Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the

New Jack Swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was ...

genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "

Teddy Riley biography Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Ted ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Retrieved on September 19, 2009 He fused hip hop and R&B in his production work with artists including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Bobby Brown,

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including " I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", " I'll Give ...

Samantha Mumba Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single " Gotta Tell You", which ...

, Doug E. Fresh, Today, Heavy D & the Boyz, Hi-Five, Men of Vizion and Profyle, as well as his spearheaded groups Guy and

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

. Riley's consistency and drum ideas had some influence on modern-day R&B, leading to more samples and rapping segments as well as singing, a practice which in part was reminiscent of the Jackson family. Along with

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

-style singers such as

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

, Riley has had a seminal influence on

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and R&B music, which became more open to using rap and sound effects in their recordings.

Early life

Teddy Riley was raised in

St. Nicholas Houses St. Nicholas Houses or "Saint Nick," is a public housing project in Central Harlem, in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and are managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The project is located between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, New York City. A

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

from the age of five, he began playing instruments in church. His uncle, who owned the famed

club The Rooftop, built a studio in the club in which Riley would spend most of his time while growing up. By 14, upstate New York rappers began making music to his tracks. Under the guidance of local music producer Gene Griffin, Riley formed the short-lived group Kids at Work. At the age of 18, Riley produced Kool Moe Dee's 12" single Go See the Doctor. Released on an independent label in 1986, the song became a crossover hit, reaching No.89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Riley had previously worked on the production of Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew's "The Show" in 1985.

Career

In 1987, Riley, Aaron Hall, and Timmy Gatling formed the R&B group Guy. Managed by Gene Griffin, Riley's work with Guy pioneered the "

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was ...

" style of R&B. Riley infused his own blend of hip-hop beats, R&B progressions and the

vocal stylings of Hall to create the archetypal new jack swing sound on Guy's eponymous debut. In 1989, Riley produced Big Daddy Kane's "I Get the Job Done", as well as other work for

the Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

, the Winans and James Ingram. In that year, he helped produce the debut album of his rap-band, Wrecks-N-Effect. He also created the highly successful remix of

Jane Child Jane Richmond Hyslop (born 15 February 1967), known professionally as Jane Child, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record-producer best known for her hit single "Don't Wanna Fall in Love". She is also known for her unusual fashion style, wh ...

's "

Don't Wanna Fall in Love "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Child. Released in January 1990 as the second single from her self-titled debut album, the single went to number two for three consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

", which became a crossover pop smash. After the release and tour of Guy's second album, ''

The Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

'', Riley co-produced half of

's '' Dangerous'' album on the recommendation of Jackson's long-time producer

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. After the disbandment of Guy in 1992, Riley moved to production, performance on and promotion of Wreckx-N-Effect's second album '' Hard or Smooth''. In late 1991, Riley formed a second group,

. The group would go on to release several major hits, including "Don't Leave Me" (1997), the number one single " No Diggity" (1996, featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen), and " Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999, with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Eve, and

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with '' Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single " Holla Holla". Dur ...

). By 2011, the group had disbanded and reformed several times. In 2000, Riley worked with

Spice Girl The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vic ...

Melanie B on the tracks "ABC 123", "I Believe", and "Pack Your S**t" for her solo debut album '' Hot''. He also worked on an album with Outsiderz 4 Life, producing "Wil' Out" and other songs. At the start of 2006, he was part of the

New Jack Reunion Tour The New Jack Reunion Tour, sometimes referred to as the New Jack Swing Reunion Tour, was a 2006 concert tour package that featured members of the 1990s music genre "new jack swing", the architect of which was Teddy Riley. The tour was organize ...

, featuring Blackstreet and Guy, in addition to

After 7 After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, w ...

