Now, you know if Donald Trump has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (which fabulously continues to be vandalized), that music producer, New Jack Swing-originator, and thin-mustachioed crooner Teddy Riley been should have had one.
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Riley, who has had a significant impact on all music genres for more than a few decades, seems to be finally getting his just dueโand, as they say, better late than neverโespecially while youโre still alive.
As reported by The Root last year, Riley is one of the โunsung architects of modern black music.โ
For those of us who came of age in the late 1980s and 1990s, Riley was there grooving us every step of the way. โThe Showโ by Doug E. Fresh, one of the very first (rap) records I ever purchased? Teddy. โMake It Last Foreverโ by Keith Sweat, the theme for my prom? Teddy. All of Guyโs first album, with โGroove Me,โ โI Like,โ and โTeddyโs Jam,โ to get through high school? Teddy. Bobby Brownโs โMy Prerogativeโ? Teddy. I mean the man did โThe Kissing Game,โ โNo Diggity,โ and โGoodbye Love.โ And letโs not even start with Michael JacksonโโRemember The Time,โ โIn The Closetโ and โJam,โ from my college party daysโthey were all courtesy of TR.
Teddy Riley remains a wizard of beats, words and life, backgrounding our yesterdays with upbeat, authentic soul music and hip-hop sans the virulent misogyny that came to define the genre. Teddy Riley synthesized the sounds of affection, blackness and party times into something that was more than a music but a movement: New Jack Swing.
New Jack Swing, defined by Riley himself as a sound where โyouโre gonna hear singing with rap, or youโre gonna hear shuffles in the beats, or a ballad with a kick or a finger snap,โ dominated music in the late โ80s through the aughts, giving rise to a stream of other producer/arrangers who remixed, blended hip-hop and R&B, and sang on rap records.
Yet, when the names of top producers come up, he is rarely mentioned.
Watch longtime music executive and fellow Uptown native Andre Harrell give Riley his flowers on Friday, calling him โtruly a magical geniusโ in his introduction.
Riley gave a humble speech where he thanked everyone from industry pioneers Clarence Avant and Mike Concepcion to his driver and godchildren.
New Jack Swing on Hollywoodโs Walk of Fame. Yup, yup.
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