Today’s From The Vault pick comes courtesy of an R&B prince.

This week’s selection is ‘Because Of You’ by Ne-Yo.

After a successful debut era, it’s safe to say the star – real name Shaffer Smith – was hoping to match his past glories. A little over a year after putting out ‘In My Own Words,’ he released his sophomore set ‘Because Of You’ as well as the title song as its first single in early 2007.

Produced by Stargate and written by Ne-Yo himself, ‘You’ is a groovy disco-infused love song reminiscent of early 80’s Michael Jackson.

It proved to be a wise pick, as it hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and #4 on the  Official UK Singles Chart.

The song’s video was directed by Melina Matsoukas. It presents the artist stepping out on his girlfriend with a lady he met at the club and then becoming addicted to their late-night rendezvous.

The video features Camila Alves – wife of actor Matthew McConaughey – as Ne-Yo’s girlfriend. It has amassed more than 190 million views to-date.

With ‘Because Of You’ – both the song and album – Ne-Yo proved to the masses that the sophomore slump isn’t a mandatory rite of passage. Additionally, not only was he riding high on his own chart success, but he was also scoring wins left and right through the material he was writing for other acts. Talk about multitasking!

Though the top of the charts hasn’t been populated with Ne-Yo’s music in a long time, he remains R&B royalty and his impact on the music landscape is undeniable. Both as a singer and a songwriter.

Salute to the gentleman with the fire pen game.

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