Penthouse Performance

85 Comments

I’ve had a great rapport with my distribution company on this album cycle. Phylicia Fant, who works in the publicity department at Universal set me up with this Esquire-sponsored gig performing at Mel Debarge’s birthday party in the penthouse of the Rivington:

The great mix of people (including my buddy Todd Moscowitz) and the backdrop of the city have me thinking about moving downtown to a loft where I can do this more often! I really had a blast and would love to give private concerts of songs-in-progress before I record my next album, which will be done in a classic 70’s rock style! The song I’m performing is called “Something That I Like”. The album version features Pusha T of the Clipse. This version features a great solo from Chris Morgan, a magnificent player and an equally great guy. Shout out to Evan for capturing this on our 5D Mark II, and to Shiv for playing DJ that night!

 

Posted: August 26th, 2009 | Under: Insight, Inspiration, Live

85 Comments on “Penthouse Performance”

  1. 1 Danielku Keller said at 4:53 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Incredible Session.. this song is bangin’ Ryan, another hit

  2. 2 Jimmy Harriott said at 4:56 am on August 26th, 2009:

    I took a picture mentally…when i pulled up in the black on black bentley. pure fire man, ryan showing you big love from london, heard your performing here soon, ill be there, god bless.

  3. 3 Facebook User said at 5:00 am on August 26th, 2009:

    This song definitely has something that I like. Keep on going R Les. NS4LIFE

  4. 4 Facebook User said at 5:15 am on August 26th, 2009:

    great…i luv the guitar solo!!!!!

  5. 5 Martin Infullswing Rafferty said at 5:42 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Can’t wait to see this live at O2 Indigo Friday night….Oh yes roll on the weekend!

  6. 6 Facebook User said at 5:56 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Awesome song. The flow is crazy, reminds me of biggie. Can’t wait for the album!

  7. 7 Daniel Lopez said at 6:32 am on August 26th, 2009:

    RYAN LESLIE HAS THE SOMETHING that we like in Spain, crrrazy track and performance.

    Pleaze pleaze pleeaze come to visit us in Sevilla or Madrid!

    Peace

  8. 8 Facebook User said at 7:26 am on August 26th, 2009:

    This amazing!!! Looking forward to your performance in London ;)

  9. 9 Facebook User said at 7:37 am on August 26th, 2009:

    roll on the weekend… gna be laarge!!!

  10. 10 Facebook User said at 8:23 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Absolutely bangin’…the guitar solo was sick!

    Can’t wait for the new album! Keep bringing the fire!

  11. 11 Mitchell Stuart said at 8:26 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Chris Rocks !!! Something that i like indeed !!!

  12. 12 Facebook User said at 9:21 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Canon 5D Mark II is sick!

  13. 13 Annamria Nemes said at 9:33 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Amaaazing song, Ryan! I am waiting your new album!
    Come to Switzerland, please!!! :)

    “Sans la musique la vie serait une erreur” –
    - sans ta musique … :)

  14. 14 Philip Stevens said at 9:49 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Ryan -> Great job once again. Loved the shades.

  15. 15 Inisia Felton said at 10:04 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Hey Ryan,
    So you did look at my twitter post this morning at 6:40am about the site have new footage.. Nice !! When you do buy a loft and have a private concert, I would love to attend.. I love You and the Next Selection Family..
    follow me on twitter.com/inisia

    LETS ROCK!!

  16. 16 Denise Behler said at 10:14 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Why don’t you stop putting recorded tracks over performance videos? I’m starting to get mad.

  17. 17 Denise Behler said at 10:15 am on August 26th, 2009:

    I just wanna know why you do that.. cos I really don’t understand. This vid might be bad quality, but you also did it in the previous 2 videos

  18. 18 Keith Bernard Corbett Jr said at 10:16 am on August 26th, 2009:

    “way too many — 10s… its too many to count… I SPEND… that’s in any amount… no matter the sum, homie got the cash to cover it”… ha…

  19. 19 David King said at 11:03 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Denise, I concur – where’s the live ambience of the performance? The rawness of live instrumentation is superior to studio tracks.

  20. 20 Thaddeus Williams said at 12:39 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    Wow… This track is fire. Preformance heat, lyrics heat, band heat. Ryan Leslie 1 of the best doing it rite now….

  21. 21 Simon Albert said at 2:25 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    you’ve proven you gots the talent to be no.1 you’ve taken the lime light whats next for this phenom we call ryan leslie??? no.1 homie no.1

  22. 22 Arka Der Stepanian said at 2:28 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    Love it!

