How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories is a 12-part documentary film series that examines the American political system through the lens of immigration reform from 2001–2007. The films were directed and produced by award-winning filmmaking team Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.

How Democracy Works Now premiered on HBO with the broadcast debut of The Senators' Bargain on March 24, 2010. A directors' cut of The Senators' Bargain was featured in the 2010 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Lincoln Center, with the theatrical title Last Best Chance. The second story in the 12-part series, Mountains and Clouds, opened the festival in the same year. The films are touring the United States as part of the Human Rights Watch traveling film festival, and have been exhibited in special events at Columbia University, the Five College Consortium, Georgia College and State University, CUNY and other universities. Since its debut the series has become an important resource for advocates, policy-makers and educators.^[1]

Series synopsis[link]

Summer 2001: Secret negotiations between the governments of the US and Mexico break into front page news, igniting a national debate on the overhaul of the U.S. immigration system that reflects the country's split over the issue. Advocates see the pro-reform perspective shared by President George W. Bush and Senators Ted Kennedy and Sam Brownback as an incredible alignment of the stars. Then September 11 attacks shatter any hope of comprehensive reform. But around the country, the issue resurfaces in November’s local elections. A heated city council race in Iowa provides a case study for how states and local governments handle the issue of immigration.

Spring 2002: Kennedy and Brownback have rejoined forces, though security is now the focus. Their Border Security Bill must come before immigration reform but there’s a mysterious hold-up in the Senate. Finally it’s revealed a single Senator is at the bottom of the delay -- Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, Kennedy’s longest-serving and most feared colleague. Meanwhile, the White House proposes a small, immigrant-friendly provision be added to the stalled Border Security Bill. This unexpected detour creates more trouble every day it lasts. Only Senator Byrd can unlock the deadlock.

Summer 2002: With Republicans in the White House and dominating Congress, the War on Terror makes politicians in either party eager to follow the President's lead. But even among Republicans, rivalries and political disagreements still have to play out in summer primaries. David Kensinger, Sam Brownback’s Chief of Staff and a man who loves the game of politics, takes a vacation from Capitol Hill to guide to three conservative Kansas candidates who challenge mainstream party nominees. His roller-coaster summer ends on a surprising election night that previews a deep divide in the Republican Party.

Summer 2002: The Border Security Bill is now law. Kennedy, Brownback and staffers Esther and David are eager to move on immigration, but the fight over creation of a Department of Homeland Security eats up the summer. Once Republicans take the Senate in November midterms, Senator Brownback goes into “cycle” with his own re-election campaign. Committee choices for the next Congress loom, and immigration is not playing well in Kansas. One of the Senate's most compassionate advocates must decide whether to give up The Judiciary Committee and his upcoming chairmanship of The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration.

Winter 2003: As the new Congress begins, a lot of people have ideas about an immigration bill. For pro-immigration advocates, the best bet remains Kennedy's plan. Across the Hill in the House, young staffers for two Republican congressmen from Arizona, Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, are quietly crafting something that sounds very different -- a revolutionary guestworker bill with a path to citizenship. Esther’s not too worried as long as their bill is Republican-only, but once her rivals begin courting a Democrat, the race is on. Suddenly Esther's got a crisis on her hands.

October 2003: High-school students stage a mock graduation ceremony on the Capitol lawn. Next day, the DREAM Act gets a chance. Because DREAM is a small bi-partisan bill to help kids, supporters are optimistic. But anti-immigrant groups see it as "amnesty for illegals". The Senate Judiciary Committee markup is heated. After two weeks, an amended version is finally recommended for full Senate debate. But what exactly did Senators agree to in the confusing markup? The bill’s final language must still be defined by opposing staffers. It's not clear they will negotiate a deal before it's too late.

Autumn 2003: Esther, Senator Kennedy's Immigration Counsel, has plenty of reasons to worry. She has got 8 weeks to accomplish a small miracle: get business and labor to agree on a comprehensive immigration deal, and find a Republican to co-sponsor it in the Senate. Driving cross-country, the Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride buses are coming to DC to lobby Congress, creating a very public impression that unions support Kennedy. But Esther learns forces inside the AFL-CIO are working to derail her bill. Years of work, and the future of millions of families, are riding on one conversation.

