''I Was Just Trying To Pay Bills''
6:00AM ET January 4th, 2012
Contributor : Martin James
A Rocky Williform Company

Singer-songwriter The-Dream revealed in an interview with British hip hop journalist Tim Westwood that he scored a huge payday for writing Rihanna's smash 2007 hit "Umbrella." The-Dream has penned notable chart-toppers for everyone from Beyonce to Justin Bieber, but made a huge amount for Rihanna's mega-hit.

"Around, like...fifteen [million]," he explained. "I was just trying to pay the bills."

He also discussed writing "Baby" for Bieber.

"I said [to the Def Jam A&R], 'Okay. You pay for my hotel room - I was in New York and I stay at the Plaza - and I'll write you a record,'" The-Dream explained. "And he said, 'No, we're not going to pay for you hotel room,' and I said, 'Okay, well I'm not gonna write you a record.' So, I guess everybody thought about it, and was like, 'Let's pay for it.'"