Trey Songz, born as Tremaine Aldon Neverson, is a singer, songwriter, and actor from Petersburg, Virginia. However, his first step into stardom is a captivating story, especially with his first hit song.
Trey Songz’s first song was technically “I Gotta Make It” back in 2004. However, he began even earlier under the name “Prince of Virginia” and released mixtapes in 2004 as well.
To learn more about the former “Prince of Virginia” and his journey to “I Gotta Make It” and beyond, keep reading.
“I Gotta Make It”
Released on July 26, 2005, “I Gotta Make It” was the first album dropped by Trey Songz. It was released under Atlantic Records who is a subset of Warner Music Group and previously worked with Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, Bruno Mars, and more.
It was released as a debut single on November 23, 2004. It also featured rapper, Twista.
At the time of release, this album reached the Number 20 on the Billboard 200.
Even before this though, also in 2004, under the name of “Prince of Virginia,” Tremaine Neverson dropped some mixtapes. One that was particularly transformative was “Open the Closet” which was a response to “Trapped in the Closet” by R Kelly.
Troy Taylor, who is a highly viewed musician, writer, vocal arranger, and producer, came upon Trey Songz in the early 2000’s and helped to sign him with Atlantic Records.
To hear Trey Songz’s first song, listen below.
Songz’s Song Career
The genres to best describe Songz’s first song and album are contemporary R&B and pop rap. He apparently began with a serious interest in hip-hop but was pushed into his current genre mold by his friends, and then Troy Taylor.
Taylor found him before he had even graduated high school, and Trey Songz’s moved to New Jersey right after high school to begin his career.
Even before his “I Gotta Make It” success, he appeared on Kevin Lyttle’s first album and had a solo bit on Coach Carter’s “About the Game.” That is one interesting thing about Trey: his immense amount of collaborations.
He has had over 75 guest appearances with artists including 2Pac, Drake, Rick Ross, and Busta Rhymes.
He also had a fair share of guest appearances on his own debut album, including Aretha Franklin, Twista, Juvenile, and T.I.
After his debut single and album, Trey Songz’s career continued in a quite incremental path.
In 2007, he released an album dubbed “Trey Day” that became RIAA certified gold. He then went on to receive three RIAA certified platinum albums and two more gold over the next ten years.
“Trey Day” featured R Kelly, Stargate, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and others and topped the Billboard 200 at number 11. This is when he was nominated for the “Best Male R&B Vocal Performance” Grammy.
His first number 1 stop in the Billboard 200 occurred with his “Chapter V” album in 2012. It had guests Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, Diddy, and others.
To see more of Trey Songz’s music, check his Spotify below.
Songz Today
Trey Songz had a few run-ins with the police in the later half of the 2010’s. In 2016, he had a violent spell at a Detroit stage where he hurt a police officer and damaged some equipment.
He was accused of domestic assault and sexual assault in 2018, with a potential lawsuit in the early of 2020 regarding a Georgia woman and himself on the sexual assault.
He did release a song titled “Back Home” to YouTube in late April 2020. It featured Summer Walker and showcases his family, including his son, Noah.
Watch the YouTube video of “Back Home” below.
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