CityLife

Ne-Yo brings slick R&B to city

SUMMER NIGHTS: Ne-Yo

YOU know what it’s like. You wait all year for an R&B rapper to come along and then two of them arrive at once.

The beauty, though, of the pincer movement that the biggest music scene in the world is about to make on Manchester is the variety that comes with it – it’ll satisfy all styles, all ages, all profiles and all pockets.

Biggest of the bunch is Ne-Yo, whose pop-tinged R&B has turned him into one of the record industry’s hottest properties. In the US, he’s been a mega star since his debut album, In My Own Words, in 2006, and before Michael Jackson’s untimely death last month was busy penning tracks for the King of Pop’s new LP.

But it’s his recent record, Year Of The Gentleman, that has turned him into a star in the UK – and how! Because he’s crossing the Atlantic to take over some of our biggest arenas, including two dates at London’s O2 on this month and one at the M.E.N. Arena on Thursday.

Meanwhile cheekier (and cheaper) rapper Flo Rida arrives at the Apollo on Tuesday (see preview, right), and his show is likely to be a far sweater, racier affair.

Ne-Yo plays the M.E.N. Arena on Thursday, July 16. £35. Call 0844 847 8000.