R&B crooner, superstar producer and songwriter Terius Youngdell Nash, best known by his artist moniker The-Dream, is famous for the big hits he has crafted for other artists - "Umbrella" (Rihanna), "Baby" (Justin Bieber), "Obsessed" , "Touch My Body" (Mariah Carey), "Single Ladies", "Run The World (Girls)" (Beyoncé) "Leavin'" (Jesse McCartney) are just some of the radio staples of the past few years for which he is responsible. His highly publicized failed marriages to R&B songstresses Nivea (mother of Dream's three children and who also had a child with rapper Lil Wayne) and Christina Milian (of "AM To PM" fame and mother of another of Dream's children) solidified his position on the R&B A-list.
Such success and exposure has generally eclipsed his own solo career, which has generally come off as something of a side project. A critically acclaimed and reasonably successful one (combined sales of his first three albums exceed the million mark, notable for a straight-up R&B artist who has only had two Top 20 hits) but a side project nonetheless. In his recent interview with VIBE , in which he opened up about Milian, suicidal thoughts, Kanyé & Jay-Z, Ciara, Twitter, and much more, he revealed how his last LP was rushed out to meet label demands, negatively affecting both the quality and marketing of the project. Back then it was his intention to retire, but as he shared with VIBE, artists saying they're retiring are just lying.
And so, with all that considered, it's likely that Dream feels more pressure than ever for his next solo project, which is due out later this year. Perhaps as a means of alleviating that pressure somewhat; perhaps as a way of testing the waters; perhaps in order to drum up interest in the end of his pseudo-retirement - for whatever reason, Dream has decided to first put out a mixtape/free album/internet give-away, titled "1977".
Eleven brand new Dream tracks featuring notable guest appearances from Pharell Williams of N.E.R.D. and Big Sean. For free. Everyone likes free stuff, right?
