Anthony Ryan Leslie
(born September 25, 1978, in Washington, D.C.) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and singer. Founder of the media company NextSelection Lifestyle Group, Leslie has produced singles for a number of artists in a variety of genres ranging from R&B/Hip-Hop to Pop to Gospel. From 2005-2006 he had his most commercial success to date with NextSelection/Bad Boy/Atlantic recording artist Cassie and her single "Me & U". Leslie's debut album, Ryan Leslie
(2009), features the songs "Diamond Girl," "Addiction," and "How It Was Supposed To Be."
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RYAN LESLIE TICKETS
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Biography
Ryan Leslie was born into a
multi-cultural family. Leslie is the oldest son of mother Mooi Leslie who is of
Caribbean Dutch,
Chinese, and
African descent, and father Clement Leslie who is from
Barbados, raised in
Trinidad. His parents were
Salvation Army officers who frequently relocated for work. Ryan has lived in various states, cities, and countries. At an early age, Leslie taught himself how to play the piano. He developed the ability to recite music, as well as arrange chords to create songs.
[1] At the age of 15, Leslie scored a 1600 on his
SATs - a perfect score.
[2] In 1993 he applied to four University of California campuses as well as Stanford, Yale and Harvard. In his application essays he explained his interest in matriculating from his junior year in high school without having earned a diploma. He was accepted to all except Yale. He ultimately decided to attend
Harvard University.
[1] At the age of 19, Leslie graduated from Harvard with a degree in
Government, concentrating in
Political Science and
Macroeconomics [4]. During his commencement ceremonies, Ryan delivered the prestigious Harvard Oration.
[5]
Music
During his freshmen year at Harvard, Leslie devoted many hours per week to creating and developing music in a studio basement on campus. He taught himself basic production skills and also developed a musical style. As the semesters progressed, Leslie spent more and more time in the school's studio molding his craft.
[1] He also performed many events around campus and was a part of the school's all male a cappella group The
Krokodiloes.
[2] Due to the conflict with music and school, Ryan was put on
academic probation three times during his college career.
[1] He has said in many interviews that during those college years, he became accustomed to getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep per night.
[1] To earn disposable income during these years, Leslie sold instrumentals to local artists in the
Boston area.
[10]
After graduating college, Leslie stayed in Boston to remain a part of its music scene. He took on community service jobs to help support himself and would spend nights in the recording studio working on his music.
[11] Eventually, Leslie moved back home with his parents in
Phoenix where he convinced them to take out a loan for a production studio so that he could pursue music full-time. He vowed to his family that he would pay back the $15,000
loan one day, even if it meant going to back to school and getting a job. For the next several months, Leslie worked towards developing a distinct sound. During this period, Ryan has said that he ate and slept very little.
[12] In the summer of 2003, Ryan landed a production
internship with producer
Younglord. He has said in interviews that he condsiders this 30-day internship the jumpstart of his career in the music industry. Within the first week, Leslie produced the song “Keep Giving Your Love To Me” that would later be performed by
Beyonce for the Bad Boys II Soundtrack.
[12] The soundtrack was supervised by
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was impressed by Leslie’s production style and offered him a management contract upon meeting him.
[14]
Under the management of Combs, Ryan worked on various
Bad Boy projects including releases from
Loon,
Cheri Dennis,
B5,
New Edition and
Danity Kane. During that time, Leslie also co-produced a record for
Britney Spears. Also in 2003, Leslie was introduced by his then attorney Ed Woods to
Tommy Mottola. Mottola soon became a mentor of Ryan’s and offered him a publishing deal with Aspen Songs and a recording contract with Casablanca, Mottola's imprint distributed by
Universal Music Group. Under the
mentorship of Mottola and Combs, Ryan signed then-aspiring model
Cassie Ventura to his imprint, NextSelection in 2005.
[14]
In late 2003, Leslie began recording his debut album entitled
Just Right
, and released two singles: "The Way That U Move Girl" and "Used 2 Be" (with
Fabolous). The album was never officially released due to creative differences between Leslie and his record label.
[16].
Debut album
Leslie returned to the studio in 2006 to record a new debut album. The
lead single, "
Diamond Girl", was released in December 2007.
[17] The video for Diamond Girl was premiered on
BET’s 106 & Park
, and released on Leslie’s YouTube channel with a special behind the scenes clip.
[18] In November 2007, he released a video for a song named "I-R-I-N-A" that was produced in-house and released through his YouTube channel as well.
[19]
His second single, "
Addiction," features
pop singer and protege
Cassie with a rap cameo from long-time collaborator, rapper Fabolous. The song was officially released in August 2008.
[17] Of the two music videos made for the song, the "Making of 'Addiction'" clip became Leslie's most popular video on YouTube, with more than 1.6 million views.
[21]
His third single,"
How It Was Supposed To Be," also has two music videos: a rock version
[22] and a military take on the song, Leslie's directorial debut and co-directed by model
Tyson Beckford.
[23] The single is to be released March 23, 2009. After many setbacks, his self-titled album,
Ryan Leslie, was finally released on February 10, 2009.
