There aren’t many things that come on BET that I support, but as I was channel surfing last night I saw an interesting show title, “Rising Icons”. I was really excited when I hit the info button and found that the show was about Ryan Leslie. A true triple threat (singer, songwriter and producer), I think R. Les is one of the most slept on talents out right now. I found out about Ryan Leslie in 2005 when someone sent me a copy of his still unreleased album “Just Right”, although I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time I liked what I heard.
Last year when “Diamond Girl” dropped I was like “Hey I know that guy”. I went back through my archives and found the old album I had only skimmed through before and kicked myself for weeks for not really listening to it earlier. Even today I still play that CD like it was just released last Tuesday. At that point I was in full addikt mode, I was determined to find all I could on this man. I didn’t have to go any further than his Youtube channel to keep me busy for a couple hours. I was in awe as I watched him play the piano over Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” and make a song that raunchy into something beautiful. Watching him produce a song was just as amazing and inspiring. I was an instant fan…well three years later.
What’s even more intriguing is his story. Having graduated from Harvard at 19, he definitely had a future in whatever he chose to do. Thankful for all the addikts of the world he eats, sleeps and breathes music. Although I’ve read that he’s very arrogant (honestly if I’d graduated from Harvard at 19 I probably would be too), it’s really hard to tell. I don’t know of another artist on his level that reaches out to his fans the way he does. From giving his twitter followers backstage passes to his shows, to buying iPods for his fans that meet him at an Apple store in the middle of the night. For all those that say the state of music is in despair….let me introduce to you what could be the savior.
Who does this???
Tune in Monday’s at Midnight to catch other episodes of BET’s Rising Icons. Upcoming shows:
October 12, Melanie Fiona
October 26, The Dream
Stay High!!!
LoverofSOUL
