Do you know who Ryan Leslie is? The R&B singer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, producer, songwriter and entrepreneur has been working to make other people successful since his internship with Younglord in the early 2000’s, which he claims ‘jumpstarted his career’.
As well as producing songs for the sound track to Bad Boys II, Britney Spears, and Mary J Blige, he also created online media company NextSelection Lifestyle Group. The first signing in 2005 was Cassie, who’s break out single ‘Me & U’ was written and produced by Leslie himself and continues to be one of the biggest songs in Atlantic Records’ history, selling over a million digital units.
So after seeing everything he touches turn to gold, it seems that Ryan Leslie has decided he’s not satisfied with simply being the genius behind all of these hits and now wants to be the brawn as well as the brains. Joining the list of producers turned performers which includes Dr. Dre, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, Ryan Leslie prepares to release his independent debut album ‘Les Is More’ and the single ‘Glory’ which is out on August 15th.
Singing the lyrics; “I’ve got these kids lookin’ at me saying “What a shame!”/He’s so underrated, he should’ve sold more/should’ve had a number one record with his own tour” it’s not difficult to tell that Leslie now wants the appreciation and screaming fans that those who he has written and produced songs for have already received.
Ryan Leslie counts Stevie Wonder as one of his biggest influences, and with the rock, soul, R&B and rap elements of ‘Glory’, that is certainly easy to hear. The single starts off sounding more like a dramatic 80’s rock ballad; all organs, harmonised guitars and big drum fills, but is brought down when Leslie starts his story. His first few lines; “Listen, they tried to put me in a box – ‘The Urban Dude’/I missed the festivals – Coachella, Bonnaroo/They never really understood what I was tryna do” clearly references the relationship he had with his former record label Universal Motown, with whom he had artistic differences with over what was meant to be his self titled debut album, and was therefore never released.
Apparently, his online presence – Twitter, Myspace, YouTube channel and blog are all powerful contributing factors to his growing fanbase. Constantly posting family photos, videos of himself working in the studio and hand written setlists to his facebook page, Ryan Leslie certainly knows how to connect with his 276,913 online fans. At live shows, Leslie has been known to give out free iPods, (presumably, with his songs already uploaded!), backstage passes, and invitations to dinner with him. It seems that by being able to sit back and see how audiences react to different situations, Ryan Leslie has got all the tools he needs to become popular and successful as both an artist and a performer.
‘Glory’ is an extremely honest account of his experiences and ambitions, and matched with powerful stadium rock – influenced music, Ryan Leslie has created yet another hit, but maybe this time he’ll get the recognition he had helped so many others achieve.
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Apparently, his online presence – Twitter, Myspace, YouTube channel and blog are all powerful contributing factors to his growing fanbase. Constantly posting family photos, videos of himself working in the studio and hand written setlists to his facebook page, Ryan Leslie certainly knows how to connect with his 276,913 online fans. At live shows, Leslie has been known to give out free iPods, (presumably, with his songs already uploaded!), backstage passes, and invitations to dinner with him. It seems that by being able to sit back and see how audiences react to different situations, Ryan Leslie has got all the tools he needs to become popular and successful as both an artist and a performer.
