It seems like forever since we first heard Ryan Leslie on “Diamond Girl” then became mildly interested in his relationship with Cassie. Finally after many push backs, his self-titled debut has been released. His first single wasn’t a smash hit but it seemed that the Harvard grad could only excel from there. 
Unfortunately, the ride is more of a one-note coast rather than any unexpected twists and turns.
Leslie wafts in and out of his infatuation for this woman or the next from the neatly wrapped club bangers like “Addiction” to the adult contemporary drum-beats in “Quicksand.”
Honestly, I can’t help but wonder what is it about women that he is so in love with that makes him want to whisper but never actually shout.
Since Leslie is clearly aware of his distinct tone’s vocal boundaries he gains points for knowing his limitations (which is more than we can say for a lot of artists). “Valentine” allows Leslie to play a Prince-like character mimicking the high-pitched singer’s seductive murmur; then crossing back over to his own sound. Evoking a game of vocal double- dutch that is admirable but not really very interesting. If you look closely in the credits for the neo-soul inspired “Just Right” you will find keyboard additions from rumored fling and model Chanel Iman.
High notes include “How It Was Supposed to Be” which pleasantly brews base and guitar instrumentation that fit like a glove. On the flip side “I-R-I-N-A” will tickle your fancy but is not likely to keep your attention if it should be so lucky to grab it.
For writing, composing, and producing his own music Leslie gets honorable mention among the R&B new school. But though things fizzle a little, this debut fails to come to a full boil.
Glad to see a music review on this site that doesn’t just pander to the aritst. It seems like an honest review, though I am not remotely interested in Ryan Leslie. I wasn’t aware that he went to Harvard was he a music major?
I think Ryan is a HANDSOME guy, but I don’t like most of his music. “Addiction” was my jam though!
I can help but wonder who is Latifah.Muhammad??? Is this a new member of the CL crew…
i’m lovin the production on ‘how it was supposed to be’
Nice review.
the whole album is hot to me
the only song that i really don’t prefer is just right and shouldnt have to wait
so thats 10 out of 12
but the album is hot in my opinion.
DID ANYONE OF YOU KNOW THAT HE GRADUATED FROM HARVARD AT THE AGE OF 19 ?!?!?!?!?!?!? MUSIC DEGREE ? PLEASE. IT WAS POLITICS AND ECONOMICS !!!! I DID ECONOMICS AND FINANCE AND I KNOW – IT’S HARD. AND AT THE AGE OF 19 ?!?!?!?!?!? WHAT IS HE DOING IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, COS HE AIN’T THAT FAMOUS ANYWAY ….
@WOW: He is there to save the music industry from bad music. He’s one of the most talented people out there and everyone should know that.
1st off this review was very well written. Thank you!
I knew that Ryan Leslie was a Harvard grad and supposedly he didn’t get much love. Harvard is doing some things in the music biz tho because Chester French is the shit!
I like Ryan Leslie, “Addicted” and “How is was supposed to be” are very strong singles as well as “Diamond Girl” for some reason he reminds me of Fonzworth Bentley though. I think that his album will be very well put together but idk if it will blow me away. Good luck though…
Love me some Ryan Leslie!
denise,
i actually don’t know much about him but im surprised, he could ve had a fantastic career somewhere in politics or financial industry. when i said he aint that famous – i meant he is not like some other male artists that we all know
I like Quicksand. He is a good producer, does he write his own stuff? He could take on Neyo if he had better writing. He seems a lot deeper than his lyrics.
As for Cassie, she might as well hang it up at Badboy. Her, Keri Hilson and Christina Millian are all interchangable at this point, with her being the last person to check for!
wow. First bad review I’ve seen on this site and it’s realted to one of the best artists out today. Gotta keep my eye out to check the consistency of this writer, just to understand your taste better. Your bad reviews may turn out to be my go-to’s.
As far as the person who said he aint that famous- do you only listen to music from “famous” artists? How does one go about becoming “famous” to you?
Back to Ryan’s album- damn good listen. Got beats, good lyrics, all around great songs.
My only knock would b that it took too long so I’ve alreaady played a lot of the songs out already because of the leaks.
The fact that he isn’t more famous reflects worse on the game than him.
@WOW: Tell me, would you do something that’s not fun for you? I think you would also use your talents to have a great life like that.
You should really check him out. There is NOONE who watched his videos and didn’t fall in love with his talent. Check youtube.com/user/ryanleslietv and watch him playing a live remix to Lil Wayne’s Lollipop. Crazy! If you still need something to convince you then, watch him making Addiction!
