sophomore album Love vs. Money, scheduled to be released on December 16, 2008, Dream also signed female hip-hop/R&B group Electrik Red to Radio Killa Records and is working on their new album. Dream and production partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart recently produced "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" off Beyoncé's new album I Am…, and is scheduled to work with J. Holiday, Mario, Jamie Foxx and Usher in the coming months. In addition to music, Dream also revealed he is currently working on a TV reality series for MTV where he will scout aspiring singers, and plans to release a clothing line called Millionaire Love Affair.