The incredibly talented Ryan Leslie is now a free man, parting ways with his record label Universal Motown.

Ryan, 31, released two solo albums through Universal –  both of which bombed on the charts, as did their respective singles.

The producer-artist now has a third album ‘Les is More‘ on the way, which he will release independently.

Initially, Leslie had a four-album deal with Universal, but toward the end of that contract, “Universal was interested in reshaping my deal to more of a 360, and they actually made a counter-offer from the initial recording fund,” Leslie tells Billboard.com. “At that point I saw that as a window to potentially branch off and try something that was going to be new and dynamic.”

Leslie is now taking a more hands-on approach to marketing his music — which includes touring more heavily — with his sights set on playing major music festivals like ‘Bonnaroo’ and ‘Coachella’.

Independent is the best way for an artist like Ryan to go. The industry is changing a lot, and Ryan already has an established name and track record, so now he’ll be free to really spread his wings without label politics getting in the way.

The indie-music festivals are definitely something he needs to make happen. Ryan isn’t your usual commercial R&B singer, and his music has the potential to crossover to a less mainstream crowd, it’s just a matter of bringing the music to the right people.

Oh, and for the record, “You’re Not My Girl” was one of the best songs of 2009.

Check out a new song from Ryan called “Glory” below, which he performed at a recent showcase. Via FlyGuyMusic.

The R&B Energizer Bunny Ryan Leslie is set to re-release his sophomore album Transition, featuring new songs and a bonus DVD movie about the making of the album.

Transition has only sold about 15k since its release in November and spawned no hit singles.

Not only is Ryan working on the Transition re-release, but he’s also announced that his next studio album (ironically titled “Les is More”) will drop sometime this year, which will make it his third album in less than two years. [source]

Most artists in their wildest dreams couldn’t afford to grind as hard Ryan Leslie, but since he produces, writes, arranges and performs all his own music he’s probably saving a whole lot of cash which allows him to spend more money on new albums.

If at first you don’t succeed…

[Download Link]

Cassie kept up with her weekly tradition today of having her music leak online, bringing the total of Electro Love leaks up to 12, 343, 000.

“Right Time” was recorded in early 2007 and produced by Ryan Leslie as part of the first recording sessions for Cassie’s sophomore album. It’s definitely got that smooth R-Les sound and you can tell that her original second album was going to be very similar to her debut (which is definitely good thing).

Call me crazy but I get the feeling that Next Selection has started leaking all her old music online. Perhaps they have a point that they’re trying to prove or something?

My girl Denise alerted me today to this interest blog entry by Next Selection consultant Steve Graham, which seems to have been triggered from a recent song of Cassie’s that leaked online last week titled “Shakespeare” (listen above).

Next Selection of course is Ryan Leslie’s music-media company to which Cassie (formerly known as “the princess of Next Selection”) is signed to and released her debut album through in a partnership between the company and Bad Boy Records. Anyways check out the blog post below.

Cassie – Shakespeare

I love Cassie no matter what they say…

can’t believe all these demos leaked. her 2nd album was going to be crazy

Word, Ryan played me some joint with Brandon Hines on it, some joint called “Better Off Apart” or something, and another insane un-vocalled beat by Mario Winans.

That album could have been fucking INSANE. However, apparently everything was shutdown by…

Any guesses who the mystery dot-dot-dot person could be?

Cassie has now been working on her sophomore album since 2007. Originally she started off with Ryan Leslie on the track “Sometimes” which was the first official song from her sophomore recordings, before then heading into the studio with Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, B-Cox, and Darkchild. There was even talk at one point of getting Lenny Kravitz on the album.

Shortly after rumours began to swirl that Cassie had given Ryan Leslie the cold shoulder for Bad Boy boss Diddy, and the two were spotted by paparazzi getting cosy on several occasions. With Cassies new relationship came a brand new sound and a host of new producers, including Danja, Eric Hudson, RedOne, Akon, The-Dream, Surf Club, and Fernando Garibay.

So why don’t we have an album yet? To say that there’s no interest in the project would be a lie considering that Cassie still makes front page news on the gossip and music blogs despite the fact that she only has one hit to her name which is now almost five years old. UK newspaper The Guardian even ran an article on Cassie’s leaks and missing sophomore album under the title “Cassie’s unreleased classic”.

Now it’s almost 2010 and all we have to show for the 23-year-olds current career are three failed singles, almost thirty leaked songs, some nude photos, and a love triangle complete with accusations from Ryan Leslie himself that Cassie unexpectedly cut all ties with him, the man who made her a star.