This man belongs into the worldwide charts. On top of all of them! He really deserves it.
alright, i’ll rephrase it – he is unknow outside the states, and if you are talking about continental europe or asia – no one knows him at all. and for a change he must be smart and not such a gangster as the majority of artists who are not only super rich but are also known in every hole and who havent even finished school and always proudly talk about their lives how they made money out of being gangsters, whereas this guy is clearly different
This review was horrible! Surely, a prodigy like Ryan deserves a review written with at least a little bit of journalistic passion. The typos alone lead me to wonder whether the album was ever listened to, at all. CL can do better…if you’re going to write a review on another artist’s creation, do that artist justice and write with some honor..good review or bad.
He is pretty known in some areas… I myself am from Germany and the clubs where he performed were always so full that I was afraid to be killed lol
UK and France are also waiting unpaitiently for him to come over and perform.
I heard Diamond Girl about 6-9 months before I saw the video. I live in Seattle where everything comes a year later, so he was trying to release this album for quite a while. Any who, I do like his music and will be purchasing it ASAP.
I love everything about this man, ive been following him since 05′ and i love all his material, his musical genius and it doesnt hurt hes an educated individual from Harvard
FeelinG QuicksanD
I love this album, u can tell Ryan had a hand in all of the tracks
This was an honest review that I agree with wholeheartedly but next time proofread before you post.
@14 WOW
If Ryan Leslie is a superstar in Belgium , one of the smallest countries in Europe, then if i were you i should reconsider what you said about unknown in Europe..
Ryan leslie one of my favourite artists!
I can only pay so much attention to a bad review done by someone who has no integrity to their own craft. If I was going to give a mediocre to bad review on ANYONE, I would most certainly make sure I had no typos or grammatical errors. This review here? Garbage.
Concreteloop should have called me to do this review; I KNOW I could have done way better.
He went to Harvard and has decided to become just another mediocre male RnB singer, what a waste of a black brain.
Thank God Dr Ben Carson didn’t run off and try to be one of the Commodores or something
Bring Bryan back, all Latifah does is write up bad reviews. I mean I thought cL kept it positive on this site? This is now the 2nd bad review from her this week. If the album is bad I just rather no write up than a diss, if that’s what we were looking for we could go over to Bossip. COME ON ANGEL
Go get this album!!! This man is a genius musically and intellectually. Youtube him and you will see!!
Valetine and Gibberish are my fav tracks!!!
ryan leslie is a genius..
say what u want bout his music but he went to harvard so even if this doesnt pan out for him trust me he got a hella back up plan unlike a lot of these artists out here lol
i love his stuff…
24. This man writes, engineers, and produces his own music. Yea, he went to Harvard and could just as well get a white-collar job on Wall Street somewhere but chose to follow his passion and dream and doing a good job at it. It’s a lot of White collar folks miserable on their jobs and he making money at what he is talented and naturally given. So to say it’s brain power wasted is ignorant in my opinion.
i read someone saying that ryan leslie is unknown outside USA, but that’s not true
I’m from portugal (smal country in europe) and i and many ohters people now exactly who he is
I will support anyone who writes and produces their own music. That’s where the true talent lies. Not just an awesome voice-must have the whole package.
P.S. I like this guy.
quote: ” On the flip side “I-R-N-A” will tickle your fancy but is not likely to keep your attention if it should be so lucky to grab it. ”
i haven’t heard this song, does anyone know whether there is an official video for this song, could you post the link if you do know ? (is it about a person named irina or what does it stand for ? )
Brian was horrible!!!! This is not much better in terms of syntax but Brian was just not good. His spelling was just as bad and he loved people like Solange because he went to a press event.
whattttttttt……who made this review. Ryan Leslie is the next big artist to hit the music industry. i think you need to rehear the whole album again mate, i mean what the hell are u into, would chav music please u more latifah
I and many people will agree that the review should be deleted and a real fan of ryan leslie writes it up…seriously!!!
ryan leslie is hella talented… like seriously. i cld watch him in the studio all day, he’s soo creative
OH, I’M SO GLAD THAT THEY HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DOING THE ALBUM REVIEWS THIS TIME AROUND. IT’S ACTUALLY A VERY INTELLIGENT PIECE
NOT REALLY A RYAN LESLIE FAN THOUGH. HE LOOKS A LITTLE TOO MUCH LIKE THAT ERNIE’S FRIEND OFF OF “SESAME STREET”
i love RL. I heard his previous album. He is so nerdy but I am just crushin on him…sigh
I like Ryan Leslie,but the competition,in his genre,is tough! Kanye,Ne-Yo,John Legend ! Somehow he`s got to find a way to separate himself from the pack.
RLS Is the Buisness!! Please support and dont illegal download!! And Brian, I have no idea what your’e talking about but I.R.I.N.A. is serious, especially at the end when he went to town with the keyboard!!
