From Wikipedia

Ryan Leslie

For other people named Ryan Leslie, see Ryan Leslie (disambiguation).

Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. Working predominantly in contemporary R&B and hip-hop, he has released six studio albums and written songs for artists including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Diddy, Fabolous, LL Cool J, Kanye West and Usher, among others.

Leslie is credited with discovering singer Cassie Ventura in 2004, who signed to his NextSelection record label in a joint-venture with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records two years later. Leslie wrote and produced her 2006 debut single "Me & U", which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the RIAA.

In his own recording career, Leslie signed with Universal Motown Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (2009), supported by the singles "Diamond Girl," "Addiction" (featuring Fabolous and Ventura), and "How It Was Supposed to Be." His second album Transition (2009) was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. Outside of music, Leslie founded the direct text marketing service SuperPhone in 2015.

Early life and education

Leslie was born in Richmond, Virginia, and relocated homes frequently due to his parents' jobs as Salvation Army officers. He graduated from Bear Creek High School in Stockton, California in 1994. Leslie attended Harvard College, graduating at the age of 19 with a degree in government, concentrating in political science and macroeconomics. During Harvard's undergraduate Class Day ceremonies, Leslie was selected to be the Harvard Male Orator, one of four seniors who deliver orations to the graduating senior class.

Leslie grew up around music, playing cornet as a child in the Salvation Army band. He taught himself how to play the piano, along with the ability to recite music and arrange chords to create songs. At Harvard, he joined the Krokodiloes, an a cappella group. Leslie saw a new future for himself when a friend played him a Stevie Wonder CD freshman year, and began spending time at the on-campus recording studio. While still a college student, Leslie began producing tracks for local Boston artists.

Music career

1997–2003: Career beginnings

After graduating college, Leslie urged his parents to allow him to go into the music industry. While living in Boston, Leslie worked community service jobs to help support himself and would spend nights in the recording studio. Eventually, Leslie moved back home with his parents in Phoenix where he convinced them to take out a $15,000 loan for a production studio so that he could pursue music full-time.

In the summer of 2003, Ryan landed a production internship with producer Younglord. Within the first week, Leslie produced the song "Keep Giving Your Love to Me" that would later be performed by Beyoncé for the Bad Boys II soundtrack. The soundtrack was supervised by Sean Combs, who was impressed by Leslie's production style and offered him a management contract.

Under the management of Combs, Leslie worked on various Bad Boy Records projects, including releases from Loon, Cheri Dennis, B5, New Edition and Danity Kane. During that time, Leslie co-produced a record for Britney Spears. Also in 2003, Leslie was introduced by his then attorney Ed Woods to Tommy Mottola. Mottola became a mentor of Leslie's and offered him a publishing deal with Aspen Songs and a recording contract with Casablanca.

2004–2010: Debut album and Transition

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.

Ryan Leslie returned to the studio in 2006 to record a new debut album. The lead single, "Diamond Girl" was released in December 2007. The video for "Diamond Girl" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park. His second single, "Addiction" features Cassie Ventura, with a rap cameo from Fabolous, officially released in August 2008.

After many setbacks, his self-titled album, Ryan Leslie, was finally released on February 10, 2009. Initially, Leslie had a four-album deal with Universal Motown, but he departed the label, saying "Universal was interested in reshaping my deal to more of a 360... at that point I saw that as a window to potentially branch off and try something that was going to be new and dynamic."

2011–present: Les Is More and Black Mozart

In October 2012, Les Is More was released, featuring a guest appearance from Fabolous and a remix of "Swiss Francs" with French rapper Booba on the European album. He announced in February 2013 that his fourth studio album Black Mozart would be released April 16, 2013. The full album was ultimately released to members of Leslie's #Renegades club on August 31, 2013. His most recent album, You Know My Speed, was released in 2024.

Other ventures

NextSelection Lifestyle Group

While working as a producer, Leslie created NextSelection Lifestyle Group, his music-media company co-founded with online marketing partner Rasheed Richmond. Ryan signed his first artist, Cassie Ventura, in 2005. Under Leslie's guidance, Ventura went on to become one of the fastest rising R&B acts that year. Her 2006 breakout single "Me & U" (written and produced by Leslie) spent 20 weeks within the Billboard Hot 100's top 40, peaking at number three, selling over a million digital units and finishing as the 14th most successful song of 2006.

SuperPhone

After releasing Black Mozart in 2013, the album rollout strategy galvanized him to start SuperPhone, a direct text marketing service. Musicians such as 50 Cent, Raphael Saadiq, and Talib Kweli used the underlying technology to launch their respective upcoming studio albums and power their own music membership clubs.

Leslie's work with SuperPhone has been supported by venture capitalists such as Ben Horowitz, journalists such as TechCrunch's Josh Constine, and musicians such as Kanye West. Miley Cyrus, Zayn, Silk Sonic, Ava Max, and Cardi B have employed SuperPhone direct-texting marketing methods.

Artistry

Leslie has stated 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. Leslie's blog, YouTube channel, MySpace page and Twitter have been the biggest contributors to his fanbase. Leslie often documented his interaction with his audience, including giving away free iPods, backstage passes to his concerts, and invitations to have dinner with him.

Legal issues

In October 2010, Leslie's laptop was stolen from his Mercedes while he was on tour in Cologne, Germany. Leslie offered $20,000, raising it to a $1 million reward for the return of it due to his recent productions that it contained. The laptop was returned; however, the intellectual property that Leslie was trying to recover was not present. Armin Augstein, who returned the laptop, was granted the $1 million reward in 2012 after a lawsuit. Leslie was later also made to pay an extra $180,000 in interest.

Discography

• Just Right (2005)
• Ryan Leslie (2009)
• Transition (2009)
• Les Is More (2012)
• Black Mozart (2013)
• MZRT (2015)
• You Know My Speed (2024)

Awards and nominations

• BET Awards — 2009, Best Male R&B Artist (nominated); 2009, Best New Artist (nominated)
• Grammy Awards — 2011, Best Contemporary R&B Album: Transition (nominated)
• Soul Train Music Awards — 2009, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist (nominated)
• Academic Awards — 2010, AMBLE Vanguard Award from Harvard University

References

• [1] "Ryan Leslie Speaks On Why He 'Disappeared' From Music, Direct To Consumer Marketing + More". YouTube. December 19, 2019.
• [2] Sauro, Tony (September 17, 2012). "Bear Creek grad to do free rap performance". The Record.
• [3] Ketchum, William E. (February 11, 2009). "Ryan Leslie – Ryan Leslie". HipHopDX.
• [4] "John Harvard's Journal – Commencement Confetti". Harvard Magazine. November 5, 2007.
• [5] Stevenson, Seth (October 24, 2007). "Ryan Leslie: Hip-Hop's Unlikely New Star-Maker". New York Magazine.
• [6] Anderman, Joan (May 31, 2008). "The Phenom". The Boston Globe.
• [7] "A&M Entertainment – Ryan Leslie". June 5, 2009.