★★★★★
The Harvard Graduate is back. This is a brand new retail album which is an exhibit of Ryan Leslie's different approach in which he raps more and sings much less. This time around, Ryan Leslie sounds a little less hesitant with the rap verses than he was on "Les Is More". It is no secret that Ryan Leslie is a genius, whether it is for his songwriting work or producing work...
- www.musicreview.co.za
2014-01-17
★★★★★
Warm, effervescent, full of color and verve----for those who've experienced it before, nothing enraptures the senses like a summer fling. It may not always produce love, marriage or babies, but one obviously left a deep impression on musician and producer Ryan Leslie, whose sophomore CD, Transitions, is dedicated to a recent seasonal paramour (or so the credits would like you to believe, wink wink). As a writer-and-producer-turned singer (Mary J...
- www.soultracks.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
He's a 30-year-old songwriter, producer, savvy self-promoter and super scholar (perfect 1600 SAT score, Harvard diploma in hand by 19) who's collaborated with some of music's biggest names (Sean "Diddy" Combs, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J), but chances are that you haven't heard of Ryan Leslie the recording artist....yet. And if you're among that group, Mr...
- www.soultracks.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
Bland can be a virtue in r&b this fine-tuned, only don't get too caught up in it ("Never Gonna Break Up," "You're Not My Girl").
- www.robertchristgau.com
2010-08-25
★★★★★
Thinking man's romantic makes intelligent beats sound easy ("Diamond Girl," "Gibberish").
- www.robertchristgau.com
2010-08-25
★★★★★
Ryan Leslie is better known as a producer and marketing man than a performer; the 30-year-old Harvard grad's spare beats and media savvy helped make Cassie a star, but his 2005 debut album saw light in Europe only. Now that he's finally got a stateside release, what's surprising is how ego-free it feels.
Inevitably, Ryan Leslie is a producer's record; its cutest moments — neo-New Jack bounces, lonely electro loops, nursery-rhyme Auto-Tunes — are studio gold...
- www.rollingstone.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Considering the résumé he's built up as a producer and songwriter (Beyoncé, Britney), Ryan Leslie could easily have sold the effervescent beats on this solo debut to any number of willing artists.He's got his sights set on stardom, though, so he decided to sing over them himself. Evidently no one in Leslie's circle was eager to tell him that he's a competent vocalist at best, a fact that no amount of self-confidence can hide. But oh, those hooks...
- ew.com
2009-06-04
★★★★★
Ryan Leslie graduated from Harvard at the age of 19. He made a name for himself at the age of 27, when Cassie's Leslie-produced "Me & U"—a song that's all beat and no song—briefly ruled the world in the summer of 2006. If Leslie's a name in any household, it's surely due to that breathtaking beat, but, as good as it is, "Me & U"'s ice cold drip-drop belies Leslie's full, warm sound as well as the realized brilliance of his self-titled American debut...
- www.popmatters.com
2009-05-18
★★★★★
At 15, Ryan Leslie enrolled at Harvard in government and economics; at 19, he was picked to deliver the commencement oration; after graduation he finagled an internship with Sean Combs. In short, this son of Salvation Army ministers is a go-getter to shame Tracy Flick, and his solo debut shows it: These dozen R&B; songs boast all the verve and sex appeal of a business plan...
- www.blender.com
2009-03-21
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