Released: 2007
“Because Of You” by Ne-Yo is an emotive R&B-hip-hop track illustrating a love so intense, it’s akin to addiction. Ne-Yo crafts a narrative where the protagonist grapples with a consuming love he can’t quit, establishing a parallel between his romantic feelings and substance dependency.
We kick-off with Ne-Yo’s enticing “I can’t help it, I love the way it feels,” setting the tone. The struggle he is in, caught “between my fantasy and what is real,” speaks volumes. He’s entranced with his love, often preferring the fantasy to reality. In hip-hop lingo, “stuck” refers to being trapped in an unhealthy cycle. Like someone absorbed in a substance, he knows he should quit, but the strength of his sentiment keeps dragging him back.
Ne-Yo then confesses, “I got a problem,” acknowledging his spiralling emotions as an addiction. Despite the awareness, he doesn’t think he could quit, a common sentiment among folks caught in addiction’s clutches. He uses phrases like “strung out,” slang that originates from drug culture, further driving home the connection between his intense infatuation to the grip of a potent substance.
Next, we roll into the hook where he admits that his inability to “move” and his constant thinking of her are “all because of,” his love. Repetition of the phrase “all because of you” emphasizes his point. His comparison of love to “the sweetest drug” is an echo of the sentiment that love is intoxicating, almost narcotic in effect.
In the second verse, he reiterates the struggle he faces, the inability to get anything done due to constant thoughts about his lover. He hits us with “my obsession won’t let me leave,” suggesting total surrender to his feelings, no matter the consequences. It’s a situation many heads deep in the hip-hop scene can empathize with – incredibly high stakes and too far in to just step back.
Further down, Ne-Yo croons, “Over you,” underscoring the depth of his infatuation, conveying how love has him wrapped around its finger. Finally, we circle back to the hook with potent lyrics about his addiction. It’s here he admits that his lover is the sweetest drug he can’t get enough of, summing up the perilous yet intoxicating lure of love.
All in all, “Because Of You” is a powerhouse of a song, narrating this hypnotic, dangerous attraction wrapped in the velvet tones of Ne-Yo’s performance.
