The Dream doesn’t shy away from Prince, R. Kelly comparisons (VIDEO)

theGRIO VIDEO - The Dream has been in the music industry since the early 2000s, but most people know him for penning and producing such mega hits like Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' and Rihanna's 'Umbrella'...

Kyle Harvey

Apr 10, 2013

Born Terius Nash, singer songwriter The Dream has been in the music industry since the early 2000s, getting his start writing for boy band B2K, but most people know him for penning and producing such mega hits as Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”

He’s been a solo act since 2007 where he made his debut with the banger “Shawty Is A Ten.”

From day one, critics have compared him to two specific music icons: Chicago crooner R.Kelly, for his sexually-explicit lyrics, and Prince due to his synth-heavy production that was made popular in the 80s.

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The Dream doesn’t mind the comparisons at all.

“My comparisons are who they are, it’s R. Kelly and Prince,” said the “Falsetto” singer.

“It is what it is, I’m over it. I never even thought twice to even say that’s a bad thing. They’ve both done XZY in this game and so if you’re comparing me to them, perfect.”

Fast forward a few years later, another artist, The Weeknd, emerged on the R&B scene with a sound and feel that reminded some of The Dream.

And while early rumors swirled that there was ‘R&Beef’ between the musicians, Dream is a fan of the Toronto singer.

The Dream explained: “What I love about The Weeknd is he stays on his own course, he has his own carved-out thing in place and I mean as him as a person.”

“Musically, you can’t really be affected by who’s somebody saying you sound like, because we all somehow kinda sound like each other some way. The only reason it’s not the other way around, if I were to be compared to him if he came out first. You can’t do anything about that,” he added.

Check out what else The Dream had to say in the video above, including who he’d pick to form an R&B supergroup.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at@HarveyWins.