Ryan Leslie - Producer, Singer, Artist, Rapper and CEO
Ryan Leslie is ushering in the return of the virtuoso for the recording industry. Producer, writer, singer, rapper and documented genius (having scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and graduating Harvard at 19) Leslie's momentum is building quickly.
He successfully blends live instrumentation and sound capture into contemporary hot tracks blended with cool and CEO of Lifestyle and record label Next Selection, Inc., Ryan Leslie has created a star following on YouTube with one of the top subscribed channels for viewers by documenting his unique creative process for production. He's produced hits for Cassie, Britney Spears and Beyonce but now is emerging with his own album schedule for release in August of '08.
Uniquely, Leslie has taken the rumored jolt from his former love interest Cassie and her alleged relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs and channeled it into his music. "Diamond Girl" his latest single climbing the charts was an ode to Cassie that has taken a life of it's own as he's moved on. On his track I-R-I-N-A he turns an icebreaker melody that he freestyled to his non-english speaking Russian Model co-star of Diamond Girl and flipped it into a first class ballad that is radio worthy.
Most impressive about Leslie is the unabashed and proud return of true genius. A child prodigy that aced his SATs and entered Harvard at 15, graduated at 19, for me he's a refreshing contrast from Kanye West's approach of boasting "College Dropout". While the comparison ahead for Leslie and West is yet to peak, refreshingly on the music scene there is enough room for both in the spectrum of hybrid producer/artists that are joining the ranks of albums and latest signed artists.
Kanye West and Ryan Leslie in the Lab College Dropout & College Graduate Collaborate on a Cassie Track
MTV's Buzzworthy recently featured a segment on Ryan Leslie where he provides background on his production of "Diamond Girl".
Leslie comes equipped with the aesthetics of today's recording artists, swag, style, spitting fire lyrics on dope beats. But beneath the trappings of what has defined successful artist is unadulterated genius, drive, inspiration and great music.
The VH1's Hip Hop Honors Award Show seems to get better each year (Click Here to view VH1 Hip Hop Honors Site). As a 35 year old hip hop head it was real with a list of all star performers.
There were so many notable moments during the show's broadcast that it has all blended into a memory of a great show. The production, music, art and dialogue have branded the show with authenticity and a historian's reverence to the great culture of hip hop.
Your boy Phife Dog from A Tribe Called Quest can still rip the stage. Winning the day to day of Diabetes, his fragile frame houses a precise and seasoned classic MCs swagger. The background segment on the group featured a quote from Q-Tip sourcing the Low End Theory as a source of inspiration for Dr. Dre's seminal classic The Chronic.
Most interesting in VH1's Hip Hop Awards discussions has been KRS ONE's vehement support of 50 Cent's Curtis production and slanted comments against, Kanye West's The Graduate. Who'd a thunk it? BlastMaster KRS ONE is such an endearing 50 fan. At the same time, the mass of KRS ONE's work has always been intimately connected with the foundations and pillars of hip hop culture, not a real surprise.
I agreed with some of his comments but overall, was disappointed with "The Teacha". He was too hard on Kanye unnecessarily. KRS is a talented communicator and made his point early and unfortunately again, and again. KRS ONE published an article (click here to view)on http://www.allhiphop.com/ that explained his perspective in an academic manner. Cognizant of his interview he offers a diligent balance to the media hype.
KRS offered a jewel of wisdom in the interview when he identifies the problem with the measure of artistic talent being reduced to simply record sales. Let's put this in a global perspective; has there been a barrage of blogs over Steve Jobs domination in the sale MP3 players with the Apple iPod vs. Bill Gates' Microsoft Zune? Is Michael Dell on the sideline rhetorting, the Zune ain't a MP3 player with all it's "lights" and "action"? No, clearly not.
Kanye, 50, Common, Talib, T.I., Ludacris, OutKast and many others are all hip hop. There has been growth and evolution. Technology, digital or not is enhancing the quality of production that is the natural development of a dynamic medium. Premier, Marley Marl, Grand Wizard Theodore, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mantronix these were all innovators that made historic sounds during times when there was nothing available. Respect and big ups for that. But you can't be mad at the likes of J. Dilla, Dre, Will.i.am, Timbaland, Scott Storch, Just Blaze, Pharrell that are creating straight fire digitally.
Now that we have improved access and technology aren't we obligated to take it to the next level. Are we to assume that because a portion of the dialogue has strayed from gun play now it ain't real?
Big props to AllHipHop.com for gettin' it in with the KRS ONE interview. I'm just hoping KRS ain't open off that Vitamin Water.
Kanye West and Ryan Leslie in the Lab
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