b. Tremaine Aldon Neverson, 28 November 1984, Petersburg, Virginia, USA. This smooth-voiced R&B artist was initially inspired by rap music but was encouraged to concentrate on singing by his family and friends. At the age of 15 he met his mentor, noted soul producer Troy Taylor, who coached the young teenager in vocal techniques and landed him his first break in 2004 by securing a solo recording contract with Atlantic Records. Having adopted his new stage name, Trey Songz worked on albums by Kevin Lyttle, Gerald LeVert, Trick Daddy and Twista during his first year with the company, and also completed work on his eagerly anticipated debut album. Released in summer 2005, I Gotta Make It was a promising collection of retro R&B and soul with a few nods to contemporary production values. Despite good reviews the album was a commercial failure that spawned no hits of any note.
The singer’s career was revived later in the year when he guested on Twista’s US Top 20 hit ‘Girl Tonite’. Further collaborations with Japanese/American rapper AI and former Kabah singer María José showed the breadth of Trey Songz’s talent. His second album, 2007’s Trey Day, saw a notable move towards the urban and hip-hop market, and lacked some of the classic soul passion of the singer’s debut. Trey Songz has also released several mixtapes under the King Of Virginia moniker.
