Video courtesy of Beats & Ballads/Beny Blaq Entertainment
Q&A with Ryan Leslie by Samantha Luck
I would sit for long lengths of time and soak in the creativity that poured from Ryan Leslie’s videos featured on his YouTube channel. To watch him jump in and out of studio booths and onto various instruments as he gathered just the right ingredients to whip up an irresistible sound was downright addictive. Not only did he (as a one-man show) provide melodies and harmonies that appealed to a very large audience (see the number of viewers per video), he exuded a contagious motivating determination that with heart, talent, tenacity, brain power and a sprinkle of charisma, barriers couldn’t stand in his way. He is a living example that artistic freedom is not only possible but extremely attractive and lucrative.
Check out my conversation with Ryan Leslie after his captivating performance for The Park Unplugged show sponsored by The Park at Fourteenth and Beny Blaq Entertainment.
Read more after the jump.
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| Photo credit: TBD.com |

Ryan Leslie: I just feel like in today’s day and age, especially for young people that are making music, the traditional distribution methods are antiquated. The internet allows you to have direct access and channel distribution to your audience, and I want to be able to exploit that and be as creatively free as I want to be. And so that independence allows me to be unrestricted in my creative expression.
My favorite song already on Les Is More is “Maybachs and Diamonds.†It’s just so sweet (super smile).
Oh wow. Thank you so much.
It is! And you’re welcome.
I didn’t know that. I would’ve done it tonight.
Awww, I almost shouted it out but…So are you in love right now or is that past experience?
I was in love when I wrote the record and I’m still in love…and when it goes sour—there’s also a record called “Joan of Arc†on the album and that’s about the experience of when it all breaks down. And there’s a reference to Napoleon in that record and it’s like you understand that you have your faults and you may fight for something, and sometimes it falls apart and you get exiled. So, this record is probably the realest album I’ve ever written; and it’s coming from real experience.
Last question. In the name of JukeBOX, what album are you really into right now?
I’m loving that Frank Ocean mixtape. I think if all goes well, I’ll be working with him; and in a couple of weeks, I’m going out to do Coachella out in California. Then we’re supposed to get in the studio together.
