Ne-Yo, Link Up | Track Review

Keeping the summery vibes going past summer, Grammy winner Ne-Yo drops the short but utterly sweet, groovy single, “Link Up.”

Summer may be officially over, but that didn’t stop Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo (Shaffer Smith) from dropping a summery, post-summer song (something like that). Over the course of two-and-a-half minutes, on “Link Up”, Smith still has us thinking beach vacation with a hottie.  In the chorus, he offers an offer she can’t refuse: “If I link up with you / Ooh, ooh, girl, I might change your mind.” Hmm, okay, Ne-Yo, I see you spitting that game.  More context necessary on this joint produced by Hitmaka, Cardiak, and WU10. All three producers are also listed as writers alongside Ne-Yo, Eric Bellinger, Arin Ray, Leon Ware, and Zane Grey.  If you’re keeping count, that’s eight songwriters total (more on that later)!

There are plenty of pros when it comes to “Link Up,” whether or not eight songwriters were justified.  The production is strong, with a big fat bass line, and a ‘classic’ groove standing out. “Link Up” feels throwback without being anachronistic.  Part of the reason for the throwback-ness is a sample of “Looking Up to You” by Michael Wycoff, written by two of the credited songwriters, Grey and Ware.  As far as the songwriting, it’s all about Ne-Yo convincing her to become her man, PERIOD.  In the first verse, he asserts, “And we gon’ do, we gon’ do everything you like.” In the second, he sings, “Baby, let me raise the bar,” adding, “Drinks on the gent ‘cause I bought the bar.” One thing’s for sure, Ne-Yo is trying his best to link up, something so many guys worldwide have been trying to do forever.  All in all, “Link Up” is a win for Ne-Yo.

Ne-Yo • “Link Up” • Shaffer Smith / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 9.29.23

[: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Shaffer Smith / UMG Recordings, Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, PIRO via Pixabay]