Ne-Yo has revealed that the cheque he received for his hit song Let Me Love You allowed him to retire his mother.
The singer-songwriter has opened up about using his success to support his mum, Loraine Smith, after years of watching her work multiple jobs to provide for their family.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Zach Sang Show, Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Smith, revealed that he used the money from the 2004 hit, which he wrote for R&B singer Mario, to allow his mum to stop working.
“I called her at work,” he remembered. “This was the day I got my first check from (writing) Mario’s Let Me Love You, which was a very nice check.”
The singer continued, “(I) told her to get in her car. ‘Turn on your car and drive home. You never have to go back into that building ever again in your life.'”
Ne-Yo, 46, went on to explain that the heartfelt moment motivated him to continue pursuing his career.
“That moment I feel like any son, if you could ever do that for your mom, that’s a defining moment,” he stated. “It gives you motivation.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Ne-Yo confirmed that he wrote his iconic 2008 track Miss Independent about his mum.
“I grew up in a house full of women,” he shared. “These were not women that were waiting to be rescued. These were not dames in distress. They were changing tires and opening pickle jars and squishing spiders and whatever, taking out the trash.”
Describing his mum’s reaction after discovering the song was inspired by her, Ne-Yo recalled that she “cried like a baby”.
“It was a beautiful moment,” he added.
