(t5!) Heroes Of The Zeroes Singles: #23: The-Dream - Rockin' That Shit (2009)

I loved The-Dream’s debut album, Love/Hate. I loved that it’s sexy. I loved that it’s catchy. Mostly, I loved that it’s the first R&B album in a long while that didn’t have any fillers and, more mostly, I loved that those 12 un-fillers covered a ton of range. So naturally, after exalting all over The-Dream’s masterful first launch, I was thrilled when his second album, Love Vs. Money, dropped. Like the best musical moments, I still remembered exactly where I was when I first listened to the much anticipated follow up to Love/Hate: I was chilling in McDonalds with my laptop (because it had free Wi-Fi), slurping a supersized Coke float. I put it on while it was still warm straight off the torrents. And from the very first words of the album, off the single “Rockin’ That Shit”—“Girl I’m in love with you, baby, and I want you to know/That one look on your body and I’m trying to be yours.” I knew from that very first line I was in for a euphoric ride.

For my money, no R&B singer/songwriter can foreshadow a euphoric ride with a simple introductory line like this, certainly not milquetoast Ne-Yo (excepting ‘Closer’, obv.). I don’t know of a personal rivalry between the two, but the citzens have taken sides. I’ve used the Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels comparison for NHL’s Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but it fits here as well. Ne-Yo, like Bret Hart, is a Dudley Do-Right, a wonderful by-the-books artist, which also translates into a safe one, making ends meet with ample above average singles every album and stocking the rest of the disk space with mediocrity. The-Dream, like Shawn Michaels, is exciting, dynamic, and balls to the wall at every chance he gets. With his partner-in-crime Tricky Stewart, they attempt to use all of the tools in their possession every track, which leads to more risks being taken as well, for better or worse. The chances are Ne-Yo will have longevity with what he’s doing, and will accumulate more casual fans that are unwilling to take risks themselves. But at the end of the day, The-Dream’s thrilling highs, like “Rockin’ That Shit”, will be remembered most, even if he didn’t produce a longer life span that warrants a more honored career.

Let’s get back to the song. Then he goes “we beat it up like gorillas” and suddenly everything levitated, like someone turned on an anti-gravity device. The synth horns are like blasts of brisk air. That little bell that cap off the bar is like a playful wink from the moon. And you’d be crazy if you didn’t notice the “Dream drums”, that ascending double tom installed by LOS Da Mystro in J-Holiday’s “Bed” and The-Dream’s own “Purple Kisses”. They’re like fluffy clouds acting like steps to lift you up into the empyrean. I’m basically a plaything caught in an exuberant updraft by this point.

Obviously, we can’t forget about The-Dream, the star of the show, the man who spat at the face of sophomore jinx on the very first play. As usual, Mr. Terius Nash is so descriptive in his verses that it feels like you’re witnessing the whole dance floor courtship and bedroom activities first hand. Every line exudes sex. But as good as his words, it’s his falsetto and airy melody that augments “Rockin’ That Shit” to greater heights. When a flock of helium-voiced The-Dream’s harmonizes their “oohs” in the chorus, it sounds like aural ecstasy. “There’s nothing left to say, she rockin’ that shit like…” Definitely.

Not to take away from “Rockin’ That Shit’s” worth as a single, but it’s crazy how much the track sounds like the perfect album opener; the entire thing seems like a big prelude to an epic album. Even though its parent album is worthy of praise for being a formidable sequel, unfortunately it didn’t quite match the debut’s level. Maybe his product diminishes after every release due to the simple fact that he'll eventually run out of juice. Let's just hope that he'll have more "Rockin' That Shit" all-in's in him for the next decade.