  23. 23 Robbie Small said at 3:52 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    R. Les is Killin the R&b Game, its all over for the Competition!!!! R.Les For Prez 2016!!!! lol

  24. 24 Daniel Lopez said at 4:19 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    #
    Denise Behler
    16 Denise Behler said at 10:14 am on August 26th, 2009:

    Why don’t you stop putting recorded tracks over performance videos? I’m starting to get mad.

    That’s not true, you can pick the audio track from the mixer (i talk about the live track with all the instruments and voices together) and then put it in a video, so you have the video from the camera and the audio from the track that the mixer recorded at the performance. That’s why you don’t have the live ambience of the performance. :)

    Peace

  25. 25 Twitter Trackbacks for Ryan Leslie - My Official Site and Video Diary » Blog Archive » Penthouse Performance [ryanleslie.com] on Topsy.com said at 5:27 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    [...] Ryan Leslie – My Official Site and Video Diary » Blog Archive » Penthouse Performance http://www.ryanleslie.com/penthouse-performance – view page – cached Official website and video diary of Ryan Leslie, artist/producer/entrepreneur and CEO of the NextSelection Lifestyle Group. — From the page [...]

  26. 26 Shari Louise said at 6:46 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    GOOOO CHRIS!! I love this song…

  27. 27 Ben DiNapoli said at 7:31 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    So smooth…Diddy’s band vs. your band coming soon, right???

  28. 28 Jeremiah Prigg said at 7:34 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    lol only ryan leslie can use harpsichord sounds and make it sound ill

  29. 29 Tony Blount said at 9:50 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    Hell yeah!

  30. 30 Warren Olaya said at 11:28 pm on August 26th, 2009:

    Lovin the new track! One my my fav’s out of your new ones lately!

  31. 31 Dallas C. Zeno said at 12:20 am on August 27th, 2009:

    Straight Heat!!!

  32. 32 Hossam David said at 6:53 am on August 27th, 2009:

    ryan plz come to Egypt

  33. 33 Burak Genc said at 5:27 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    Love your music.

    Keep rockin’ em man!

  34. 34 Facebook User said at 7:23 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    Ryan,

    Since I am a huge fan, and want to see you better yourself, I’m going to offer my humble critique of your music. I’m not doing this to be disrespectful, but I’m doing this in order to help you.

    Your new songs, “You’re Not My Girl” and “Something That I Like” will unlikely be hits. To my dismay, they’ll likely gain little recognition on the billboard charts.

    Both of the hooks lack excitement.

    I hope you reconsider your choice of “You’re Not My Girl” as the official single off “Transition”. I know you have some other exciting single in your repertoire.

    I feel that you have greatly improved from your first album (which I bought).

    Your production has never been called into question, I just wish you would be more thoughtful when it came to your lyrics. Every song you write is concentrated on women. Maybe you could touch on something of more substance and importance?

    I know you’re very popular in the northeast, but in order to become globally known and nationally recognized, which I know you do, you’re going to have to up your game.

    Your videos are fantastic, frankly I’m hooked. I’ve offered my critique because I just want to see you win. You’re extremely deserving and I wish you all the best.

    Sincerely,

    A

  35. 35 Xochilt Martinez said at 8:29 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    I absolutely love this man’s music! Great work Mr. Leslie… :)

  36. 36 Facebook User said at 10:01 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    I’m lovin it! The girl in close up looks like Irina? hmmm….

  37. 37 Nicholas Jones said at 10:21 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    Like this song,”Something That I Like”. Every since I seen you on YouTube you’ve been my favorite artist since, I appreciate your music and the time and production you spend into it. Keep doing your thing, no matter what anyone else say, and I will continue to support you. I haven’t been to one of your concerts but I’m hoping that you can come to New York again, so that I can see you perform.
    Much love and support.

  38. 38 Kealii Perry said at 11:34 pm on August 27th, 2009:

    Yo les.. man… you’re the true armagedon of R&B.. killen tha game right now.. no one sounds like you… no one can f*** with you.. jus wanna say keep doin what chu do.. lookin forward to dat new album.. in Oct..

  39. 39 Cristan Apopotsa said at 3:02 am on August 28th, 2009:

    R-Les was magnificent especially at the end with the guitar solo I liked too.
    I am now “Should not Have To Wait” I love this song too.
    You have a group of wonderful music, you really chose the musicians.
    ;)

  40. 40 Freddy Mena said at 4:25 am on August 28th, 2009:

    have this song on replay

  41. 41 Inisia Felton said at 8:13 am on August 28th, 2009:

    LOVE YOUR MUSIC SO MUCH RYAN…CANT WAIT FOR YOU TO COME BACK TO THE CITY.