January 2004: The White House looks as though it has abandoned immigration reform. But labor’s opposition has also derailed Kennedy’s bill, creating a political opening for Republicans in an election year when the Latino vote could be key. President Bush gives a strong speech on immigration, highlighting last summer’s Arizona model and redefining the national debate. The pro-immigration community is divided. Advocate Frank Sharry determines to forge a new, counter-balancing left alliance. If Senator Kennedy and firebrand Congressman Luis Gutierrez can find common ground, the game just might swing the other way.

Summer 2004: Across America, grassroots supporters and opponents of comprehensive immigration reform are spoiling for a fight at the ballot box. In Arizona, no one can ignore it: voters' frustration is at a boiling point. Citizens launch a wildly popular ballot initiative - Protect Arizona Now. Alfredo Gutierrez, radio host and ex-politician, is galvanized out of “retirement” to try to beat it. Eventually national groups realize: if things go badly in Arizona, they will surely go worse in Washington. The rollicking campaign becomes a case study in local-national strategic alliances and the many ways they can founder.

Fall 2004-Spring 2005: Congressmen Kolbe and Flake’s reward for their innovative 2003 guestworker bill: tough primary challenges in 2004, facing determined opponents who capitalize on Arizona anger over “amnesty for illegals”. Their very different campaigns, both hot and colorful, leave the winners vowing to do something about immigration. By winter, staffers for Kennedy, John McCain, Kolbe, Flake, and Democrat Luis Guttierez all sit down in the same room. If they can join forces and combine the best of earlier, competing bills, they will introduce the first bipartisan, bicameral comprehensive immigration reform ever introduced in the US Congress.

January 2006: The House just passed the toughest anti-amnesty, enforcement-only immigration bill in history, The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. Immigrants feel targeted, and "Sensenbrenner" (the bill’s sponsor) becomes a household word for Latinos. Finally the Senate tackles immigration reform. Millions of people take to the streets all over the U.S., marching until a bi-partisan compromise modeled on last year’s Kennedy-McCain bill goes to the Senate floor. But leaders in both parties seem to want an election issue, not a bill. The pressure adds up on all sides, perhaps enough to force the Senate to respond.

Spring 2007: This year, immigration advocates and grassroots expect great things. But Senator Kennedy has lost his partner McCain to presidential primaries, and the Republicans now put a very different offer on the table. Deep at the heart of this fast-moving story, we find a moral tale of modern American politics. Ted Kennedy, one of the handful of people who through his personal efforts truly changed the face of America, will be forced to decide: how much does he want this deal and what is he willing to trade for his greatest legacy?

Release schedule[link]

Reception[link]

How Democracy Works Now films have received a positive response, including reviews from The New York Times, The Boston Globe^[2], Reuters^[3], Congress.org, New American Media^[4] and Newsweek^[5]. Publications have cited the films as important resources for advocates and policy makers. Variety^[6] said the films had the potential to "help change hearts and minds" and Change.org^[7] wrote that the series is "a must-watch for anyone interested in learning more about how good ideas can turn into legislation."

Touring schedule[link]

Story 12: Last Best Chance is currently a part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, where it continues to receive positive reviews. In advance of its March 24th, 2011 screening at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)^[8] The San Francisco Chronicle called the film the "heart" of the traveling festival and in many ways "the most chilling... [at] the festival" for chronicling "human rights that are being abused in the United States."^[9]

Story 12: Last Best Chance along with Story 2: Mountains and Clouds screenings in June, 2010 with the Festival at Lincoln Center were reviewed as "mandatory for whoever wants to learn about the democratic process and the working of Washington’s political elite."^[10]

According to the series website, the filmmakers are planning future screenings in Kansas and L.A..

