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Black Music Month
Ryan Leslie is a legitimate quadruple threat. He's a singer, producer, entrepreneur and now rapper. On his forthcoming album,
'Les Is More,' and with his media company, Next Selection, he's determined to prove that he can be successful following his artistic impulses and unique business sense.
In fact, now that Leslie has left the security of his major label (Universal), he says that he's more at ease with what the future holds. As an independent artist, his career is in his own hands more than ever. It's a reality that really came into focus last year when he lost his laptop which housed much of the music he'd been working on. (Luckily, he wound up retrieving the computer.)
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The Grammy nominated artist seems up for the challenge, as he prepares to drop 'Les Is More,' which is tentatively set for release on July 4. As he told us in a recent chat before a
Black Music Month Live in-store performance at the
Apple store in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, he's just excited about expressing himself.
Brett Johnson: Have you found it more stressful or more liberating as an independent artist now?
Ryan Leslie: It's inevitably liberating artistically. But it puts a wealth of responsibility on my internal team to make sure all of the internal parts are progressing in harmony, no pun intended. I wouldn't change it for the world currently.
BJ: Why make the shift from singing to rapping at this point?
RL: It's really a throwback to how I started. If someone is putting an investment in you in terms of what they're creating, they get nervous when you decide you're going to to do something different. I was coming off a Grammy nominated R&B album (2009's
'Transition'). It would almost be crazy to depart from that. That's the beauty of being an artist. You can take crazy risks and do it in the name of art and expression.
BJ: On 'Glory' there's a line that goes: 'Try to put me in a box, the urban dude...' Are you referring to your former label or fans?
RL: Really I love my fans. They immediately picked up on the line, that's what made them fans. It's more for the folks who didn't want to listen or who didn't want to invest the time. I was in that box in their minds. As a musician and as a person, you want to break down the barriers that people have so that we can all be more free to express ourselves as long as we're expressing ourselves in the name of cultural advancement.
BJ: What are some other songs fans can look forward to?
RL: 'Breathe' is a record which is almost a satirical narrative and description of life on the road. The line is "I can't get too close to groupies/ In the clubs, they pick-pocket you for your room keys/ They show up in your hotel lobby/ Quit playing, girl, you're way too obvious." 'Beautiful Lie,' is like if you know something's not right, it's almost like watching a movie. You suspend your disbelief, just so you can be entertained and in that entertainment you can be happy. You believe in a beautiful lie. There are many undertones of disfunctionality in my relationships or in my life, but sometimes you may look around and say man, 'I'm really living. For this moment, why don't I just believe in this moment so that I can enjoy it to the fullest.'
BJ: What's Next Selection?
RL: It's a music driven media company. What we have done is taken the experience with Success stories like Cassie, and my continuing story, and look to create a paradigm where an artist could with as few as 1,000 fans, dedcicated fans, make a living that will support their art. Through Next Selection, we can create elements that can change the minds of artists. We may be able to raise the bar for artistic contributions, cause they're not doing it just for fame and glitz and glory and money, but for sake of art.
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