Ryan Leslie

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Ryan Leslie

---

Img_capt =
Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Anthony Ryan Leslie
Alias = R-Les, Ryan Leslie
Born = Birth date and age|1978|9|25|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Harlem, New York
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = R&B, hip hop
Occupation = Music producer
Singer-songwriter/ musical arranger
Years_active = 2000–present
Label = NextSelection
Bad Boy
Universal
Associated_acts =
URL = http://www.ryanleslie.com/
Notable_instruments =

Anthony Ryan Leslie (born on September 25, 1978, in Washington, D.C.) is an American music producer and singer. Founder of the marketing and media company NextSelection, Leslie is best known for his production work with NextSelection/Bad Boy/Atlantic Records recording artist Cassie and her single "Me & U".

Biography

Early life

Ryan Leslie grew up all over the western United States moving frequently as his parents were ministers in The Salvation Army. While attending public school in Stockton, California at age 14 he found out his parents were moving once again. Rather than having to attend a fifth school, he decided to finish his junior year and then enroll in college. Leslie attended Harvard University in the fall of 1994 at 15 years old and graduated at the age of 19 with a degree in Government and Economics. [cite web|accessdate=2008-05-04|url=http://randb.about.com/od/artistinterviews/a/RyanLeslie_2.htm|title=Ryan Leslie Interview - - Part 2 |publisher=About.com|date=2006-06-22 ] He now lives in Harlem, New York.

Producer

Ryan Leslie's production style mainly utilizes real in-studio instruments while still achieving the same futuristic style of beat machines. [ [http://thatgomusic.blogspot.com/2008/01/ryan-leslie-modern-mozart.html Ryan Leslie in the studio] ]

Leslie's production history spans several contemporary music genres, including hip hop, R&B, pop, gospel, and dancehall. Production credits include Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Cassie, JoJo, Nina Sky, Danity Kane, Loon, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Donell Jones, Katharine McPhee, New Edition, One Chance, B5, Cheri Dennis, Latif, Megan Rochell M. Pokora and LL Cool J. [ [http://randb.about.com/b/2006/06/06/interview-singer-songwriter-producer-ryan-leslie.htm Interview with Ryan Leslie] ]

He is currently writing songs for singer/songwriter Usher.

inger

Ryan Leslie signed a recording contract with Universal Records when he was an unknown artist looking for his big break. In 2005, he began recording his debut album entitled "Just Right". He released two singles off the album, "The Way That U Move Girl" and "Used 2 Be" featuring rapper Fabolous but the songs did not chart. However, due to the singles performing poorly in the US, the album was shelved for the US market and released as a promo, and in Europe the album was released on November 1, 2005.

Leslie returned to the studio in 2007, to begin recording his sophomore album. He recorded the song "Diamond Girl" which will be released as his first mainstream single on May 2008. The video became available on April 16, 2008 on the Universal Music Group Youtube Channel. His self-titled debut album will be released in August 2008, the date has been shifted to create some buzz over his new single Addiction (featuring Cassie). In February 2008, G-Unit released the song "Bottom Girl" a remix of the original. [ [http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/G-Unit-New-Mixtape-Return-of-the-Bodysnatchers-hip-hop-6308.html G-Unit Bottom Girl] ] In November 2007, he released a video for a song named "I-R-I-N-A". [YouTube|2PLX1IJw6jc|"Irina" Music Video] Whether the song will appear on the album cannot be confirmed.

YouTube Blogger

[http://www.youtube.com/RyanLeslieTV RyanLeslieTV] is his official YouTube channel. His other channel, [http://www.youtube.com/Ns4life Ns4life] , is a daily video journal about the NextSelection Lifestyle Group.

In October 2006, YouTube user boh3m3 posted a video questioning the legitimacy of Leslie's YouTube popularity. In the video, boh3m3 alleged Leslie had created fake YouTube accounts to inflate the number of people subscribed to his channel, RyanLeslieTV. [ [http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2006/10/producer_ryan_leslie_accused_of_creating_youtube_accounts/ Producer Ryan Leslie Accused of Creating YouTube Accounts to Hype RyanLeslie TV : VIBE.com ] ]

The ensuing controversy resulted in YouTube temporarily removing Leslie from their "Most Subscribed" rankings. Leslie later released a statement via YouTube's community news channels denying any wrongdoing. [YouTube|KJwQzeL-ua4|YourTube's 'A message from RyanLeslieTV']

After completing an investigation, YouTube fully reinstated Leslie's account. [YouTube|CoHr2QmB2Mo |RyanLeslieTV is Too Legit 2 Quit] As of August 2008, Leslie ranks as the 38th-most subscribed YouTube channel.

Discography

Albums

"Just Right"
*Released: November 1, 2005 (Unreleased)
*Chart positions: N/A
*U.S. sales: N/A

"Ryan Leslie"
*Scheduled release: November 16, 2008 [MySpace|ryanleslie]
*Chart positions: TBA
*U.S. sales: TBA

ingles

Mixtapes

*2005: "The Talented Mr. Leslie'
*2006: "The Official Next Selection Mixtape"

elected production credits

*"It Wuz U" By Anaya
*"Keep Giving Your Love To Me" by Beyoncé
*"The Answer" by Britney Spears
*"Me & U" by Cassie
**"Long Way 2 Go"
**"Is It You?"
**"Not With U"
**"Sometimes"
*"I Love You" by Cheri Dennis featuring Jim Jones and Yung Joc
*"Hold Tight By Corey Williams
*"Ooh Ahh" by Danity Kane
**"Touching My Body"
**"Take It Further"
*"Better Start Talking" by Donell Jones featuring Jermaine Dupri
**"Hands on you"
*"Like That" by JoJo
*"Get Lost In Your Love" by Lea
*"Miracle" by Lex
*"Down 4 Me" by Loon featuring Mario Winans
*"My Mistake" by Megan Rochell
*"Hold Me Now" By Mia Rose
**"Hot Boy"
*"Choose Us" by Nelson
*"Hot 2Nite" by New Edition
*"Really Didn't Matter" by Nina Sky
*"Heavyweights" by Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Dogg
*"Wanna Love U" By Uness
*"Next 2 ya" by Krys
*"Can't Find The Words" by Karina Pasian
*"Don't Give My Love Away" by Matt Pokora featuring Ryan Leslie
*"Tokyo Girl" by Matt Pokora

Guest vocals

* "Can't Let This Go On" by Anaya
* "Kiss Me" by Cassie
* "Just One Nite" by Cassie
* "Me & U (Ryan Leslie Remix)" by Cassie
* "Sometimes" by Cassie
* "U Think U Know" by Latif
* "Ride 4 Me" by Lex
* "Choose Us" by Nelson
* "Serious" by Nelson
* "6 Of 1 Thing (Remix)" by Craig David
* "Don't Give My Love Away" by Matt Pokora

References

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ryanleslie.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.ryanleslie.de/ German Site]
* [http://www.imeem.com/groups/HwSfXp8f,ryan_leslie/ Ryan Leslie Imeem Site - Songs and Videos]
* [http://www.ns4life.com/ NS4LIFE Video Blog]
* [http://www.nextselection.net/ Official Site of NextSelection]
*MySpace|ryanleslie
* [http://nymag.com/news/features/24094/index.html NY Magazine's article about Ryan Leslie]
* [http://www.ryanlesliefan.com/boards/ Ryan Leslie Fans' Forum]
* [http://www.nextselection-media.blogspot.com/ NextSelection Fans' Blog]