Ne-Yo

BET Hip Hop Awards 2014 Presented by Sprite - Arrivals

Ne-Yo in 2014, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Shaffer Chimere Smith

Place of Birth: Camden, Arkansas, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 18, 1979

Ethnicity: African-American

Ne-Yo is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He is also known as Gogo.

Ne-Yo is the son of Loraine and Wiley L. Smith, who were musicians. His parents are both black. He was raised partly in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is married to Crystal Renay Williams. Ne-Yo has seven children, including two with his former partner Monyetta Shaw; and three with Crystal.

A 23andMe DNA test whose results Ne-Yo displayed on his Twitter page stated that his genetic ancestry is:

*88.4% Sub-Saharan African
——–*87.3% West African
——–*0.8% Broadly Sub-Saharan African
——–*0.3% African Hunter-Gatherer
*10.1% European
——–*4.0% Broadly Northwestern European
——–*3.7% British & Irish
——–*1.2% French & German
——–*1.1% Broadly European
——–*0.1% Iberian
——–*0.1% Scandinavian
——–*0.1% Broadly Southern European
*0.4% East Asian & Native American
——–*0.4% Southeast Asian

Ne-Yo has sometimes stated that he has some degree of Chinese ancestry on his father’s side. Given his DNA test results, it is unlikely that he has any Chinese ancestry in at least the last 200 years.

Ne-Yo’s maternal grandfather’s surname is Parham. Ne-Yo’s grandfather’s brother, Bobby Parham, is a member of the band The Dramatic Force.

Ne-Yo’s maternal grandmother was named Rosie M.

Ne-Yo in 2008, photo by Adam J. Sablich / Shutterstock.com

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

178 Responses

  1. cwm85 says:

    As one of my buddies said, “she-yo” lol

  2. waaaaaatno says:

    He looks like Kang Dae-seon from Big Bang (Korean boy band).

  3. mexicanpride says:

    I love Ne-Yo and his music. He’s so talented.

  4. Girll says:

    He stated in this interview that the Chinese came from his fathers side “half or a third or something like that”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY-cVesjDnA
    at 4:18

  5. Capricious says:

    He definitely has a bit of Asian in him – His eyes have an epicanthal fold. Actually rather, he looks full Asian but with a dark skin and African nose.

    Unless, if he comes from that South African tribe.

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