For his forthcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (November 22nd), Kanye West enlisted an all-star lineup for the track "All Of The Lights", which features Rihanna on the hook as well as Fergie, Alicia Keys, & more:
Following a pair of commercially unsuccessful albums last year, Ryan Leslie has parted ways with his label Universal Motown. He plans on releasing his third album Les Is More independently. At a recent show in New York City, Ryan actually performed two new songs, "Glory" & "Maybachs & Diamonds", that are set for inclusion on Les Is More. For an artist like Ryan, I'd be all for the indie route if it weren't for the fact that I cannot figure out how indie artists get &/or can afford (physical) distribution, but if I can find Mya's recent mixtape at my local record store, then I'm sure it can be done!"I Choose You"
Interview
Ryan Leslie debuted his new acoustic, string-driven version of "I Choose You," a track from his sophomore album Transition, & sat down for an insightful interview on The Mo'Nique Show. I must say the new version of the song is very nice.
Brian McKnight, Others Tribute Charlie Wilson
The Soul Train Awards made their return last night with a tribute-filled & foolishness-heavy (courtesy of hosts Taraji P. Henson & Terrence Howard) ceremony that also featured both decent performers, including some nice ones thrown into the tributes, & winners alike. (Re: The hosts, they were fine--I actually like Taraji--those who put it all together simply seemed to favor odd skits in place of giving out actual awards...) Toni Braxton opened the show (I love saying that!) with her new single in a classy, yet sassy manner that was almost perfect (yuuup, indeed). Keri Hilson performed "Knock You Down," "Slow Dance," & "Turnin' Me On" in her usual fly way. In a weird segment comparing Ryan Leslie's ivy league education to Mario's upbringing in the hood that seemed to unintentionally diss the more talented latter, the two performed separate sets that were good, if not for the strange chopping of their songs. Estelle & Melanie Fiona joined a slew of others on stage to honor Motown's 50th anniversary, while Fantasia ..passionately screamed.. her part of the Chaka Khan tribute & Brian McKnight sang during the tribute to Charlie Wilson. I can't knock 'em for at least getting several of my favs, particularly the MIA-as-of-late Fantasia, to perform in the tributes. Now, you wouldn't know most of this from watching the show, but Beyonce won three golden trains for Album Of The Year, Best Female Artist, & Song Of The Year ("Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"). Also, Keri Hilson walked away with the awards for Best New Artist & Best Collaboration with Kanye West & Ne-Yo ("Knock You Down"). Nice job, ladies! HERE are all the winners.
Ryan Leslie has teamed up with Yahoo! for a short documentary about his life as an artist entitled "Sound Decisions." In it, Ryan walks the streets of New York that he knows so well, interacting with local fans & talent alike. It's a very interesting (re)introduction to him that has me respecting him that much more. Ryan's sophomore album Transition is out now.
I hadn't posted about this yet, so I thought I'd inform all Ryan Leslie fans that you have options when his sophomore album Transition drops on Tuesday. The CD/DVD set includes three bonus tracks: "When We Dance," "Promise Not 2 Call," & "Rescue U." On the DVD, features like the making of the "You're Not My Girl" video, the video & in-studio live overdubs for "Zodiac," the making of "Nothing," & a Miami soundcheck for "Never Gonna Break Up" can be found. Kinda random, but cool for fans nonetheless. I wasn't aware there was a "Zodiac" video, so maybe that'll make its way online when the album is released. As far as the album is concerned, it might be better than his debut (I haven't decided yet), but he just puts me off a bit with all the same-y-sounding songs."You're Not My Girl"
Interview
Ryan Leslie stopped by Good Day New York for an interview & to perform the first single from his forthcoming sophomore album Transition (November 3rd). I might be going out on a limb here, but I think Ryan enjoys performing! SMH at that interviewer though--is it his debut album... one word: Google. Five seconds can save you from looking like an idiot in front of millions of people!
Ryan Leslie is prepping for the release of his sophomore album Transition, his second disc this year, on November 3rd. The tracklisting has become available for the project, so check it out below:
Ryan Leslie goes green for the cover of his sophomore album Transition (November 3rd). I do think it's an improvement over his debut's cover. If I'm being honest, I don't love his single "You're Not My Girl," but I am optimistic about this album nonetheless.Ryan Leslie is the latest fresh face to be featured on BET's Rising Icons series. During the special, Ryan performed "Diamond Girl," "You're Not My Girl," new song "Never Gonna Break Up," & "How It Was Supposed To Be." This is the most I've personally seen of Ryan all at once & it's really, really cool the way he goes about his "hustle." Ryan is currently promoting the release of his sophomore album Transition on November 3rd.
Yes, another one! Seemingly despite the fact that Ryan Leslie is set to release his sophomore album Transition on November 3rd, Ryan has announced that he plans to join up with Ne-Yo & Fabolous to form a new group. Their album, however, probably won't be out for a while because it sounds like it's just in the early stages:"It's about conceptualizing," Ryan added about how the LP will shape up. "It's not gonna be a project that's thrown together. It's gonna be a real roundtable, & we're gonna talk about really putting something in the atmosphere that contributes something that's never been done before."
"You're Not My Girl" is the first single off Ryan Leslie's forthcoming second album Transition (October 13th). It's pretty exciting that we'll be getting another new album from Ryan before the year's end. As far as this song & video go, they're both alright. They aren't great, but they aren't bad either.
"Everything, Everyday, Everywhere," featuring Keri Hilson, is the latest single taken off Fabolous' new album Loso's Way. Back in April, I posted a video of these two working on this track with producer Ryan Leslie, who appears in the video along with Amerie, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, & Adrienne Bailon. Obviously I'm posting this for Keri, who looks & sounds alright. Where'd that "Knock You Down" video look go, Keri?
Ryan Leslie stopped by 106 & Park to promote his self-titled debut album... by performing "Diamond Girl," the album's flop first single. Considering the singles that have been released since & the material on the album to choose from, why perform this? Still, you can't help but want to like this guy.
Beyonce is set to perform at & leads the nominations for the 2009 BET Awards. Sasha Fierce was nominated for five trophies, while Keri Hilson nabbed four & Jazmine Sullivan received three. These nominations are actually pretty good, so I'm gonna post them (along with my picks in bold) below:
