Terius Nash was born in Yanceyville, North Carolina. He moved with his mother to Atlanta when he was two years old. After first learning to play trumpet in elementary school, Nash learned how to play the drums and guitar. His mother died in 1992 when Nash was fifteen years old, an event which would inspire him to write songs. He states that the death of his mother gave him a "soft spot" for women, to which he credits his desire to write songs about female empowerment such as Rihanna\'s "Umbrella". He moved in with his grandfather, a concrete mason who instilled a strong work ethic in young Nash. Of his grandfather, Nash recalls "He came out of a bad time for blacks in the South, but even though we lived in the hood, we had a boat, some cars and a house that was paid for. So I\'ve always had a different outlook on life. There\'s nothing I can\'t do."\n', '

Nash met R&B producer Laney Stewart in 2001 and Stewart helped him get a publishing deal after Nash wrote "Everything" for B2K\'s album Pandemonium!. Under the pen name "The-Dream", Nash began writing lyrics for popular artists. He co-wrote Britney Spears\' hit "Me Against the Music" from her album In the Zone. He spent two years working on Nivea\'s second album Complicated, which he executive produced, and continued to write and produce with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Laney\'s brother, which led to Rihanna\'s 2007 hit "Umbrella". "Umbrella" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2008 Grammy Awards.\n', '

In 2007 Nash signed a record contract with Def Jam Recordings and began working on his debut studio album Love Hate. The album was produced by The-Dream, his production partner Tricky Stewart, and Los da Mystro, and featured Fabolous and Rihanna. The album was written and recorded in eight days with twelve tracks making the final cut. Released December 11, 2007, on The-Dream\'s Def Jam imprint Radio Killa Records, the album featured the singles "Shawty Is a 10", "Falsetto" and "I Luv Your Girl" and received generally positive reviews from critics, as Rolling Stone called it "one of the most likable R&B records of the year" and UrbanMusicReviews.com said that the singer had "hit a home run". In June 2008, The-Dream was named Best New Artist at the BET Awards.\n', '

Return to The-Dream Autograph Profile