If Cassie hadn’t mixed with business with pleasure would things be different? Will an upcoming move to Interscope Records help salvage what’s left of the Electro Love project, or has too much damage been done?

Rihanna hit the clubs yet again late last week for another release party for Rated R in New York City.

Despite poor expectations Rated R has managed to crack into the top five on the Billboard charts, coming in at #4 with 181k.

Speaking of Rated R, has anybody looked through the booklet? I was in the record store earlier today and I was flipping through the book and basically every single page has a picture of Riri’s tiddays or azz!

It looks like singer Cassie has got herself a good weave because her shaved head was nowhere to be seen when her hairstylist tweeted a photo of the two on the set of a new photoshoot earlier today.

Do you think Cassie just covered up for the shoot, or is this going to be a permanent thing? Personally I love the shave so I hope she goes back to it.

Cassies ex-BF Ryan Leslie was snapped out & about last week at the Twin Spirits premiere.

If you’re a fan of R-Les you can catch him this Wednesday on the Mo’Nique show performing a ballad from his new album called “I Choose You”. Ryan’s going to be accompanied by a string quartet so it should be good. [source]

Miley Cyrus a.k.a. the girl who’s never heard a Jay-Z song in her life was snapped earlier looking sexy at the Jingle Bell Ball in London where she’ll be performing.

The 17-year-old was another victim of this years Grammy awards, failing to receive any nominations despite racking up a number of hits including “Party In The U.S.A.” and “The Climb” (which was nominated but Miley wasn’t).

If you’re looking for your Miley fix then check out Timbalands new album Shock Value II, where the singer is featured on a track called “We Belong to the Music”.

Last but not least was my girl Jordin Sparks who was also at the Jingle Bell Ball with Miley Cyrus.

The 19-year-old is about to release her new UK-only single “Don’t Let It Go to You Head” soon, with rumours swirling that “It Takes More” will be released in the States.

Whatever she releases she better do it soon because the momentum of her new album Battlefield is almost gone completely.

Something tells me that we won’t be seeing any more music video’s from this era, just a few promo singles that get sent to radio and fail. It’s a shame since I think her new album is very solid and much better than a lot of other pop albums out right now.

The very talented Ryan Leslie has done a new photoshoot with Essence to promote his just-released sophomore album Transition.

He’s also moving onto the albums second single “Never Gonna Break Up” after “You’re Not My Girl” failed to do anything on the charts. You can watch a leaked bootleg of the music video here. I think he should’ve chosen a different single but oh well.

I really like this photoshoot, it’s very classic and R-Les looks really handsome. Shout to RyanLeslieWeb for it.

Has anyone listened to his album yet? Or bought it? I heard it the other day and I love it. He has a real Prince vibe on this record I think.

Anyways peep the full photoshoot below the cut…

There’s one pic where he looks stoned as hell, it’s really funny!

Read more »

[Download Link]

Ryan Leslie’s female protégée Krys Ivory is preparing to drop a new mixtape titled Reflection in order to drum up some interest before she comes out with a new single and debut album. Here’s a new track from it called “Mr. Maybe”, which was of course produced by Ryan.

This is a really smooth midtempo and you’d only need to hear a 5 second snippet to know that it’s an R-Les joint. It’s got that sexy, hypnotic sound that he used to have with Cassie, except Kris’ vocals aren’t as icy as Cassie’s were.  What’s interesting is that this is the exact sound that Cassie would still be doing right now if she hadn’t run off with Diddy.

I still haven’t heard Krys do a song as good as her first single “Be Next To Ya”, but she’s got a lot of potential so I’ll definitely be checking out her mixtape.

After Diddy signed a lucrative new solo deal with Interscope Records, the future of his artists on Bad Boy came into question after it was confirmed that they would stay on at Warner/Atlantic without him.

One artist who won’t have to worry though is Cassie, with her former mentor Ryan Leslie confirming that the “Me & U” will be making the switch over to Interscope with Diddy.

Not only will Diddy release his new album with Dirty Money, Last Train to Paris, through Interscope, but he will also form his own new label under the Interscope umbrella.

It also looks like Cassie and Ryan Leslie have patched things up, with Ryan confirming that the two have been in contact and that he’s willing to work on her much-delayed sophomore album Electro Love.

