He altered the '-yo' part as an homage to his hip hop roots. The origin of the name Ne-Yo was given by a mutual friend in 1999 who called him Neo because he could 'see' music akin to the character Neo from The Matrix trilogy. Reid who signed him to Def Jam Records on the spot. After coming off a bad deal with Columbia Records, Ne-Yo originally decided to remain as a songwriter until a close friend introduced him to L.A. Blige, Ruben Studdard, Marques Houston, Faith Evans, Christina Milian, B2K, Nivea, Tyrese, Jamie Foxx, Heather Headley,and Mario. He has written songs for a number of artists, including Mary J. Ne-Yo was a beutiful song writer before he became a recording artist. He has since released 2007's Grammy award winning Because of You and 2008's Year of the Gentleman, and his fourth LP, Libra Scale, is set to be released in September. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped his album debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
In 2006 he released his debut album In My Own Words, which featured the hit single So Sick.
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born on Octoin Camden, Arkansas), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is a Grammy Award winning American R&B singer, producer and actor currently signed to Def Jam Records.