See also[link]

• Well-Founded Fear
• Shari Robertson
• Michael Camerini
• Kansas Republican Party
• Ted Kennedy

References[link]

External links[link]

• How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories Official Website
• Official Series Twitter
• Official Series Facebook
• Official YouTube
• Official Series Blog
• Story 1: The Game is On at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 2: Mountains and Clouds at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 4: Sam in the Snow at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 5: The Kids Across the Hill at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 6: Marking up the Dream at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 11: The Senate Speaks at the Internet Movie Database
• Story 12: Last Best Chance AKA The Senators' Bargain at the Internet Movie Database

Cecilia Muñoz
Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2012
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Mark Zuckerman
Preceded by	Melody Barnes
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
In office January 20, 2009 – January 10, 2012
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Elizabeth Dial
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	(1962-07-27) July 27, 1962 (age 49) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Amit Pandya
Alma mater	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of California, Berkeley

Cecilia Muñoz (b. July 27, 1962) is director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Prior to that, she served as the White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. A longtime civil rights advocate, she worked as Senior Vice President for the Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a nonprofit organization established to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans, overseeing advocacy activities that cover issues of importance to immigrants.^[1] In 2000, she was named a MacArthur Fellow for her work on civil rights and immigration. Muñoz was featured in several films in the documentary series How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories.

Early life and education[link]

Muñoz was born in Detroit, Michigan^[2] the youngest of four children. Her parents had moved to the United States from La Paz, Bolivia, so that her father, an automotive engineer, could go to the University of Michigan. When she was three, the family moved to Livonia, a middle-class, predominantly white Detroit suburb. Muñoz attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As a volunteer, she worked as a tutor to Hispanic American inmates at the state prison in nearby Jackson. She earned undergraduate degrees in English and Latin American studies in 1984. Following graduation, Muñoz continued her education at the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned a master's degree.

White House Years[link]

As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Muñoz was the Obama Administrations main liaison with state, local, and tribal governments, including the "Big Seven" organizations that represent most state and local officials, including the Council of State Governments, the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures. She also co-chaired the White House Task Force on Puerto Rico's Political Status, where her work on that divisive issue was recognized to the point that leaders from different political status stripes celebrated her designation to head the Domestic Policy Council.^[3]

Personal[link]

This section requires expansion with: examples and additional citations.

Muñoz is married to Amit Pandya, a human rights lawyer; they have two daughters.

Film[link]

She was featured in the documentary film Last Best Chance, story twelve of the series How Democracy Work Now, from filmmakers Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. A cut of the film premiered on HBO in March 2010, under the title The Senator's Bargain.

Muñoz appeared in Mountains and Clouds, story 2 in the series How Democracy Works Now, where she and Frank Sharry discuss being at a potential "watershed moment" for comprehensive immigration reform, in 2001. Additionally, she was featured in Ain't the AFL for Nothin', story seven in the series where she is shown working on a proposal for immigration, in 2003.

See also[link]

• Immigration
• How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• "Congress Weakens Immigration Policies." Associated Press. December 1, 1997.
• Eversley, Melanie. "A Leading Authority: Detroit Native Speaks Out Proudly for Latino Issues." Detroit Free Press. November 3, 1997.
• Hayward, Brad. "Welfare Reform Has Legal Immigrants Wary." Sacramento Bee. September 4, 1996.
• "Immigrants Add $10 Billion to Economy Annually, Study Says." Washington Times. May 19, 1997.
• McDonnell, Patrick J. "Proposed Cutbacks in Aid Alarm Legal Immigrants." Los Angeles Times. July 30, 1996, p. A1.
• Navarrette, Ruben, Jr. "Groups Ask for Cuts in Immigrants." Arizona Republic. November 11, 1997.
• Sample, Herbert A. "Activists Want Food Stamps Restored to Immigrants." Orange County Register. August 22, 1997, p. A15.
• Sun, Lena H. "White House Queries Activist on Citizenship." Washington Post. March 21, 1997, p. A28.

