Earlier this month, Ne-Yo unveiled his new album, Self Explanatory. The long-awaited body of work consisted of 13 tracks and features from Zae France, Jeremih, Trippie Redd and Yung Bleu. Over the weekend, the legendary R&B star shared the latest visual from this album for “Handle Me Gently.” In the new clip, fans are able to see Ne-Yo’s songwriting process as they witness the studio session that birthed the song’s lyrics:
My addiction’s elsewhere, and you been sayin’, attentive to your lesson, listen, let these days/ I need you to know there ain’t no games, no playin’, I don’t want nobody else, this love is here to stay/ All I want is to be what you want, baby, show me the way/
She said, ‘Love me tender, love me sweet, love me like I’m all you’ll ever need’/ Then she said, ‘Touch me slowly, touch me slow, handle me gently, that’s all you need to know’/ Baby girl, I know that I can be distant, chargе it to my hustle and my bad intention/
Last February, Ne-Yo celebrated the 15-year anniversary of his debut album In My Own Word s by releasing a deluxe version of the body of work. He then followed up within the next few months with singles like “Stay Down” featuring Yung Bleu, “You Got the Body,” and “What If.”
In a recent conversation with REVOLT, Ne-Yo took a moment to explain how he landed on the title for the Self Explanatory album: “I call the album Self Explanatory because at this point, the music should speak for itself. I hate to listen to a song that has a storyline to it and once it’s over, I’m asking questions. I’m supposed to be able to know what’s going on the second it plays. My body is supposed to know what it’s supposed to do and that’s what my music is doing on this album.”
Be sure to press play on Ne-Yo’s brand new “Handle Me Gently” visualizer down below and keep a look out for more videos from his freshly released Self Explanatory project.