Thursday, 17 August 2023

30 Favourite The- Dream & Tricky Stewart Songs

 



Atlanta-based Christopher Stewart aka Tricky is a 4-time Grammy award-winning producer, music publisher and songwriter with credits such as Beyonce and Rihanna to his name. Along with fellow writer and producer, Terius 'The-Dream' Nash, they have racked up various hit singles and played a significant role in pop and contemporary R&B during the past 30 years. Stewart was rather quiet in the early 2000s but momentum soon picked up come the mid-2000s. 

Some of their record-breaking singles include Mya's Case of the Ex - which Tricky co-wrote and produced, Britney Spears' collaboration with Madonna on Me Against the Music, and big hitters in Justin Bieber's Baby and Beyonce's Single Ladies. Tricky is also one of the original founders of label, Red Zone Entertainment alongside his brother and artist manager, Mark E. Stewart that started way back in 1995 and later on enlisting Frank Ocean as one of their artists. 


Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), 2008 - Beyonce; part of a double-A side to If I Were a Boy, is considered one of the best songs of the 2000s decade 


If I Were A Boy- Beyonce, 2008; more in the vein of a pop ballad, Beyonce explained it was not a traditional R&B song. First real ballad that was later followed up with Broken-Hearted Girl, cowritten by Stargate, Babyface and Beyonce


Break My Soul- Beyonce, 2022; Beyonce's comeback hit and first hit record in over 10 years or so when it was released in 2022, it samples Big Freedia's Explode and Robin S's Show Me Love; more like a club banger, it is unlike anything Tricky Stewart has put out before Break my Soul as it leans more towards dance music, rather than soul or r&b


Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do) - Mya, 2000 




Everything - B2K, 2003



Umbrella - Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, 2007



Touch My Body - Mariah Carey, 2008; one of many bangers courtesy of Mariah and one of several produced by the duo of Tricky and The-Dream for the songstress. Lyrically, they sure know how to write a great pop/r&b song with mainstream appeal   



Outrageous - Britney Spears, 2004



Angels Cry (Remix) - Mariah Carey feat. Ne-Yo, 2010; one of my favourite Mariah ballads and collabs/duets, lyrics are honestly beautiful, melodies are smooth and fluid-flowing 



Obsessed - Mariah Carey, 2009; perceived by the press as an Eminem diss track, if you listen to the lyrics you can understand how it was related to the whole Mariah vs Eminem furore that blew up in the music world. The record slaps  



Cookie Jar - Gym Class Heroes, 2008 



Just like Me - T.I featuring Jamie Foxx, 2008 



Hard - Rihanna featuring Jeezy, 2010 



Baby - L.L Cool J featuring The-Dream, 2008



Leavin' - Jesse McCartney, 2008; a departure from his teenpop roots and is still McCartney's biggest hit single in the U.S


Up on Game - Skylar Stecker, 2019 



If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna, 2008 



H.A.T.E.U - Mariah Carey, 2010 



Rockin' That Thang - The-Dream, 2009 



Only Want You - Skylar Stecker, 2017  



Lonely Girls Club - Mario, 2009; penned by Ne-Yo but never featured on any of Mario's albums. Pity because this is a great song 



Favorite Girl - Justin Bieber, 2009; early Bieber offering from the late 2000s; has a similar-ish beat to 'Baby', another Justin song



Don't Walk Away - Mario, 2009; taken from his album, DNA, this mid-tempo ballad-like effort is solid and is something that could have been penned by songwriting production duo, Stargate



Sexual Capacity - Color Me Badd, 1996; taken from the original motion picture soundtrack of Striptease, the Demi Moore movie, this is slick 1990s' r&b as we know it. Was written by Robin Thicke, who had the famous hit, Blurred Lines with Pharrell Williams  



Oh Santa! - Mariah Carey, 2010; Christmas pop r&b track this features Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. Whilst All I Want for Christmas appeals to mainstream audiences, Oh Santa! is more for Mariah enthusiasts and those who prefer something different to the 1995 hit song 



Red Hair - Shawn Desman, 2004; Canada's answer to Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson provides some of the backing vocals to this song, as well as co-wrote Red Hair. Interestingly, it has the same interpolation as Your Body by Pretty Ricky 



Fashion Killa - A$AP Rocky, 2013  



I'm Not Okay - Lionel Richie, 2009  





Nivea - Watch it, 2006; taken from the album, Animal, which was a Japan exclusive.  




Black - The-Dream, 2009 

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