January 14, 2022 | 9:56pm
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Ne-Yo says the lack of R&B is the reason love and relationships are not lasting today. Getty Images
Singer Ne-Yo says that the romance has gone out of R&B.
“R&B music definitely has as gone through an era that is much harsher than we all remember,” he tells Page Six.
“‘I love you’ became ‘you my bitch.’ Now it’s like, okay, we got to move with the times but at the same time, love is not a trend or a fade. It’s not something that is supposed to go out of style. It’s like saying water is going out of style. No, you need it to live.”
The “Sexy Love” artist will host the 2022 Urban One Honors, with Eva Marcille as the backstage host.
“I definitely feel like the way that love has been approached as of late may have something to do with why relationships are not lasting as long as they once did,” he added,
“People don’t look at it the right way. It’s like everyone looking for love got some conditions on it. If he ain’t got this much money; if she ain’t got that much booty. Or whatever. And that is always going to be an issue for genuine love; genuine true love.”
He said that people need to “turn their eyes and ears off for a second” and “turn their hearts on.”
The 42-year-old father of five adds, “To genuinely love somebody outside of what you can see, touch, taste and smell … It runs deeper than that. I feel like once we get back to that then it will come back in the music and then everything will be all right.”
Jennifer Hudson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will receive the Icon Recipients Awards.
TV One Urban One Honors will air at 8 p.m. Jan. 17th.
