Biography
Ne-Yo was born on October 18, 1982. His real legal name is Shaffer Chimere Smith. He was born in Camden, Arkansas, but raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ne-Yo is also a songwrter, and has written countless songs for people such as: Rihanna (Unfaithful) Mario (Let Me Love You) Beyonce (Irreplaceable) Mario Vasquez (Gallery) and more.
In high school, Ne-Yo joined a rock punk group called Envy. He went by Gogo. The group soon then broke apart, and Ne-Yo stood as a successful songwriter.
Ne-Yo signed a deal with Columbia Records at one point, but it lead to no releases. Ne-Yo then left, and was signed to Def Jam immediately by L.A. Reid.
Ne-Yo came up with the nickname Ne-Yo because of his friend, Shawn Milligan, who said that Ne-Yo could “see” music like Keanu Reeve in the Maxtrix film trilogy. Keanu Reeve played the character Ne0 in the series. Ne-Yo added “-Yo” to the name.
Me-Yo also has a son named Chimere. Ne-Yo was formerly married, but Ne-Yo says him, his son, and his sons mother still keep in contact with each other.