, SWV, and

Tony Toni Toné Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

. In May 2006, Riley announced that he would be working on two key projects: a new Blackstreet album and a new Guy album. In 2008, Riley was the victim of a Ponzi scheme that left him bankrupt. In June 2008, a fire destroyed Riley's

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous cit ...

recording studio. Fire investigators said that an electrical problem caused the blaze that burned the abandoned recording studio. The Virginia Beach Fire Department said lightning in the area also could have been a factor, although there was no direct strike. The empty studio was for sale and was insured for $336,000. In 2009, Riley performed with Guy at the BET Awards. In the same year, Riley worked with Amerie and

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

on their respective albums. Leading on from his work on

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, ...

's album ''

Ego Trippin' ''Ego Trippin' '' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 11, 2008 by Doggystyle Records, Interscope Records and Geffen Records.

'', Riley became part of the production supergroup QDT, which features

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, K ...

as well as Snoop Dogg. Riley produced and co-wrote the song "

Teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, te ...

" with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

for her EP '' The Fame Monster''. Speaking in March 2010 to Blues & Soul's Pete Lewis – Riley said that he was no longer affiliated with Guy (Riley had last performed with the group in October 2010). Riley also said that the current line-up of Blackstreet consisted of himself, Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister and Sherman 'J-Stylz' Tisdale. He confirmed that he was working on a new Blackstreet album, though intended to release his own album – entitled 'TRX' – first. Artists he could possibly be working with for the project included

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, plus his own new, upcoming acts. However, Hannibal stopped performing with the group and the lineup became Riley, Hollister,

Mark Middleton Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

and Eric Williams. In 2012, Hannibal returned to Blackstreet. Middleton and Williams left the group. As of 2019, the group's lineup now consists of Riley, Dave Hollister, J-Stylz, and Rodney Poe under the name "Blackstreet 2". In an August 2010, co-executor of the

estate, John Branca, confirmed that a posthumous album of Michael Jackson would be released, containing work done in the previous five years with producers Neff-U, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Riley, as well as work written and produced solely by Jackson himself. The album '' Michael'' was released on December 14, 2010, in the United States. After the release, several people questioned some of the music Riley produced for the project. Riley insisted all of the songs were sung by Jackson and claimed that vocal artifacts were added from overprocessing Jackson's voice. However, Riley made comments in an interview with Dan Dodds (aka Soul Jones) in which he stated that there were some elements of his voice in the music. "They may use some elements from me, put together ideas but I haven't been working on the new album" Riley is reported to have said. Recently, Riley has stepped into the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

music market. Riley worked with singer/rapper

Jay Park Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...

on an English track titled " Demon", which was originally meant for Michael Jackson. Riley produced a mini album for the Korean girl group

Rania Rania may refer to: Places * Rania, Haryana, a City in Sirsa District, Haryana state of India. * Ranya, a district in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan * Rania block, a community development block, in Jharkhand, India ** Rania, Khunti, a v ...

. Riley is one of the producers part of the production team QDT, with

and

. He produced the tracks "Believe" and "Flow" for the '' Twenty'' album of the R&B group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Natha ...

. He has also produced Korean girl group

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece e ...

's single "

The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...

" for the group's first international release. He has also produced songs for Girls' Generation's labelmates SHINee and EXO. He worked with

Shinee Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the ...

on " Beautiful", "Shine", and "Dangerous" from their two part third Korean studio album. Riley also produced the songs "MILK" and "All Night" for

f(x) F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

's third studio album '' Red Light'' and the song " What Is Love" for Exo.

Discography

With Kids at Work

* ''Kids at Work'' (1984)

With Guy

* '' Guy'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * '' Guy III'' (2000)

With Blackstreet

* ''

'' (1994) * '' Another Level'' (1996) * '' Finally'' (1999) * '' Level II'' (2003)

Production discography

Singles

Production credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Teddy 1967 births Living people African-American record producers Record producers from New York (state) African-American male singer-songwriters American hip hop musicians American soul singers American dance musicians Blackstreet members American hip hop singers Grammy Award winners New jack swing musicians People from Harlem Singers from New York City American contemporary R&B singers Record producers from Virginia People from Virginia Beach, Virginia 21st-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)