Ne-Yo and Fabolous have been discussing a joint album for years, but despite their interest, the project has never come together.
The R&B star recently spoke with Billboard’s Carl Lamarre as part of a conversation celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album, In My Own Words, for The Debut Live. During the interview, Lamarre asked Ne-Yo which artist he would choose to create a collaborative album with, similar to Jay-Z and R. Kelly’s 2002 project Best of Both Worlds.
Without missing a beat, the three-time Grammy winner named Fabolous, a longtime collaborator with whom he shares a successful musical history. The pair notably teamed up on the 2007 hit “Make Me Better,” which climbed into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
“Me and Fab talked about that for a long time, just getting together and knocking out 12, 13 records together,” Ne-Yo said. “But to be honest, the universe must not want it to happen, because his schedule constantly has moving that way and my schedule constantly has been moving another way.”
Ne-Yo went on to say that a collaborative project with Fabolous would be “dope,” noting that the chemistry between them has always translated well into music. According to the singer, Fabolous is also the only artist he’s seriously considered making a full joint album with.
“He’s the only person [who] ever came to me like, ‘Yo, we should like, what do you feel like that would sound like?’” Ne-Yo explained. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know. But I mean, your voice and my voice compliment each other. So, I don’t see it being a bad thing. We should give her a try.’ Fab, holla at your boy.”
The idea isn’t a new one. As far back as 2011, Fabolous spoke about the possibility of a collaborative album with Ne-Yo during an interview with Rap Radar. At the time, he even revealed discussions about having the entire project produced by Ryan Leslie, though the concept ultimately never materialized.
