The only positive byproduct of an industry asleep at the wheel is a dream. With over a decade of hit-making experience and a certified smash in Rihanna’s 1 single, “Umbrella; Terius “The-Dream” Nash is stepping from behind the scenes with a wake-up call. “Music is uninspiring right now” says the confident Atlanta native. “The bar needs to be raised; a creative standard should be set in music. I’m hoping that the real quality in these songs shines through, and leaves a sounding impact on the listeners.” His debut CD, Love Hate, is a sonic gauntlet thrown down against complacent, cookie cutter music. Propelled by the first single “Shawty is a Ten,” the mastermind behind the explosive J. Holiday single “Bed” will do nothing short of redefine R&B for 2007 and beyond.
Born in North Carolina, Terius Nash was raised in the Bankhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. Before he found his calling in music, the industrious young man made ends meet doing everything from working at Checkers to becoming a collections agent. After graduating from H.S., Dream joined a singing group, Guess Who, signed by local rapper Raheem. They sang the hook to “Most Beautiful Girl,” which became moderately successful. “It did pretty good, got a lot of spins,” says Nash. A few years later, The-Dream began writings 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.” The song, off B2K’s platinum sophomore album, Pandemonium, truly put The-Dream on the map. “My grand daddy told me I would never make any money in this business. Music just wasn’t a reality for him. I never knew until I was 21 or 22 that I could actually be successful in the music business.”
With one success under his belt, Terius began to build momentum and soon found himself associating with the upper echelons of pop stardom. “A year after B2K I did the Britney Spears and Madonna record,” he begins. “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, that song 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, which he executive produced. “Trick and I just started making records. By the time we got to Umbrella we were like ‘ok, we got it.'” Dream insisted that L.A Reid hear the song and the rest is history.
Now The-Dream is finally in the building, combining all of his hit-making talents for his debut, Love Me All Summer, Hate Me All Winter. Throughout his career, Dream has seen people change like the weather, but in the coming months he is forecasting a 100% chance of reign. “It’s more of what I’m giving other people. It’s like the 80s; it’s musical. I’m doing the ‘Umbrella’ routine to this whole album. All of my records are singles. The album is really visual as well. It appeals to all your senses, similar to ‘Thriller’.” Songs like the soulful “She Needs My Love” and “Falsetto” solidify Terius’ status as a triple threat, singer, writer and producer.