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The-Dream Reveals ‘Crown’ Artwork, Tracklist

blame it on Meka April 8, 2015
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Terius will, at long last, release his new project – or, half of it – Crown this coming Tuesday (April 14th). Highlighted by “Fruition” and the T.I.-guested “That’s My Sh*t,” the eight-track EP will no doubt have the same tunes fans of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart have dug for years. Peep the artwork, tracklisting and some more info on the direction below.

the-dream-crown-ep

1. Prime
2. That’s My Sh*t f. T.I.
3. All I Need
4. Fruition
5. Throw It Back
6. ‘Cedes Benz

“Crown is more modern R&B, and Jewel is more what you might think of as my songwriter side, the songs I might have given to other artists before,” The-Dream explains. “If you put me in a box, Jewel is more what you get when that box is open. But I’m not limited by any box I’ve been put in—every year I’m expanding and growing, and it makes for a more interesting plot.”

On these EPs, the songs range from the pain and vulnerability to the straight-up club bangers to gorgeous, cascading sonic tapestries. Instead of trying to resolve contradictions in the spectrum he’s presenting, though, The-Dream emphasizes that real human beings have many sides; we contain multitudes.

“That same person who might be an activist is also going to be in a strip club,” he says. “We can’t deny that these things exist. We all have things that we like and that we don’t like about ourselves—our mind and mentality is as round as the world.”

“R&B only tells one type of story—sex, love, breaking up, getting back together,” says The-Dream. “There are not too many political things, and then when it does get into that, it’s really more of a pop kind of record. Hip-hop kinda dropped the ball on political situations, or religion, or immigration. All those social issues are being left behind.

“Music used to tell the truth,” he continues, “but now the industry is really just trying to get artists to make bigger records, instead of making greater records. And there are a lot of narrow-minded consumers, who don’t demand more from artists and don’t want you to evolve. I think there’s plenty of talent, but artists aren’t being pushed like we were in the ‘60s.”

I always feel that songs that are on The-Dream’s albums were originally slated for other artists he’s worked with in the past (Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé), so in a sense I tend to listen to his songs as if it were theirs. That’s not weird, right?