I really should listen more when people talk about how an album is fantastic, and get on it sooner. I’m working on it. Far too often for me, popular R&B songs are a little too cheesy, and often over-produced. Once in a while though, you hit that one that you can’t get out of your head, and it becomes a song that you undeniably like, although you feel a little bit silly about it. For me, that song was Ryan Leslie‘s “Addiction”. Forced into my eardrums through the radio of Summer 2008, it became what I like to call a “guiltless pleasure”, one of those songs you feel that you should be embarrassed about having on your iPod, but you like it so much that you stop caring. So when I caught wind of his new album, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to take that next big step. I didn’t want to risk disappointment and have “Addiction” make him a one-hit wonder in my mind. Well I finally worked up the courage to listen to his new album, “Transition”, and I’m certainly glad I did. Featuring irresistibly catchy melodies, and soaked with the theme of love, but ranging from ideas like “Never Gonna Break Up” to “You’re Not My Girl”, this stuff is addictive. Plus his voice is beautiful, he could sing almost anything and I’d buy it. “Something That I Like” features Pusha T, which as a big fan of The Clipse garners him even more respect in my mind. Not that he needs the help once you listen to this piece of work, anyone that can sing a line like, “What’s your zodiac sign? … If it matches with mine, we should think about dating”, and force you to take it seriously, clearly has a special talent.

Ryan Leslie – Zodiac
Ryan Leslie – Never Gonna Break Up