Name: Shaffer Chimere Smith

Born: October 18, 1982 in Camden, Arkansas.

First memory: Watching my mom play Prince. My mom is a huge Prince fan. She was dancing -- she wasn't full out dancing, but she was grooving to the music. My mom does everything to music.

Biggest thrill as a child: I used to be really anxious to write in my journal. Shortly after my mom and dad separated, I didn't take it too well. [I had a] lot of pent-up aggravation. And my mom gave me the pad and the pen, and her exact words were, "Write it down." It started with journal entries, then went into poetry, then into short stories and from there to songs. I'm very prone to lose things, so I don't keep a journal anymore. There's some stuff about me that I don't think the world is ready for.

Nickname as a kid: Dodo. Like the Dodo Bird. My mom gave me that name from a cartoon that I used to watch all the time. I used to act silly, so she started calling me Dodo.

Did you sit at the back or front of the class? Depending on the class, sometimes in the back, sometimes in the middle. Never the front.

First record bought: An L.A.-based hip-hop group called the Pharcyde. Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde. A friend of mine was playing it at school and I dug it. I had about $20, so I went and picked it up.

First gig attended: New Edition. It was a reunion tour, I think. My mom took me. I was maybe nine or ten. I remember thinking that their outfits were cool. They had these red suits with an embroidered tiger across the shoulder, with these red fedoras and red wingtips.

Last book read: Where the Sidewalk Ends. I'd read it before. I just love it. So I read it again.

Last movie seen: It's been quite some time since I went to the movies. I see them on planes and in hotel rooms. I just bought Pan's Labyrinth. The whole movie is in subtitles, but it was good. It's a fairy tale, but it's definitely not for kids. It's really, really not for kids.

> Favorite sandwich: Grilled chicken with American cheese, mayo and mustard. On wheat bread.

Favorite item of clothing: It'd probably have to be one of my many hats. I can't wear the same hat more than three or four times in a row. The cool thing about this is that you get all the perks and free clothes, but if you wear it on TV or in a picture, you can't really wear it again. The same thing applies with the hats. I got to switch them every month or so. I spend somewhere in the thousands [of dollars on hats], easy.

Have you ever been star struck? I just recently met Stevie Wonder in L.A. and didn't know what to say to him. I said, "Hi, I'm a huge fan." And he said, "Thank you, I like your stuff, too." Which is the biggest compliment in the world to me. It was a cool meeting.

Most famous friend: Probably Jay-Z.

TO GET SONGS BY NE-YO AND LOTS OF OTHER ARTISTS, GO TO URGE.

Previous jobs: I worked at a few different fast food restaurants. McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut. At McDonald's I did a little bit of everything, but I quit after three days because the guy said I put too much salt on the french fries. He was like literally screaming in my face. If you're going to scream at me over potatoes, I'm going to leave. So I quit. At KFC I was fired for giving food to my friends. And Pizza Hut, same thing.

Favorite time of day: Right in the middle of day and night. Where the sun starts going down but it hasn't. There's just something about it -- it has a vibe, that time. It just feels good.

Hanging on bedroom wall? Nothing, apparently. I'm never there. I've slept in my bed seven times.

Hobbies: I draw and paint. I'm a really good bowler. I average anywhere from 250 to 300. I was never really good at basketball or football -- manly sports or whatnot -- so I started bowling and had fun. I got good at it.

What's something that surprises people about you? I think that I'm just such a regular guy. People see the videos -- they see me on TV and hear me on the radio -- and they build this persona for me. Then, once they meet me, I don't want to say they're disappointed, but a lot of times, I'm not who they think I am. They think I'm all diva'd out. That's so not me.

What swear word do you use too much? All of them. I have a very, very bad mouth. But I'm working on it. Because I know that I do. That's the first part of solving a problem. Admitting that you have a problem. I cuss a lot.

If you could be any character from history or literature? King Tut. It'd be interesting for me to see what my personality would be. He died really young, so I don't think he knew who he was.