Album Review: Ryan Leslie- Ryan Leslie

Producer/songwriter for the stars, Ryan Leslie has helped artists reach the pinnacle of their careers for quite some time—and now he takes a well-deserved “greedy trip” for the release of his own project appropriately titled Ryan Leslie.

He includes all the elements that made him such an in-demand song architect behind the boards by creating an album that is every A&R’s dream: Nothing but radio-friendly tunes that are ready for major MTV video rotation, which should make their way onto the ring tone circuit.

The producer for such singers as Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Mia Rose, and JoJo definitely kept some material in the vault for himself, and it shows on offerings like ‘You’re Fly,’ ‘Quicksand,’ ‘Just Right,’ and ‘Wanne Be Good.’

Jadakiss makes the rounds on ‘How It Was Supposed Be,’ and lays out his input on the “what if” scenario with lines like, “My heart got my mind trapped in/tryin’ to find something out that ain’t gon’ happen/honey just jumped ship, and left the captain/guess that’s the repercussions of my actions/it’s makin’ me furious, cause I’m so serious/after you lose something, you realize it’s serious.”

Of course his lead-off bangers ‘Addiction’ featuring his protégé Cassie and Fabolous along with ‘Diamond Girl’ make the trip as well.

But the proud owner of the NextSelection imprint does make one faux pas on the album by falling victim to the dreaded Atuo-Tune on ‘Gibberish.’ Besides that one mishap, Ryan Leslie does manage to prove that he is worthy of enjoying the fruits of his labor, instead of constantly sharing the picnic basket with others on a steady basis.

Rating: 4.0