"They try to put me in a box--it's impossible!"
Ryan Leslie boasts as he kicks off his hit single Diamond Girl from his highly anticipated and long-delayed self-titled album. It is nearly impossible to envision a box wide enough to contain the singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, Internet luminary and chief executive of NextSelection Lifestyle Group. A Harvard graduate, Leslie is a performer at heart, a unique musician with his own infectious brand of R&B pop.
Ryan Leslie Ryan Leslie Album Review
Diamond Girl is the most well-known single which has a retro R&B feel with its up-tempo swing beat. While it is the only single that actually made the charts, Leslie will be riding on the success of this single to help sell this album. How It Was Supposed To Be injects an up-tempo rock beat that is influenced about love gone wrong.
Valentine is another phenomenal track, again with an old school baby-making vibe. One song that has to be talked about on this album though is Gibberish. One wonders if Leslie received the idea for this song from Lil' Wayne as the entire song is done utilizing a vocoder. The song delves into the feeling of speechlessness when someone special comes along. Overall, Ryan Leslie will not blow his audience away with his vocals nearly as much as he will with his production.
The second song on the album Addiction features Cassie and Fabolous. This is a radio-friendly song. Addiction was the official second single. It is the only song on the album that features guests artists. Leslie’s voice on the album is reminiscent to a mixture of Donnell Jones and John Legend.
The album tracks/future singles - I.R.I.N.A and Valentine leave nothing to chance - down to their strong bridges, ad libs, and on the former, a mean live-band finale. You're Fly has a summery Frankie Beverly/Maze feel. Toward the end he gets a bit more melancholy (in his own mid-tempo way) with Shouldn't Have To Wait and Out of the Blue. Finally, the fan-favorite Gibberish takes one of his best beats and gives us an experiment - leaving the vocals purposely unfinished (think Marvin Gaye's Far Cry) and adds autotune effects for a more modern edge.
Ryan Leslie Style
Ryan Leslie has a very recognizable style - he refracts all of his ideas through his R&B club-synth/live instrumentation-mid-uptempo aesthetic - yet everything succeeds within this focused context. Ryan Leslie is a satisfying, ear-catching experience.
Ryan Leslie is a well known producer who created hits for artists such as Beyonce, Danity Kane, New Edition and R&B singer Cassie. Leslie built an online following with his Next Selection video blogs and built an even bigger following on Youtube and Myspace.
 |
