Terius Youngdell Nash aka The-Dream was born in Rockingham, North Carolina and raised in Atlanta under the care of his grandfather. He acquired the moniker The-Dream after his uncle told him to reach high for his dream although he didn't know at that time that music could be one possibility. When he started doing music, his grandpa thought he would never made money out of it, but soon he joined a singing group called Guess Who that received moderate and local reception back in his hometown. The group was managed and signed by rapper Raheem who eventually brought them a song called "Most Beautiful Girl". With new affiliation and connections, The-Dream soon found himself apart from the lots to begin a solo project. He worked with B2K before their split in 2004, all-girl group 3LW, R'n'B singer Mya, as well as Nivea, who eventually became his wife.

In 2003, The-Dream worked on several samples that he delivered straight to Britney Spears. Many were rejected but one caught the pop singer's ears. "Me Against the Music" that he co-wrote with several other musicians became the lead single of Britney's "In the Zone" (2003) and Hot Dance Sales Single of the Year. This brought The-Dream one level up towards his credibility recognition. He moved on with being the executive producer of Nivea on her sophomore effort. "Complicated" was released in 2005 and peaked at #37 on Billboard Hot 200, giving The-Dream a boost of morale that he needed. By then he was married to Nivea and granted a daughter named Navy Talia who was born on May 10, 2005. Sadly they announced separation two years later after the birth of their twin sons.

The real hook came in early 2007 when his song "Umbrella" was offered to top class female singers like Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears. It was Rihanna who eventually gave the nod and catapult the song to worldwide acclaim. Since then, it was all downhill for The-Dream. He penned another chart topping song called "Bed" that was popularized by J. Holiday. Although not as big as "Umbrella", the song claimed recognition particularly for the singer's relatively new celebrity status and its peak at #5 on Billboard Hot 100 chart. After that, The-Dream's solo album "Love Hate" was written and recorded in matter of days featuring guest performances by Rihanna, Jay-Z, Fabolous and Andre Benjamin a.k.a Andre 3000.

By then, The-Dream shed the notion that he was only "the guy behind Rihanna's phenomenal hit, 'Umbrella' ". His debut single "Shawty Is a Ten" steadily climbed up the Billboard 100 chart from #33 in the sixth week of its release straight to #24 in the following week. Nevertheless, the album only managed to debut at number 30 on Billboard Hot 200 chart after moving 56,000 copies in the first week of release. The-Dream was back with another studio album in March 2009. "Love vs. Money" produced tracks like "Rockin' That Shit" and "My Love". This time, the effort pulled higher number, moving 151,000 copies in the first week and entering the Billboard Hot 200 chart at number two.

In the beginning of 2009, The-Dream began a relationship with singer Christina Millian. They got engaged when she was pregnant, and married in Las Vegas later that year. Their daughter Violet Madison Nas was born in February 2010 but the couple announced a divorce in July that year after photos of him vacationing with his assistant surfaced.

His third studio album, called "Love King", was released in March 2010. Working with producer Los Da Mystro, The-Dream released the title track as the lead single. He called the album the best of his three albums and even announced that it would be his last solo album so that he could concentrate on being a producer. Despite the promotional efforts, "Love King" only managed to debut at number 4 on Billboard Hot 200, shifting 58,000 copies in its first week.

After that, The-Dream kept toying with the idea of a new album. He repeatedly changed the title and the release date of his new effort before settling on "Terius Nash: 1977". The album was released commercially on December 18, 2012 but it was first released for free on his website on August 31, 2011 despite Def Jam's objections to the decision.