The Dream R&B singer and hit producer The-Dream made several claims last year that he intended to stop releasing albums after his upcoming LP 'Love King.' And although he's been hard at work polishing up his performance skills for the new album, the ATL native broached the topic of retirement again this week, when he told MTV News that he would still like to retire his solo career this year.

It's the last album, period," he told MTV. "I really would like it to be the last one if I could -- in a perfect world."

The-Dream has already released two successful album's -- '2007's 'Love/Hate' and 2008's 'Love vs. Money' -- but he has also scored huge successes for his work with other artists, including Beyonce and Rihanna's hit songs 'Single Ladies' and 'Umbrella.' He told MTV that his heavy workload with other artists has prohibited him from dedicating ample time to his own work, especially getting in shape for his own performances. "Doing those things [for everyone else] prohibited me from being a certain individual or shedding 10 pounds when I wanted to," he said.

In a perfect world, the musical genius explains that he would happily skip out on his solo career in favor of his writing and production work, but he says that leaving the game at his peak won't be easy. "In the back of my mind, I'm thinking a fighter fights," he said. "You don't retire on top. [Michael] Jordan didn't retire on top. I'm not saying I'm the best, but I'm the best at what I can do. And I can stop now and say, 'This album is pretty good."

The-Dream's third studio album 'Love King' is slated to hit stores this spring.

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