The-Dream Explains Why He Can't Write for Ciara, Praises R. Kelly

The-Dream’s conversation with Tim Westwood continues. In the second installment of his BBC Radio 1Xtra interview, Terius reveals why he won’t be working on Ciara’s new album, sings “My Cherie Amour” and “Umbrella” acapella, discusses R. Kelly’s influence on R&B, and explains why he clicks so well with Rihanna.

On why he can’t work with Ciara: “I have a contract under Def Jam so it’s only certain people I work with. [The executives] were real smart by putting that in there, I made them pay for it.”

On R. Kelly’s influence: “He held it down. I don’t think this generation of R&B would be at this particular stage without that. R. Kelly was doing it in a hip-hop-dominated culture,” he says, adding, “But we all gotta go down.”

On his success as a recording artist: “I don’t really care about the million album sales. I don’t really care about the number ones because I do those things writing for everybody else, so I can just stay in this spot and I’m comfortable selling 500k and under. Everybody wants to go pop, I don’t.”

On why Rated R is one of Rihanna’s best albums: “That was right after Good Girl Gone Bad. She could of went up and went more pop, but she regressed and went down back into it.”