Review: Ryan Leslie

Thanks to technology—namely Auto-Tune—it seems like every R&B producer is now also an “artist.” But Ryan Leslie, who first came to light as the impresario behind model-turned-singer Cassie, thankfully is not that guy. The former Harvard prodigy (entered at 15, graduated at 19) sings just fine without vocal-processing software. He’s also an adept musician whose sound beds are built primarily from his own analog instrumentation.

Like Ne-Yo’s recent Year of the Gentleman, Leslie’s self-titled LP trades in what you might call “retro-future soul.” Songs such as “Diamond Girl,” “How It Was Supposed to Be” and “Just Right” are sleek, forward-looking, synth-driven productions. Vocally, however, Leslie’s presentation evokes the dignified showmanship of the Motown era. He avoids explicit references to sex; instead, the chase, specifically of models, is his inspiration. “I-R-I-N-A” was written for Victoria’s Secret girl Irina Sheik; Chanel Iman, another ex-flame, gets an “additional keyboards” credit on “Just Right.”

Leslie’s greatest flaw is a tendency to lay the player talk on too thick; his occasional segues into rap range from endearingly cheesy to cringeworthy (from “Diamond Girl”: “I’ll be your publisher?/?You can be my centerfold?/?As long as you do me right?/?Show me how I’m edible”). When he lets his lush arrangements and serviceable crooning do the talking, however, Leslie proves himself a cut above today’s crop of overly enhanced R&B technophiles.

Ryan Leslie plays the Apollo Theater Mar 7.

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