External links[link]

• Cecilia Muñoz at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Works by or about Cecilia Muñoz in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

v t e Obama Administration personnel v t e Cabinet and cabinet-level Office Name Term Office Name Term Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 2009– Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner 2009– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta 2011– Attorney General Eric Holder 2009– Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar 2009– Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack 2009– Secretary of Commerce John Bryson 2011– Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis 2009– Secretary of Health and   Human Services Kathleen Sebelius 2009– Secretary of Education Secretary of Transportation Arne Duncan Ray LaHood 2009– 2009– Secretary of Housing and Urban   Development Shaun Donovan 2009– Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki 2009– Secretary of Energy Steven Chu 2009– Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano 2009– Vice President Joe Biden 2009– White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew 2012– Director of the Office of Management and   Budget Vacant 2012– Administrator of the Environmental   Protection Agency Lisa Jackson 2009– Ambassador to the United Nations Trade Representative Susan Rice Ron Kirk 2009– 2009– Chair of the Council of Economic   Advisers Alan B. Krueger 2011– Below solid line: Granted Cabinet rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet v t e Executive Office of the President Office Name Term Office Name Term White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy   Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jacob Lew Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle 2009–2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012- 2009-2011 2011- National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor   Jim Jones Tom Donilon Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough 2009–2010 2010- 2009–2010 2010- White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations   Senior Advisor to the President   Deputy Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco David Axelrod David Plouffe Stephanie Cutter Pete Rouse 2009–2011 2011- 2009–2011 2011- 2011- 2009- Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Douglas Lute† Ben Rhodes   2009– 2009– Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement Valerie Jarrett   2009–   Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security John O. Brennan 2009– Director of Public Engagement   Christina Tchen Jon Carson 2009–2011 2011-- Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff   Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson 2009-2010 2011- Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz 2009– White House Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer 2009- Director, National Economic Council   Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling 2009–2010 2011- Deputy White House Communications Director White House Press Secretary   Jennifer Psaki Robert Gibbs Jay Carney 2009– 2009–2011 2011- Deputy Director, National Economic Council Diana Farrell 2009– Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton 2009–2011 Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Jason Furman Brian Deese 2009– 2011- Director of Special Projects Stephanie Cutter 2010-2011 Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Paul Volcker 2009– Director of Speechwriting Jon Favreau 2009– Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors   Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee 2009–2010 2010- White House Counsel   Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs   Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors 2009–2011 2011- 2009–2011 2011- Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Katharine Abraham 2011- Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Lisa Konwinski 2009– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse 2009– Executive Clerk George T. Saunders† 2009– Director, Office of Management and Budget   Peter Orszag Jacob Lew 2009–2010 2010–2012 Director, Office of Political Affairs Chief Technology Officer Patrick Gaspard Aneesh Chopra Todd Park 2009–2011 2009–2012 2012- Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients   2009– Chief Information Officer Director, Office of Presidential Personnel Steven VanRoekel Nancy Hogan 2011– 2010– Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget   Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom* 2010–2010 2011- Director of Scheduling and Advance   Director, White House Military Office Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle Crutchfield George D. Mulligan, Jr. 2009–2011 2011- 2009– United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk 2009– Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu 2009– Director, Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes 2009– Deputy Cabinet Secretary Liz Sears Smith 2009– Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman 2009–2011 2011- Staff Secretary Lisa Brown 2009– Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois 2009– Director, Office of Management and Administration Bradley Kiley 2009– Director, Office of Health Reform Nancy DeParle 2009–2011 Director, Oval Office Operations Micaela Fernandez 2009– Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform Jeanne Lambrew 2009– Personal Aide to the President Reggie Love 2009– Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner 2009–2011 Personal Secretary to the President Katie Johnson Anita Decker 2009–2011 2011- Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal 2009– Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President Eugene Kang   2009– Director, Council on Environmental Quality Director, Office of National AIDS Policy Nancy Sutley Jeffrey Crowley 2009– 2009– Chief of Staff to the First Lady   Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen 2009 2009–2010 2011- Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske 2009– White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011– Director, Office of Urban Affairs Policy Adolfo Carrión, Jr. 2009– Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren 2009– *Senate-confirmation pending.   †Remained from previous administration(s). v t e Office of the Vice President Position Appointee Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Vice President Bruce Reed Chief of Staff to the Second Lady Catherine Russell Counsel to the Vice President Cynthia Hogan Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President Moises Vela Counselor to the Vice President Mike Donilon Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Terrell McSweeny Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison Evan Ryan Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Jared Bernstein Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications Jay Carney Press Secretary to the Vice President Elizabeth Alexander Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President Alan Hoffman Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President Annie Tomasini Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President Brian McKeon Director of Legislative Affairs Sudafi Henry Residence Manager and Social Secretary for the Vice President and Second Lady Carlos Elizondo Director of Communications for the Second Lady Courtney O’Donnell National Security Adviser to the Vice President Tony Blinken

