About Me
I’m a producer/songwriter/singer living between Harlem and Hollywood. Watch this video for my one-minute bio:
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Spring 1998
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Graduated from Harvard concentrating in Government and delivered the Harvard Oration at the ceremony
Featured in The Harvard Crimson’s commencement edition in a piece called “The Music Man” |
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March 2003
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Took an internship in NYC with producer Younglord |
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May 2003
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Signed with Sean “Diddy” Combs and Gwen Niles as co-managers for my services as a music producer
Signed a co-publishing contract with Mottola Music Publishing Signed a recording contract with Casablanca/Universal |
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Summer 2003
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Produced records for the Bad Boys II Soundtrack, Britney Spears, and various Bad Boy Records releases including New Edition’s single “Hot 2Nite” |
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Spring 2004
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Began releasing my own records on-line and went to Germany for my first club tour overseas organized by Shiv Pandya |
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Fall 2004
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Delivered my debut album entitled Just Right to Casablanca/Universal for distribution |
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Spring 2005
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Signed then model Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to NextSelection |
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Summer 2005
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Took Cassie on a series of club dates opening for me in Germany |
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Fall 2005
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Wrote and produced 4 songs for Cassie including “Me & U”
Launched an on-line campaign (consulted by Rasheed Richmond) via MySpace, YouTube, and a branded website called NS4Life.com for Cassie’s music |
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Spring 2006
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Signed a recording agreement with Bad Boy/Atlantic for Cassie’s albums |
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Summer 2006
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Wrote and produced Cassie’s entire self-titled debut
Cassie’s “Me & U” goes to #1 on the Billboard Crossover Chart |
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Fall 2006
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Cassie’s self-titled debut is released.
My single “Used 2 Be” (feat. Fabolous) is released Featured in a six-page article in New York Magazine called “The Perfect Score” focusing on my work with Cassie:
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Spring 2007
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Began recording my self-titled album
Featured as one of Mens Health magazine’s “5 Guys Who Made It” in their “Pillars of Success” article Took home an ASCAP songwriter award for “Me & U” |
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Summer 2007
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Wrote & produced Cassie’s “Is It You” for the Step Up 2 – The Streets soundtrack
Wrote & produced “Diamond Girl” for my self-titled album |
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Fall 2007
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Shot a photo story for “Diamond Girl” with Sports Illustrated model Irina Shayk |
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Spring 2008
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“Diamond Girl” is officially released to radio in the US
Appeared on BET’s Spring Bling, my first televised performance Released an in-studio vid of the making of “Addiction” that breaks 1M views on youtube Featured on the cover of The Boston Globe’s Arts & Entertainment section in an article called “The Phenom”:
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Summer 2008
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Officially released the single “Addiction” with two separate music videos |
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Fall 2008
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Released the single “How It Was Supposed to Be” with a self-directed video featuring a doo-wop version of “Diamond Girl” and co-starring Tyson Beckford, who serves as co-director
Also released an alternate rock version of “How It Was Supposed To Be” via a video directed by Guillaume Doubet |
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Spring 2009
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Universal Records releases my self-titled album on February 10th
Featured in a Washington Post article focusing on my extensive use of online video and social media for marketing and promotion:
Performed at NYC hotspot Butter on the night of my album release, joining a list of only four others who have performed there: Prince, Jay-Z, Maxwell, and Robin Thicke Usher makes a cameo/delivers an impromptu performance on the first of 2 sold-out nights at SOB’s – my first ticketed headlining shows in NYC Named one of New York’s 50 Hottest Bachelors by the New York Post:
Broke over 20M views across all videos on the RyanLeslieTV channel on YouTube |
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Summer 2009
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Nominated for 2 BET Awards: “Best New Artist” and “Best Male R&B Artist”
Wrote & produced “My Gift To The Game” for a viral comedy video commissioned by Nike Recorded my third album “Transition” in NY, LA, Berlin and Amsterdam Produced and co-wrote 2 songs for Fabolous’ “Loso’s Way” album entitled “The Fabolous Life” and the single “Everything, Everyday, Everywhere” (feat. Keri Hilson) |
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Fall 2009
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Released “You’re Not My Girl”, the first single from “Transition”, with a video directed by Anthony Mandler
Produced & co-wrote two songs for Mary J. Blige’s album ‘Stronger’ entitled “Said & Done” and “Closer” Produced & co-wrote “Famous Girl” for Chris Brown’s “Graffiti” album Featured by BET & Grey Goose in their “Rising Icons” television series Performed 2 shows at the small theatres in London’s O2 Arena, marking my first performances in the UK with a live band Selected to appear in Adidas’ 2010 Originals campaign Nominated for “Best New Artist” Soul Train Award |
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Winter 2009
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Released “Transition”, my second album in a single calendar year
Featured by Yahoo.com in a documentary called ‘Sound Decisions’ Selected by Lexus to appear in their 2010 advertising for the GX460 |
So far, I’ve released five singles to radio. You can click the album covers to listen/download them from the iTunes music store:
It took some time for me to break out and have a name for myself, so I paid my bills and kept myself busy making beats and writing songs for other artists. Here’s a selected discography. Click any cover to visit the iTunes music store and preview snippets of the songs:
It’s important for me to note that I followed my parents’ advice and got my college degree before all of this happened. I graduated from Harvard and I encourage you to always challenge your mind so that you can approach obstacles creatively.
