He said he wouldn’t return, but Ne-Yo was back in the hot seat on “The Breakfast Club” on Tuesday. The R&B gentleman sat down with Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God, and DJ Envy to premiere his new Jeezy-assisted single “Money Can’t Buy” and discuss everything from smoking weed to his new album Non Fiction, due September 30.
While he was criticized for the pop sound on his last album R.E.D., his next project promises more R&B. “I needed my R&B fans to know that I hadn’t abandoned them,” he said. “I came on home with this one. This album is 99.999998% R&B, meaning I can’t completely abandon that fanbase ’cause they kept the lights on for a very long time. I still got some stuff that can live in that [pop] world, but there’s so much R&B on this album.”
He worked with Beyoncé early on in her album process, but none of the songs made it. “They turned around and decided to go another way with it, which is all good,” said Ne-Yo. “Album’s dope. Kinda mad I ain’t get to be a part of that.”
He did work with his idol Michael Jackson while he was alive, but has not heard his posthumous album Xscape. So what did he think of the MJ hologram at the Billboard Music Awards?
“It was dope, but of course you knew it was a hologram,” he said. “It was kinda sad for me ’cause it just brought back like, man, he’s really gone.”
Ne-Yo, who’s been criticized for his hairline, was told by his label to keep his hat on when he attended the 2009 BET Awards after MJ’s death. “They figured that the world wasn’t ready for this dome and told me to keep the hat on,” he admitted.
He also revealed that he has stopped drinking, but recently picked up a weed habit. “I’m famous for not being a good drinker, which is why I’ve started smoking recently,” said Ne-Yo, who prefers joints over blunts.
When asked why he started smoking, he said, “Just because I never had. I wanted to try it and see what all the hoopla was about.”
As far as marriage goes, the 35-year-old is not looking to settle down anytime soon. “I’m not ready for all that yet. One day I will be.”
Watch Ne-Yo’s full interview with “The Breakfast Club” below.