Love Hate (album)

Background and recording

The album was produced by The-Dream, and his production partner Tricky Stewart, and Carlos "Los da Mystro" McKinney. Its featured guests were originally listed as Fabolous, Jay-Z, and André 3000, whom The-Dream identified indirectly. The final list was cut down to Fabolous and Rihanna. The album was written and recorded in eight days with twelve tracks making the final cut. Some of the tracks were written in regards to The-Dream's personal life, most notably "Nikki", written about his ex-wife Nivea and how he has moved on since their divorce. The-Dream explained the title, Love Hate, as short for, "Love me all summer, hate me all winter, because they love you when you hot and when you're cold they don't... I'm hot right now and they love me, but I was cold and they wasn't fuckin' with me." He also discussed how this album was made to set the creative standard that the current industry was lacking, stating:

Music is uninspiring right now. The bar needs to be raised; a creative standard should be set in music. I'm hoping that the real quality in these songs shines through, and leaves a sounding impact on the listeners... It's more of what I'm giving other people. It's like the 80s; it's musical. I'm doing the 'Umbrella' routine to this whole album. All of my records are singles. The album is really visual as well. It appeals to all your senses, similar to 'Thriller'... very 80's, very Prince, sensual, sexy stuff... Artists are gonna have to do some homework to find out who they are.

Recording sessions for the album took place at Larrabee North in Universal City, California, Legacy Studios in New York City, with additional recording in Las Vegas, Nevada, Atlanta, Georgia, and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, California.

Music and lyrics

The album's layered production incorporates spacious beats, oscillating keyboards, throbbing synths, and baroque elements such as synthetic strings and harpsichords. Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly characterizes The-Dream's electronic arrangements as "unorthodox". Tracks on the album share common elements and suite-like sequencing. Allmusic's Andy Kellman dubs Love Hate "a post-Timbaland/post-Neptunes pop album" and calls its sound "state-of-the art pop circa 2007-2008 [...] resolutely luminescent". He describes its rhythms as "rubbery" and "sometimes colored by those swishing, panning effects heard in 'Bed' and its many imitators." Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times notes a "gooey, robotic ’80s-influenced R&B" and writes that the album "captured the ecstatic sound of pop radio in 2007." Slant Magazine's Wilson McBee views that The-Dream is influenced by "Timbaland's space jams and Prince's gleeful synth lines". Robert Christgau of MSN Music summarized the content of the album, musing:

"True, he pursues other's girls, leaves one shawty because she's not quick enough on the get-down, and moves on to the speedier, needier Nikki when another doesn't immediately accept his tender offer. But mostly he just enjoys himself in bed and makes pop in the studio. In 'Luv Songs,' he does both simultaneously."

Lyrically, The-Dream's persona is that of a lecherous romantic, with lyrics alternately boastful and vulnerable. Drew Hinshaw of PopMatters writes that he "engages in the same brand of improvident hedonism as everybody else these days—snatching woman from their long-term relationships, cheating indiscriminately, brandishing dollars and the things they buy—but his nagging conscience and his ear for tragedy steal centerstage." The-Dream's phrasing is characterized by extended syllables, touches of falsetto, and vocal refrains of "ella" and "eh". Sean Fennessey of Vibe characterizes his songwriting as "quirky" and comments that he channels "Prince at his vampy peak, and Bobby Brown, who always led with an assured growl."

Release and reception

Love Hate was released on December 11, 2007, by The-Dream's imprint label Radio Killa and Def Jam Recordings. In its first week, it sold 59,000 copies and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200. The album also reached number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 24, 2008, having shipped 500,000 copies, and by May 2009, it had sold 552,000 copies in the United States.

Love Hate received positive reviews from most critics. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman complimented its "unified sound" as one "unlike most modern R&B albums" and said neither Timbaland nor The Neptunes have "put together something as consistent or tautly constructed, simultaneously single-oriented and album-oriented, as this." Drew Hinshaw from PopMatters found The-Dream's lyrics empathic and wrote that he has "something few hitmakers can claim: a wide-angle lens." Sean Fennessey, writing in Vibe, said the record "never breaks stride, balancing pace with power", while Rolling Stone magazine's Christian Hoard called it "one of the most likeable R&B records of the year" because of The-Dream's ability to write catchy songs. In a review for MSN Music, Robert Christgau called Love Hate "an utterly slight, utterly captivating R&B album" contrived from "his extended-syllable trick, dollops of falsetto, male backups going hey and stuff, and the good nature of someone who figures there's no point being mean when you're lucky".

In a less enthusiastic review, Slant Magazine's Wilson McBee said there are moments of "greatness and plenty of potential" along with "some riskless, by-the-book slow jams" by The-Dream, who nonetheless shows "a meticulous, consistent sonic arrangement". Barry Hill Rebecca of The New Zealand Herald mused that The-Dream's "closest relationship is with his synthesisers", questioning to what degree the vocals of the album were manufactured, but conceded that the album is a guilty pleasure.

Personnel

Credits for Love Hate adapted from Allmusic.