“With this album she really wanted to go in a direction that was different to the music that I make, and I wanted her to have that artistic freedom to express herself in the way that she wanted to. But whenever she’s ready to work again, if she wants to revisit and collaborate, [then] my studio is wide open”.

“Her very first album was really my expression through her, so as she learned she began to get a point of view and a perspective that she wanted to try something new, so as long as she’s doing it to the best of her ability then I support it 100%”.

Electro Love and Last Train to Paris will be released some time next year. [Source]

Whilst some people feel that Cassie lost any musical magic that she once had when she left Ryan Leslie (myself partly included), at least it’s nice to know that she actually has creative control over her new record and is doing her own thing. Rihanna tries to come across as the edgy in-control one but her music sounds like everything else on the radio. At least Cassie has her own unique sound that she actually helped craft on her own. I spoke to the producers of her song “Sky Diver” after it leaked and they told me that she really knows how to cut a record and what she’s after.

Anyways, I actually can’t believe that Diddy brought her over to Interscope with him whilst leaving behind people like Cheri Dennis and Red Cafe. I have to hand it to this chick – she really knows how to upgrade herself to wifey status. First Ryan Leslie and now Diddy. She seems to have these guys around her little finger and she’s made a career from it. Hopefully the album drops next year and the focus can be back on her as an artist because dick riding will only get you so far.

Ryan Leslie slows things down on “I Choose You”, the closing track from his upcoming sophomore album Transition. As usual the song was written, arranged, and produced by R-Les himself. Check it out below.

[Download Link]

This is a sweet and heartfelt ballad, and I can see it being a good way to close his album. The minimal production allows the listener to focus more on the lyrics and message of the song without being distracted by a ton of bells and whistles.

It’s a good thing some more songs are leaking from Transition because the buzz for the album seems to be completely dead. R-Les is one of the most talented dudes in the game, so it’s a shame to see his album approaching it’s November 3 release date with little to no hype. Is anyone here planning on picking up a copy? Did anybody buy his first album?

My head is still in a continual shake over the fact that “You’re Not My Girl” didn’t blow up. That song is somethin’ else.

The official track-listing for Ryan Leslie’s sophomore album Transition, which hits stores November 3rd. The album was written, arranged, produced, and engineered entirely by R-Les himself. The first single “You’re Not My Girl” has so far failed to reach any higher than #72 on the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart. [Source]

01. Never Gonna Break Up

02. Something That I Like (feat. Pusha T of Clipse)

03. Zodiac

04. Is It Real Love?

05. Sunday Night

06. You’re Not My Girl

07. To The Top

08. Nothing

09. Guardian Angel

10. All My Love

11. I Choose You

I think eleven songs is sufficient because it probably means that there’s no filler. I wish he had some featurs though, like maybe Rhea, Cassie, or his new artist Krys Ivory.

Who is planning on buying this and who is just gonna download it illegally? I’ll probably just download it since I don’t think his albums get released in Australia.

According to HHNM this is the official cover for Ryan Leslie’s sophomore album Transition, which is due to hit stores November 3rd.

The albums lead single “You’re Not My Girl” has so far reached #72 on the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart, and the second single is supposedly on it’s way.

I love the cover, it’s very futuristic. Is it just me though or is everyone leaning towards futuristic stuff now? I don’t know. Anyways I love R-Les and I want this album to do well, but I’m shocked that “You’re Not My Girl” hasn’t blown up. It’s easily one of the best songs of the year, yet it’s failing in the charts. It’s so unfair.

Ryan Leslie was snapped recently celebrating his 31st birthday at SL.

The super-producer was joined by a number of high profile celebrity guests, including Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, DJ Cassidy, Swizz Beatz, Rick Rubin, John Legend, Andre Harrell, and a host of various supermodels.

One of the models in question was Australian Nicole Trunfio, who’s previously appeared in campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Karl Lagerfeld, and Guess. In several of the photo’s Nicole and R-Les can be seen hugging and posing together. Could she be his new girlfriend perhaps?

In other news, Ryan confirmed via his Twitter account that “Said & Done” will be the next single from Mary J.Blige’s new album Stronger. The song was produced and co-written by Leslie himself.

That model Nicole he’s with is so pretty, and I can’t believe he’s with an Australian! His party looks good to, sorry I didn’t have more pics of all the stars that attended.

Anyways I’m really happy about Mary’s new single, “Said & Done” is an amazing song and I hope it does well. I also loved that new joint with T.I. to though. MJB’s new album is one of my most anticipated of the year! [Source]