WHY are there props being passed out for this poorly written review??
May sound harsh, but its kind of embarrassing to bash an artist like that, when its obvious that your review wasn’t read (at least I HOPE not) in full before being slapped up on the internet.
And I’m not even really big on Ryan Leslie, although I think his training and education is quite commendable in comparison to the slackers that usually put out “tracks.”
Please, at least fix the typos!
I absolutely love this album. You should search some of his vids on youtube…he is extremely talented and plays most of the instruments on his songs. Be sure to google his impromptu remix of Lil’ Wayne’s Lollipop! Love, love, love RL!
I copped 2 copies of my man’s R. Les album, one for the crib and one for the ride. I have been anticipating this LP for a MINUTE.. Please get out and support this brotha, his craft is definitely solid. Excellent album my man!!
I concur with #16 and 21… Please proof read and edit your work for typos if your going to post a review of some sort.
I thought the review was solid. Not everyone is going to like everything.
& What did they need to edit? I didn’t notice any MAJOR typos…
I like ryan leslie’s music. Very talented and creative man…it doesn’t hurt that he is well educated too
i’ve listened to his album and i thin it’s a pretty solid effort, very prince influenced. i think that if you enjoy prince, you’ll enjoy this album.
tracks that i’m really digging right now are:
1. Diamond Girl *my old jam
2. Addiction *my old jam*
3. You’re Fly
5. Valentine
7. How It Was Suppose To Be *will probably be my next favorite, lol*
12. Gibberish *my jam right now*
The album is fantastic. No frills, no guns, no hos just beautiful feel good music. The way R&B was intended. R-Les is the most talented artist in hip hop/rnb. His music is amazing and inspiring, and his lyrics are introspective, romantic and relatable. He’s a class act all the way. Despite all UMG has put him through, he just keeps going and growing. I love the whole album. I really love ‘gibberish’ . It must have taken some guts to put a song with no lyrics on his ‘official debut’ album.
btw the album is called ‘Ryan Leslie’ because he wrote, produced, mixed every song.
I actually enjoy the album. Gibberish is my shit!
Who is Latifah and where is Brian?
i can’t believe Cassie replaced Keri Hilson for Addiction. stupid :/
Gibberish is my issssssssh
@Lauren: Cassie was on the original record, Keri did a remix herself as I know. Nothing official. She doesn’t fit to the song anyways.
Ryan Leslie is actually big in Europe,Its just unfortunate Universal are not promoting his project over here but he is massive, i know alot of peeps who been waiting for his album to drop for ages.People going to be very suprised when this cat labum hit Number 1, for those who dont where he started you need to find , The Official Nextselection Mixtape online and listen to that
I agree the album didn’t blow me away like I hoped/thought it would BUT I don’t agree w/ a comment you made. “Honestly, I can’t help but wonder what is it about women that he is so in love with that makes him want to whisper but never actually shout.” In response to that, WTH is up w/ u children that makes you think being loud is equivalent to having singing abilities? It’s not. Ryan has great vocal abilities and he shows that off in every song so WTF are you talking about? The fact that he can deliver emotion WITHOUT shouting like most ppl do is an honor in itself and should be respected… not mocked. So stop playing yourself.
I think that, as many people have mentioned before, Ryan Leslie is the next big thing. He’s talented in many aspects. However, it’s his beats and lyrics that capture me. He has so much respect for women, just listening to him singing makes me feel like a lady
For those who said Ryan isn’t known outside the states..well, I’m from Sudan, and I’ve been following his music for about 2 years!! So, to me it’s not about him being unknown for some people, it’s about his music not being appreciated by many folks.
He sounds great. Lyrics are simple, yet deep. Great melodies. He looks and sound romantic. Most Harvard grads are soft spoken, but assertive, confident and get things done. Endless love for him.
This album is the ISH from beginning to end!!!! Great work!!
he doesnt wow me @ all…hes vocals are “aight”….he should use that time spent in Harvard to some use
WHAAAATTT! HIS ALBUM IS THE BIZ-NAS! HOTTEST JOINT OUT THERE RIGHT NOW PERIOD! WHO WROTE THIS?? I HAVE BEEN JAMMIN NON-STOP SINCE I BOUGHT IT ON TUESDAY….NEXT TIME PLEASE LET SOMEONE WITH A REAL EAR FOR MUSIC AND TALENT WRITE REVIEWS.. THANK YOU.
Someone told me he posted his photos at a rich dating site ^^^^^^^ http://www.celebmingle.com ^^^^^^^^^ with username wwodi, well, this is really a good site for millionaires and celebrities to date.