[24] As with Cassie's self titled debut, Leslie wrote, arranged, produced, and performed every song on his album. Notable instrumentalists on his debut set include
Tommy Mottola,
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk,
David Sancious, Brent Paschke, and
Chanel Iman.
Online presence
Leslie is considered a pioneer for his sharp online
marketing skills. His intuitiveness of the shift in technology has kept him ahead of the game with establishing an online presence. Leslie’s
blog,
YouTube channel,
MySpace page and most recently
Twitter have been the biggest contributors to his growing fanbase.
[25] Leslie releases content that brings fans into his lifestyle as a musician. His videos have become some of the most popular on YouTube, bringing accolades such as "Top 10 Most Subscribed Users".
[1] Leslie also posts videos documenting his interaction with his audience, including giving away free
iPods
[27], backstage passes to his concerts
[28], and invitations to have dinner with him
[29]. His energy and creative spontaneity have earned him the respect from those inside and outside of the music industry. On his website/video diary, there is a clip featuring artists such as
Boyz II Men,
Chrisette Michelle,
Musiq Soulchild,
Keri Hilson,
Christina Milian, and
David Banner praising him for the inspiration they’ve received from his videos. Leslie is currently being featured on HipHopRockzMagazine.com in their Celebrity Spotlight section.
[30]
NextSelection Lifestyle Group
While working as producer Leslie went on to create NextSelection Lifestyle Group, his music-media company
[31]. Ryan signed his first artist, Cassie in 2005. Under Ryan’s guidance, Cassie went on to become one of the fastest rising
R&B acts that year. Her breakout smash "
Me & U" (written and produced by Leslie) spent 20 weeks on the Top 40 and went on to reach number three on the
Billboard Hot 100, selling over a million digital units.
[32] Me & U also went on to become one of the biggest records in the history of
Atlantic Records.
[33]
Recently, Ryan signed
Krys Ivory as his newest act under NextSelection
[34].
Musical influences
Leslie has stated in many interviews that
Stevie Wonder is one of the biggest influences on his music. He attributes
Michael Jackson,
Prince,
Jimi Hendrix,
James Brown,
Quincy Jones,
The Beatles and
D'Angelo as musical heroes as well.
[12]
Celebrity
Aside from his professional activities, speculation of an alleged romantic relationship with then protege
Cassie was the basis of Leslie's first foray into the gossip rags.
[36] He has neither denied nor confirmed having an intimate relationship with her, though, in an early 2009 interview with
DJ Vlad, it was implied that there were sparks between the two.
[37] Other publicized alleged relationships have included
supermodel Chanel Iman,
[38] winner of ANTM cycle 8
Jaslene Gonzalez [39],
Sports Illustrated swimsuit model
Irina Shayk (to whom he dedicated a song on his self-titled album), Australian model
Cheyenne Tozzi [40], and
actress/model Debbie Weinberg.
[41] He was named one of "New York's 50 Hottest Bachelors" in 2009 by PageSix Magazine, published by the
New York Post.
[38]
Awards/Nominations
- BET Awards
- *2009, Best Male R&B Artist [Nominated]
- *2009, Best New Artist [Nominated]
Discography
References
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://nymag.com/news/features/24094/
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://artists.letssingit.com/ryan-leslie-f4xmz/biography
- http://harvardmagazine.com/1998/07/jhj.confette.html
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://nymag.com/news/features/24094/
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+Leslie
- http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/05/31/the_phenom/?page=3
- http://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+Leslie/+wiki
- http://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+Leslie/+wiki
- http://www.amentertainment.com/talent-avails/56-ryan-leslie
- http://www.amentertainment.com/talent-avails/56-ryan-leslie
- http://www.windowsmedia.com/Mediaguide/Templates/ArtistProfile.aspx?p_id=P%20%20%20583645
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- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkL5o14edjQ
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PLX1IJw6jc
- http://www.answers.com/topic/ryan-leslie
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ix5dicdL7c
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=823_Mspnwf4
- http://www.ryanleslie.com/how-it-was-supposed-to-be-video-2/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Leslie_(album)
- http://maps.mybc.com/music/news_details.do?id=787149
- http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1105
- http://www.ryanleslie.com/feels-good-to-give/
- http://www.ryanleslie.com/passes-in-chicago/
- http://www.ryanleslie.com/come-to-dinner/
- http://www.ryanleslie.com/radio-room/
- http://www.nextselection.com
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_&_U
- http://www.atlanticrecords.com/news/article/?articleId=atlnewsarticle35400049
- http://www.krysivory.com/?p=741
- http://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+Leslie/+wiki
- http://urbancelebs.spreadit.org/ryan-leslie-misses-cassie-wants-her-back/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlOA-r5WN0I
- http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20090208/50+Hottest+Bachelors?page=9
- http://www.latina.com/entertainment/celebrity/jaslene-gonzalez-loves-her-some-rb-crooners
- http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sunday-telegraph/cheyenne-tozzis-rapt-in-leslie/story-e6frewt9
- http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/30186-congrats_producer_ryan_leslie_just_got_engaged__to_a_model__c
- http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20090208/50+Hottest+Bachelors?page=9