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Alfredo de Jesús Gutiérrez Vital (Born April 17, 1940 in Palo Quemao, Sabanas de Beltran, Sucre, Colombia) is a Colombian Accordion player and singer famous for winning the "Vallenato Legend Festival" three times (since then he is known as the King of Kings).^[1]

He began playing accordion since he was four. In 1960 he started his professional career as a musician, but it was in 1968 when he consolidated his career when he got a deal with Codiscos record label and produced an album that gave him national acclaim.

He was part of the famous music group Los Corraleros de Majagual along with Lisandro Meza, Chico Cervantes, Cesar Castro and Calixto Ochoa. Among his musical repertoire are found hits like "Los Indios", "Los Novios", "Ojos Indios", "Ojos Verdes", "Anhelos" "Cabellos Cortos", "Cabellos Largos", "Capullito de Rosa", "Ay Elena" "Festival en Guanare".

In 2000, Along with Francisco "Pacho" Rada and others artists he starred in the documentary El Acordeón del Diablo from the German director Stefan Schwietert.^[2]

External links[link]

• Page at IMDB

References[link]

v t e Vallenato Musicians Renowned vallenato musicians Alejo Durán • Alfredo Gutierrez • Diomedes Diaz • Fonseca • Colacho Mendoza • Rafael Escalona • Emiliano Zuleta • Jorge Oñate • Iván Villazón • Kaleth Morales • Silvestre Dangond • Carlos Vives • Juancho De la Espriella • The Children of Vallenato

The-Dream
The-Dream performing on September 10, 2008 in New York City.
Background information
Birth name	Terius Youngdell Nash
Born	(1977-09-20) September 20, 1977 (age 34) Rockingham, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, hip hop
Occupations	singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	1998–Present
Labels	Def Jam, Radio Killa
Associated acts	Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Los Da Mystro, Jennifer Lopez, Electrik Red, Rihanna, Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Drake Fabolous, Jamie Foxx
Website	the-dreammusic.com

Terius Youngdell Nash (Born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is known for co-writing chart topping hits such as "Baby" for Justin Bieber, "Umbrella" for Rihanna and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" for Beyoncé, as well as for his three solo albums, Love Hate, Love vs. Money, and Love King.

Early life[link]

Terius Nash was born in Rockingham, North Carolina and moved with his mother, Reva Nash, to Atlanta at the age of 3. He played trumpet, drums, and guitar as a child.^[1] His mother died in 1992 when Nash was fifteen years old, an event which would inspire him to write songs.^[2] He states that the death of his mother gave him a "soft spot" for women, which he credits to his desire to write songs about female empowerment such as Rihanna's "Umbrella".^[2] He moved in with his grandfather, a concrete mason who instilled a strong work ethic in young Nash. Of his grandfather, Nash recalls "He came out of a bad time for blacks in the South, but even though we lived in the hood, we had a boat, some cars and a house that was paid for. So I’ve always had a different outlook on life. There’s nothing I can’t do."^[3]

Music career[link]

Background[link]

Nash met R&B producer Laney Stewart in 2001; Stewart helped him get a publishing deal after writing "Everything" for B2K's album Pandemonium!.^[1] Under the pen name "The-Dream", Nash began writing lyrics for many popular artists. He spent two years working on Nivea's second album Complicated, which he executive produced, and continued to write and produce with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Laney's brother, which led to Rihanna's 2007 smash hit "Umbrella". The success of "Umbrella" boosted Dream's music career, and in 2007, he signed a deal with Def Jam Records.^[4]

Solo[link]

Following the deal with Def Jam Records, The-Dream began working on his debut studio album Love Hate.^[4] The album was produced by The-Dream's production partner Tricky Stewart, and Carlos "LOS Da Maestro" McKinney, and featured Fabolous and Rihanna.^[5] 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.^[6] 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."^[6] Released December 11, 2007 on The-Dream's Def Jam-imprint Radio Killa Records,^[7] Love Hate moved 59,000 copies and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200.^[8] Love Hate also peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[9] The album received generally positive reviews from critics, as Rolling Stone called it "one of the most likable R&B records of the year" and UrbanMusicReviews.com said that the singer has "hit a home run."^[10]

