STR8NYC.COM » Ryan Leslie

STR8 EXCLUSIVE: RYAN LESLIE AT SOBs

FarFetched — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:55:11 +0000

Words & Flicks by Anthony Campusano Edits by Lucas Alvarado Farrar

To say he is a genius is an understatement. At the age of 16, Ryan Leslie enrolled in Harvard University and began his pursuit of music, and the rest is history. With the help of McDonalds and 98.7 Kiss Fm, a sold-out crowd was able to rock out and enjoy Ryan Leslie as well as some poets.

Kiss Fm held a poetry competition for $1,000 and other prizes. Followed by an hour and a half of music by the house DJ, the crowd did not lose a bit of energy as they awaited Ryan Leslie. Ryan rocked the crowd for about 2 hours with tracks from all his projects.

With his band backing him up, Ryan Leslie played the keyboard as well, occasionally matching his guitarist. In the middle of his set he brought out Red Café who helped him out with Fly Together and Cafe’s track I’m Ill. A couple songs later he brought out Lloyd Banks to do So Forgetful & Start It Up. The sold out crowd devoured Ryan’s energy.

Set List for Ryan Leslie at SOBs

’Glory’
‘Smothing That I like’
‘Quicksand’
‘Zodiac’
‘Maybach Diamonds’
‘Guardian Angel’
‘Valentine’
‘Beautiful Lie’
‘How It Was Supposed To Be’
‘Fly Together’
‘I’m Ill Remix (ft Red Cafe)’
‘Gibberish’
‘Joan Of Arc’
‘Christian Dior Denim Flow’
‘So Forgetful’
‘Start It Up’
‘Addiction’
‘Breathe’
‘Diamond Girl’

To see more pictures by Anthony check out GRIME

Follow @str8nyc @LexAve, @amc4eva1 & @FarFetchdFuture

STR8 TALK: R.LES FLIPS SINGING FOR RAPPIN’ IN “GLORY”…WHY?!

LexAve — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:54:56 +0000

*scratches head* That’s the only way I can start this off. Since day one I’ve been a huge advocate of Ryan Leslie, his music genius ability, vision, and spectacular marketing/branding skills. Now that he’s gearing up for his next album release Less Is More on July 4th- R.Les is taking a whole new approach and ditching the singing for spittin’. In his newest and latest track “Glory“, R.Les rhymes about his hardships of being an underrated musician and adds a black/white visuals for more effect in the video.

Sure R.Les goes in on us skeptics about his rhyming skills…calling us haters. Call it whatever you want but really Ryan why are you rapping now?! What makes you think you’re rhyming skills are in any way shape or form able to compete to whats already out and secondly why would you switch your refreshing sound to be a ANOTHER rapper? His “Glory” lyrics are ight…definitely better than anything Diddy would ever spit on his best day. But that’s still no reason to take this rapping thing seriously. All I’m saying is…”if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I just don’t understand. All in all, I prefer the singing Ryan Leslie over the rapping R.Les…#handsdown So please bring it back! I could understand if this was purely for shits & giggles but taking this seriously is just RIDICULOUS! *rza voice*.

STR8 EVENTS: RYAN LESLIE PREPS FOR HUGE NYC SHOW…

LexAve — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:27:25 +0000

For only TWO dates on June 22nd & June 23rd, Ryan will perform in his home town of New York City at The Bowery. Knowing his standing in the game amongst his peers, there’s guaranteed to be an array of surprise guests & show-stopping moments. He is also expected to perform new tracks from his upcoming 3rd studio album Les Is More. Watch the link below to see Ryan Leslie prepare to shut the city down & how you can be part of this epic event!!!

Ryan Leslie – Concert at the Bowery (Promo) from Ryan Leslie on Vimeo.

Make sure to cop your tickets at TicketMaster for this epic show!

MAG SWAG: RYAN LESLIE IS BLEU…

J'More — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:28:10 +0000

Bleu magazine transitioned into the the new year by snagging Ryan Leslie to grace the cover of its Winter 2010 issue which hits newsstands January 20th. As if having Ryan on the cover wasn’t enough, the winter issue also features exclusive interviews with Fantasia, Grammy nominated songstress Melanie Fiona and the biggest diva of them all–Mariah Carey who discusses her role in Precious, her marriage to Nick Cannon and her upcoming new remix album.

Here are a few more RLes photos from the feature.

SNAPS: JOHN LEGEND CELEBRATES B-DAY W/ LUDACRIS, ESTELLE & MORE

J'More — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:13:17 +0000

Last night, Grammy-Award winning soul singer/songwriter John Legend celebrated his 31st birthday along with his model girlfriend Christine Teigen and celebrity friends at SL in NYC.

EXCLUSIVE: RYAN LESLIE PRESENTS “TRANSITION” IN NYC…

LexAve — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:22:05 +0000

On Wednesday, ya gurl got the greenlight to attend Ryan Leslie’s listening presentation for “Transition” at The Times Center in NYC. And eventhough I already checked out his album at Chuck King Studios in early October, I opted to see Ryan one more time. Upon arriving to the venue, I saw the long entrance line and ya already know I don’t do lines…luckily my boo and his homie were at the front of line and within 5 minutes we were in…checked our names at the door, checked our coats and headed to the greygoose open bar and immediately began mingling as awaited for the show to start. Soon after downing two Greygoose “Diamond Girls”, it was time for folks to enter the stage area where no drinks or food were allowed, thus forcing industry folks to chug. Picture a crowd of folks gulping the last drops of their cocktails to run inside and snag a good seat. The boo and I quickly snag seats right upfront and continued mingling for the next 15 minutes. On stage was a projector screen displaying RLes’ “Transition” album & a piano on the far right. Shortly scouting the audience and making a quick run to the ladies room, the lights slowly dimmed and the announcer introduced Mr. Ryan Leslie to the stage. And for the next hour and change, RLes took us on the journey on the creative process of completing “Transition” as well as weave in the story of the young woman he apparently chased across the world coining her as the inspiration of the album. With a few key strokes on the piano and lil’ storytelling, RLes depicted his “Transition” with visuals of studio sessions including industry peers like Pusha-T, guitar player from NERD, and even Drake. He even gave us a sneak peek to his new video and 2nd single “Never Gonna Break-Up”…

