Between the ‘07 release of “Love/Hate” and 2009’s “Love vs. Money”, The-Dream’s dominance as a songwriter, producer and solo artist had not faded–Terius Nash was still all over radio, now as then. Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” crowned the top of the Hot 100 amidst a string of smaller successes that included Jamie Foxx’s “Just Like Me” (merely a Top 10!) and Usher’s “Trading Places”. “Love vs. Money” is heavier on the ballads than its predecessor, and the song most directly connected to “Love/Hate” is “Sweat It Out”, essentially a slow-jam version of “Playin’ In Her Hair”, sung just as sweetly: “She just got her hair did but you know I can’t stop this / I told you once we finish that I would get your sh*t fixed.”

by Mark Emge

Over the past couple of years, The-Dream has become, as he repeatedly boasts on sophomore album “Love Vs. Money”, a “radio killa…R&B gorilla”. The Atlanta recording studio that the singer-songwriter shares with beat magician Tricky Stewart is a virtual hit factory, churning out inventive smashes for everyone from Rihanna (”Umbrella”) to Beyoncé (”Single Ladies”). But on his own joint, Terius Nash leaps into another league with 14 tracks of simultaneous avant-garde dance music and radio-friendly pop about sex: sex in VIP rooms, breakup sex, makeup sex. And in “Rockin’ That Thang”, sex “’til the first light of morning”. Which will require more than a few remixes, Max Methods is handling this one.

by Mark Emge

“All of my records are singles”, says The-Dream, explaining his strategy for compiling a collection of tracks for an album. And when you’re rollin’ like The-Dream was after his best-selling debut, last year’s “Love Hate”, there ain’t much you need to change. He calls his upcoming ‘09 collection, “Love Vs. Money”, “like the first album on crack”. Indeed, “Rockin’ That Thang” is a cheap, addictive, dangerous high, closely following hit lead single “Let Me See The Booty”.

by Mark Emge