  42. 42 Inisia Felton said at 8:14 am on August 28th, 2009:

    NYC IS OUR PLAYGROUND.. WASSUP TO THE NEXT SELECTION FAMILY.. FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.COM/WHOISINISIA

  43. 43 Shemika Carrington said at 12:12 pm on August 28th, 2009:

    I luv luv luv luv it! :-)

  44. 44 Leroy Moore said at 4:13 pm on August 28th, 2009:

    Whats up Ryan, I heard your new single “You’re not my girl” today on 98.1 here in Charlotte NC. I was on my way to work, it was around 5:40 am and when I arrived I heard the beginning of your song. I turned it up and started jamming, I didn’t want to get out of my car so I stayed and listened to the whole song. I’ve heard the song before but never on the radio. While I was listening I began to have a feeling of accomplishment, like WE MADE IT! Even though I’m not in your band I felt like I’ve been rolling with you from day 1. I think it’s your videos man, and the fact that I can see your progression. I’ve learned alot from watching them and I plan to apply what I’ve learned in the future. Much success to you NS4LIFE!

  45. 45 Shireen Rahimi said at 8:54 pm on August 28th, 2009:

    Where can I get this song?!

  46. 46 Martin Infullswing Rafferty said at 4:44 am on August 29th, 2009:

    Ryan you and his band were awesome last night, talent, energy, passion = great live performance. This is “How It’s Supposed To Be”

  47. 47 Mitchell Waters said at 2:05 pm on August 29th, 2009:

    hey ryan just stoppin in sayin hello your an inspiration to many especially me.

  48. 48 Amine Derien said at 7:57 am on August 30th, 2009:

    pure love :)

  49. 49 Simen Thunes Hope said at 8:45 am on August 30th, 2009:

    must be one of your best… magic…

  50. 50 Victor A Slate said at 3:42 pm on August 30th, 2009:

    http://www.reupspot.com
    damn RLES can’t wait to see you for a 3rd time

  51. 51 Clarisse Adriana said at 7:31 pm on August 30th, 2009:

    blew my mind… i’m screamin in my head “i PROMISE i luv him!!!” lol this song reminds me of a”remix” my grl derricka and i did of “eye of the tiger ” called “the somethin song” lmbo ne wayz… CRAZEE RIDICULOUS as always

  52. 52 Khalid Lekchiri said at 8:58 pm on August 30th, 2009:

    cutie harvard degree “she got it all” humble honest “she deserve it all” even dough i make her cry ” she worth it all” and all my sweat tears and hard work ” she will get it all” and in the end of the road she will get the most biggest beautifull flawless stone!!!!!

  53. 53 Daniel Moses said at 10:35 pm on August 30th, 2009:

    Yezzzir !

  54. 54 Marvin Parker said at 8:31 am on August 31st, 2009:

    hey whats up ryan …iam 20 from bk and a upcomming artist /producer myself n lookin forward to goin to an audio school in the city to learn more … but u really inspire me .. i hope i get up there were u at n we can share some ideas an bring real music back … 1

  55. 55 Facebook User said at 11:55 am on August 31st, 2009:

    Another banger, I can’t wait to hear your new album!

  56. 56 Latisha Mcdougald said at 12:45 pm on August 31st, 2009:

    This song honestly made my day. Words can’t describe your talent. Your indeed, one of a kind.. signing out..One of your many #1 fans…Latisha

  57. 57 Cleide Carina said at 1:22 pm on August 31st, 2009:

    Ahh Ryan, I’m not going to get the chance to see your enormous talent in person tonight at the Ministry of Sound. It really was the ONLY reason I was going. As soon as your name was mentioned on the line-up I begged my friends to go there instead. I will miss you and hope to catch you frontrow in LDN soon. Blessings. Cleide Carina. x

  58. 58 Facebook User said at 5:16 pm on August 31st, 2009:

    You da man!

  59. 59 Thomas Sonny Creps said at 1:33 am on September 1st, 2009:

    good shit ryan, keep doing it big…if you ever need some albino soul on a track for that white boy collab, holla. i can’t get enough of that “gibberish”.

  60. 60 Sumit Sharma said at 10:22 am on September 1st, 2009:

    This is so dope. Ryan Leslie is a fantastic artist. I did an interview with him a few hours ago in London, United Kingdom. Real cool dude.

    http://www.thehiphopchronicle.com/2009/09/01/ryan-leslie-interview-video/

  61. 61 Inisia Felton said at 12:31 pm on September 2nd, 2009:

    Hey Ryan,
    Cant wait to see some more new footage of your trip to London.. I’m enjoyng the Next Selection movement an I’m lock it.. We have one more thing to accomplish, which is Tinychat.. We have to set up a room for twitter followers and speck directly through web cam.. I sent you an email so please contact me.
    The subject is Inspired..!