And even though I appreciate the man’s talent and musicianship, I still left the listening session feeling like this is an incomplete project and not as good as his self-titled debut album. Ryan is extremely talented but “Transition” feels bit rushed and lacking in the lyrical department…on the other hand the beats are SICK!

Once the listening session ended, people exited the venue and a few lingered for unfinished networking. I spotted my fellow Ecuadorian sis, Adrienne Bailon, walking out and of course had to pose for a flick.

Then I of course went on pap-mode and snapped some pics of Ryan posing next to his piano and chillen with Universal honcho Sylvia Rhone.

Overall, Ryan Leslie and the Chambers Group never fail to impress with their venue selection and smooth flowing events. Though I expected a bit more from “Transition”…I still love you RLes.

RYAN LESLIE’S “TRANSITION” x ALBUM REVIEW

LexAve — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:08:44 +0000

Wednesday night ya gurl got the chance to attend Ryan Leslie’s exclusive album listening session for Transition at Chuck King Studios in NYC. The intimate small session revealed a more in depth look into the Harvard educated singer/songwriter/producer. Leslie took us on a storytelling and video montage journey of his courtship of a new mystery lady in his life. After going through a tough hurtful break-up (think Cassie), Leslie couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter, but after meeting a woman one night at SOB’s in NYC… his transition began. It was the bad break-up and meeting this woman that inspired the first record on the album “Never Gonna Break-Up”. Leslie gave us a sneak peek into the video treatment to the song which shows Leslie bumping into a “Didddy look-a-like” who asks for a light, only to find out Leslie’s girl gave him the same collector’s item lighter. The encounter infuriates Leslie leading him to trash his girl’s crib, assuming she’s cheating on him with the “Diddy look-a-like”.
The mystery woman in Leslie’s life also inspired other joints like “Something That I Like” where Leslie showcases his rapping skills alongside the Clipse’s, Pusha-T and “Without You I’d Be Nothing” a guitar driven song with a lil’ 70′s flavor. Ryan Leslie rapping? Yup, R-Les began as a teen freestyling joints “I’m So Glad We’re Friends”, there’s proof on video. As for his current single “You’re Not My Girl”, is more about the new lady and keeping their budding relationship a secret so that if anyone asks just remember “you’re not my girl”. Aside from the rapping and expanding his musical horizons, it was pretty evident, the man is a romantic at heart regardless.

Unlike most album listening sessions where the artist simply shows up an greets the crowd, Leslie went through each cut in full description thus showing his hardworking and love for the project. As a fan, I can appreciate the new project along with its sick beats, but as a music reviewer I would’ve appreciated it more had Ryan taken more time to work on Transition and mourn his bad break-up w/Cassie and dive more into his emotions. Yes the beats are sick, but lyrically speaking it’s lacking some substance. It’s been less than a year since his official debut album and now there’s a 2nd LP on the way…something about Transition seems rushed.
Transition drops November 3rd.
POP THE HOOD FOR TRACKLISTING

1. Never Gonna Break Up

2. Something That I Like (feat. Pusha T)

3. Zodiac

4. Is It Real Love

5. Sunday Night

6. You’re Not My Girl

7. To The Top

8. Nothing

9. Guardian Angel

10. All My Love

11. I Choose You

EXCLUSIVE: RYAN LESLIE’S NEW ALBUM COVER “TRANSITION”

LexAve — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:33:43 +0000

Check out the cover to R-Les’ sophomore album, Transition, set to drop November 3rd. Word is the lead single “You’re Not My Girl” is not doing too well on the charts…Really?! I know I’m feeling the joint.

WILL YOU COP R-LES’ TRANSITION?!

RYAN LESLIE TALKS CASSIE + NUDE FLICKS…DID HE LEAK ‘EM?!

LexAve — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:33:58 +0000

So this past weekend, I came across this video of Ryan Leslie on the Tim Westwood show out in the UK. At about 2:35 mark Tim questions Ryan about Cassie’s shaved head and of course those nude pics and who leaked them. It went a lil’ something this:

“Does she know how it leaked?/ No. /And who was the photograph meant for?/ I wish I knew. I wish I knew because that would probably explain leak. Right? /Oh you think an ex?…(Ryan Leslie smiles and shakes his head…)”

Real talk that silence says a lot…read between the lines people!

Sidenote: Ryan looks real uncomfortable talking about Cassie and her nude pics…interesting. Dude looks straight hurt at times. Cassie sure did him dirty by trading him and selling her soul to the devil…Diddy, I mean.

NEW VIDEO: RYAN LESLIE- “YOU’RE NOT MY GIRL”

LexAve — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:30:15 +0000

Check out Ryan Leslie’s new video for “You’re Not My Girl” off his sophomore album Transition set to drop October 13th. Music producer and Str8nyc.com fan, D-Dub, says: “On his first album he was all about the love songs that were all clearly about Cassie, and not the Cassie dropped him for Diddy- Ryan is on that angry tip…”You’re Not My Girl”. LOL!
ANY THOUGHTS?!