Ryan Leslie

Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. Working predominantly in contemporary R&B and hip-hop, he has released six studio albums and written songs for artists including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Diddy, Fabolous, LL Cool J, Kanye West and Usher, among others. Leslie is credited with discovering singer Cassie Ventura in 2004, who signed to his NextSelection record label in a joint-venture with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records two years later. Leslie wrote and produced her 2006 debut single "Me & U", which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); he did so on the entirety of her eponymous debut studio album (2006). In his own recording career, Leslie signed with Universal Motown Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (2009), which was met with moderate critical and commercial reception. It was supported by the singles "Diamond Girl," "Addiction" (featuring Fabolous and Ventura), and "How It Was Supposed to Be," and followed by his second album Transition (2009), which was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and his self-released third album, Les Is More (2012). Outside of music, Leslie founded the direct text marketing service SuperPhone in 2015.