First of all, he's an album artist at a time, and in a genre, where albums are rarely meant to be listened to as one cohesive statement. His songs are presented in suites, one song leads to another which leads to another and the last song might reference the first song and its all very well thought out and expertly executed. And each song on its own is full of so many concepts and ideas to begin with. I want to say that the Dream doesn't make R&B, but R&P, rhythm and prog.
His music captures so many different elements of the sounds of our time. Obvious Prince/Michael Jackson/R. Kelly influenced songs (the overlord triumvirate of modern R&B) via Timbaland production techniques with a little H-town screw and lots of A-town hollers thrown in for good measure. And at first when I heard "My Love" ft Mariah Carey, it bothered me that it sounded more like a Mariah Carey song than a Dream song. But when listening to the album, and its like there's a Mariah Carey song chunked in the middle of it, it works so well. It's so brilliant. Because it only adds to the sense of transcendence and timelessness that The Dream creates with the rest of his music.
He uses repetition and melody in a way that makes me think there's a mathematical formula to his music or that he cracked some kind of secret code. His songs aren't challenging but they're stimulating. I don't listen to a dream song passively, my brain follows along actively picking apart the different pieces. It is smart music for the ordinary person.
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