  62. 62 Constantin Michael Richards said at 2:24 pm on September 2nd, 2009:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ96y_yOkI0

  63. 63 Arnell Johnson said at 4:47 pm on September 2nd, 2009:

    where can I get the full version of zodiac?

  64. 64 Daniel Norton said at 4:21 pm on September 4th, 2009:

    Hey Mr. leslie,
    I am working on a web page for my graphic web design class. They said choose an artist or a band’s web page to do, you were the first to mind. It’s progressing well thanks to http://www.ryanleslieweb.net

  65. 65 Keva Shalon Stokes Russell said at 9:15 pm on September 4th, 2009:

    I love it that you play so many instruments. My little saxophone player saw you playing the trumpet and now wants one…hmm, next time in Atlanta, stop by Deerwood Academy.

  66. 66 Chris Kri Leiser said at 12:05 pm on September 5th, 2009:

    Please make this into a download or somethin can’t wait for another album..

  67. 67 Nathanael Gistand said at 5:04 pm on September 6th, 2009:

    Take it away Chris ….show em what you got boy ha!! danananandeerrrderr ( guitar Riff )
    sick!!!

  68. 68 Facebook User said at 9:04 pm on September 7th, 2009:

    Fire man, keep bringing the heat

  69. 69 Greg Velvet Hoop Roseboro said at 10:53 pm on September 7th, 2009:

    Unreal… you are the best in the game, hands down. Keep it going!!

  70. 70 Simen Thunes Hope said at 4:56 am on September 12th, 2009:

    I like this live version much more than the version that feature Pusha T. The beat and vocal is much more tigher on the live version… and that gitar, man!
    Live version is a hit…

  71. 71 Natalie Smith said at 10:23 pm on September 13th, 2009:

    I love, love, love this!

  72. 72 David Dave Chapuis said at 11:54 am on September 15th, 2009:

    I like :)

  73. 73 Facebook User said at 1:22 pm on September 20th, 2009:

    I’m lovin’ it =)

  74. 74 Facebook User said at 9:54 pm on September 22nd, 2009:

    This song is awesome. Day and Night its the only song playing in my head…Ahh Ryan I love you!

  75. 75 C Dot Huey said at 7:15 pm on September 24th, 2009:

    Son, I hope you do just a little more rapping on this album. You got nice flow man. I enjoy the talent.

    BTW – I never knew about the song Used To Be from 2005. I’m on that one too!

    C. Huey – Stay up!

  76. 76 Facebook User said at 2:03 pm on September 25th, 2009:

    HAAAPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BIIIIIRRRRTTTHHHDDDDAAAAAYYYY RYAN!
    God Bless you!

  77. 77 Melvin Alli-Owe said at 5:58 pm on October 28th, 2009:

    ryan the beat is crazy
    ..i had to try to make it myself
    ..flow is sick…energy is explosive..hope to see u in concert on day.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-PnO-jeikM

  78. 78 Facebook User said at 1:05 am on November 2nd, 2009:

    I enjoyed this video very much Ryan. You have a certain grace when it comes to your performances.

    Your chord progressions in this song are simple but smooth and I love the subtle pitch change during the chorus with the guitars.

    Always a fan

  79. 79 Natalie Britton said at 10:54 pm on November 5th, 2009:

    Love the version with Pusha.
    Natural talent that is definitely not forced… easy as a Sunday.

  80. 80 Daniel Johnson said at 9:06 pm on November 12th, 2009:

    I love the energy in this rendition. It looks like Ryan re-recorded his vocals after the fact and that’s probably a soundboard recording of the band’s actual performance. It’s not so much the lack of ambience in the vocal track (although in a room of this size, with glass windows behind him and the band crammed together, there would be a ton of bleed into the mic) as the relaxed vocal tone, which is at odds with the performance you’re seeing. That and his lips are out of synch with the audio in certain places.

    But people do this all the time. Most released live recordings have been taken into the studio after the fact and given some love.

    This song is phenomenal though. One of my favorite things to come out this year. I wish Ryan would release some of these more guitar-heavy renditions (like the video version of How It Was Supposed to Be).

  81. 81 Danish Maher said at 2:31 am on November 17th, 2009:

    Ne

  82. 82 Danish Maher said at 6:38 am on November 17th, 2009:

    bn

  83. 83 Danish Maher said at 6:40 am on November 17th, 2009:

    y

  84. 84 Tolga Duysak said at 7:17 am on November 20th, 2009:

    R-LES he is a genuis

  85. 85 Facebook User said at 11:10 pm on December 28th, 2009:

    LOVE your style!!!

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