On March 10, 2009 The-Dream released his second album Love vs. Money.^[11] He re-teamed with his production partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, who produced most of the tracks on the album, and Los Da Maestro.^[12] He also enlisted the help of Lil Jon for the song "Let Me See the Booty".^[8] Love vs. Money debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 151,000 copies in its first week.^[13] It also entered at number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number three on its Top Digital Albums chart in March 2009.^[14][15] Upon its release, the album received general acclaim from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 83/100 from Metacritic.^[16]

During the making of Love King, he recorded a song with T-Pain and expressed that he would like to make a collaborative album with Kanye West in the future.^[17] In January 2010, The-Dream officially stated he was finished recording the album and he called it the best of his three albums.^[18] The first single, "Love King", was released on March 16, 2010 for digital download. The album was released on June 29, 2010.^[19]

Before the album's release, the-Dream announced that Love King will be his last solo album.^[8][20] When Love King was released, the lyrics to the song "Sex Intelligent Remix" announced plans to release a new solo album called Love Affair and even gave the specific release date of June 7, 2011. In February 2011, The-Dream announced that the album is not titled "Love Affair" anymore, he stated that it is now titled "The Love, IV" and that he scrapped the June 7, 2011 release date and has set a new release date of August 2011.^[21] One week after anouncing that August release date, he said the he is pushing the album up and is hoping to release it on June 7 as promised.^[22] In June 2011, the album's title was changed yet again, this time to "Love IV: Diary of a Madman", it was also announced that it will released on September 20, 2011.^[23] On June 7, 2011; he released double promotional singles titled "Body Work" and "Fuck My Brains Out" to the internet.^[24] The Dream was not able to release "The Love, IV (Diary of a Mad Man)" on September 20, 2011 as planned and it was announced that the album got pushed back indefinitely due to "contract talks" with Def Jam Records.^[25] The-Dream then released a free 10-track album to the internet entitled 1977 on August 31, 2011.^[26][27] The-Dream also plans to release a 13-track studio album entitled Nikki: The Chronicles, which will follow his infatuation with the woman he sang about on 2007’s Love Hate and 2010’s Love King.^[28] In October 2011, Dream announced that he is personally pushing back the release of The Love; IV (Diary of A Madman) and that it will now be released in 2012. Dream also announced his plans to release his first international album, titled 1984: Persona of Love, it is set for release sometime in 2012, the album is a "persona album" and is inspired by his recent trip overseas.^[29] In February 2012, it was announced that the "The Love; IV (Diary of A Madman)" will be released on April 17, 2012.^[30] In March 2012, it was announced that "The Love; IV (Diary of A Madman)" has been re-titled "Love IV MMXII" and that its release date been pushed back to Summer 2012.^[31] In May 2012, it was announced that the album will be released on August 14, 2012.^[32]

Production[link]

In addition to working with Nivea and Rihanna, The-Dream also began writing for numerous artists, most notably J. Holiday's "Bed", Usher's "Moving Mountains", Yung Joc's "Coffee Shop" and Jesse McCartney's "Leavin'". He also co-wrote Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body", Ciara's "High Price," and took part in co-writing a majority of Mary J. Blige's 2007 Growing Pains album, including the smash hit "Just Fine". Recently^[when?] he featured in Drake (entertainer)'s album Thank Me Later the song "Shut It Down".

In December 2007, The-Dream was nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Umbrella", but lost to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab". However, in June 2008, The-Dream won the award for Best New Artist at the 2008 BET Awards. Throughout 2008, The-Dream appeared on a number of records including Plies' "Please Excuse My Hands" with Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J's "Baby", Gym Class Heroes' "Cookie Jar" and Kardinal Offishall's "Gimme Some". In addition, The-Dream signed female R&B girl-group Electrik Red to Radio Killa Records and they released their debut album, How to Be a Lady: Volume 1, under the label.^[33] The-Dream and production partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart produced "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" off Beyoncé's album I Am… Sasha Fierce, co-produced two tracks ("Just Like Me" & "Digital Girl") and was featured on Jamie Foxx's album Intuition, and worked with Mario and Lionel Richie.^[8] He will also be featured on a number of upcoming albums from; Phyzikal, Ciara, Sterling Simms, Young Chris, Dear Jayne, Brandy and Cassie.

