Although Ryan Leslie’s Les Is More was due out this past summer; the long awaited Audio/Video album is upon us (In the Rock’s voice) “Finally…. R. Les….has come back to music stores!”. Its been months with filmed studio sessions, and music videos leading up to the finished product not to go without doubts, and criticisms on whether Mr. Leslie can hold his own on a full fledged rap album. Ryan Leslie makes sure that you know he’s heard the chirps. Let’s say you’ve kept up with all the reviews of the singles, music videos, and live performances presented on G Style but then again lets not. The production of course is on point; and believe it or not as an MC R. Les still compliments his music with his flow. The kid surprisingly keeps up with heat he’s dishing out musically. On the joint “Black Flag” Les gives you “Yea I do believe in miracles, heaven is so empirical/ You could see the way I climbed up the ladder/ Education Ivy League, I’m talkin’ mind over matter/ And so called innovators is always asking for favors/ Then they take the credit for the fruits of your labor.” The track is ridiculously classic hip-hop which marries with the R&B soulful vocals provided on the hooks. A perfect blend of Hip-Hop & R&B.
There are a couple of burners on R. Lizzle’s 3rd installment that will definitely bang in the club; like “5 Minute Freshen Up,” “Beautiful Lie” original and remix featuring Fabolous. And what would be a rap song if it didn’t have a little boasting. So why not tell it with “Swiss Francs” building paper like “30,000 feet I’m outta reach/ Lifestyle is extravagant word to Robin Leach/ On the road homie I ain’t seen my bed in weeks/ but what I need a bed for money never sleeps.” No surprise that all of the hooks sang by Mr. Leslie are pretty tight because that’s just what the kid does. Well put together and not forgetting his audience he should satisfy his fan base with “Lovers and Mountains”,”Ups and Downs” ,”Ready Or Not” and “Maybach & Diamonds” (which originally was supposed to be recorded with Rick Ross).
I must admit that I’m a little disappointed that one of my favorite preliminary tracks is “Breathe” featuring Mr. Hudson didn’t make the album; but since I have the live version I should be able to continue with my respiratory aspect life. I can see a lot of MC’s wanting to get on some remixes tracks from this album, no doubt.
Overall with world travel, filming and recording even though this is a rap album R. Les arranged a good album period be it musically, vocally or lyrically. The one man executive, producer, scholar, engineer, marketer, innovator, arranger, singer, songwriter, (takes deep breath) instrumentalist, artist, director, musician and now MC gets the green light from me and most of the industry. He can pretty much put out any music he wants because it’s always done with quality and passion.
Final Verdict
The final verdict is that Les Is More, so grab More copies and be Les critical of the kid throwing his hat into the rap game. If you cop the deluxe version it includes a download code for 7 music videos, 2 live performance videos and 2 studio videos directed and edited by R. Les himself.