In early 2009, The-Dream began working with Christina Milian on her fourth studio album Elope,^[34] which led to her signing a joint-deal with Radio Killa Records.^[35] The-Dream said that when he was building his label, he went looking for Milian because he believed she was a talented singer.^[36] The singer confirmed that her second single would be a duet with The-Dream called "Supersonic".^[37]

Throughout 2009, The-Dream has also been working on new material for Mariah Carey, Brandy, and Diddy. Diddy's song "Change" is described by The-Dream as, "probably one of the best male records I've ever written...the best record I've written besides 'Umbrella'. The-Dream also worked on Jennifer Lopez's single Louboutins from her 7th album Love? by Sony Music. The song did not chart at the Billboard Hot 100 but charted at number 1 on the Hot/Dance Club Chart. He keep working on more tracks for her album which was released in Spring 2011 by Def Jam.^{[dated info][8][dated info]} He also collaborated on, produced and wrote Snoop Dogg's "Gangsta Luv", which is on the 2009 album Malice n Wonderland.

The-Dream and Tricky Stewart have worked on Ciara's fourth studio album titled "Basic Instinct", which was released on December 14, 2010, and was executive produced by the trio. He co-wrote her lead single titled "Ride", which was released in April 2010, and went on to become a R&B smash hit and her twelfth top ten hit on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[38]

The-Dream received a fair amount of backlash for his cover of singer Aaliyah's song "One in a Million". Upon the release of the song, fans of Aaliyah bombarded radio shows and blog sites with distaste for The-Dream's rendition.^[39]

He also worked alongside Tricky Stewart on Jessica Simpson's Christmas album titled Happy Christmas, released on November 22, 2010, and also working on Simpson's upcoming pop album, to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]}

The-Dream produced a music single for Kim Kardashian, "Jam (Turn It Up)", released in March 2, 2011 and then worked on Beyoncé's album titled 4, released on June 28, 2011.

On March 16, 2012, Billboard posted an interview with The-Dream, where he talked about having been given the opportunity to go in to the studio in a few weeks to work with Shakira, and how excited he is for the track.^[40]

Personal life[link]

The-Dream married girlfriend Nivea in 2004, whom he had been dating for one year. Together they had three children, daughter Navy Talia (on May 10, 2005); and twin sons London and Christian (April 2006). They had been married for three years when Nivea filed for legal separation in December 2007. The-Dream said that although he was in love with Nivea, his lack of experience in a family growing up meant he was "not taught how much more than love does it take to run a relationship. Like, 'cause love isn't just where it's gonna end. It can't start and stop with love. There has to be a certain amount of knowledge and patience that's acquired in order to keep it going and keep it straight, and I found out the hard way".^[41]

The-Dream began dating Christina Milian in early 2009; she became pregnant. The Daily Mail reported that "the pregnancy was a surprise, but they were getting married regardless".^[42] They then became engaged in June 2009.^[43] In August, it was reported that they had applied for a marriage license in Los Angeles. On September 4, 2009, The-Dream married Christina Milian at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas.^[44] The-Dream said in an interview that Nivea was still a good friend of his, and that she was also friends with Milian.^[45] Milian gave birth to their daughter Violet Madison Nash on February 26, 2010.^[46] Milian and The-Dream announced their separation on July 12, 2010 ^[47] after photos surfaced of The-Dream vacationing with his assistant.^[48]

In addition to music, The-Dream revealed he is currently working on a TV reality series for MTV where he will scout aspiring singers,^[8] and plans to release a clothing line called Millionaire Love Affair.^[33]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Love Hate (2007)
• Love vs. Money (2009)
• Love King (2010)
• Love IV MMXII (2012)

Free album

• 1977 (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website