Teddy Riley (new jack swing)
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Teddy Riley (born Edward Theodore Riley, October 8, 1966 in Harlem, New York) is an American R&B and hip-hop singer, songwriter, musician and producer who was the ring leader of the most influential groups of R&B in two separate decades - Guy in the 80s and Blackstreet in the 90s. Riley is mostly responsible for bringing hip-hop and R&B music together into a melting pot that was first called new jack swing and translated to hip-hop soul.
Riley began his producing and recording career in the mid-1980s producing hits for rappers Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick. In 1986, his composition of one-hit wonder Johnny Kemp's "Just Got Paid" became a very popular recording reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B charts.
Riley got the idea of forming his own group after it was suggested to him that a young singer named Aaron Hall was looking to join a group. After meeting at a New York mall, Riley and Hall became friends and formed what would be Guy in 1987. Complete with a third member - Timmy Gatling - they recorded and finished their self-titled debut in 1988, which by the time of Gatling's exit and Hall's younger brother Damian's entry, had sold over 3 million copies and had established the group as a unique R&B musical force.
After achieving 1980s and 1990s success with Guy, Riley left to produce for acts such as Wreckz 'N' Effect, Bobby Brown, Heavy D and most famously Michael Jackson, who would have Riley produce for his records following the release of his 1991 album Dangerous (Riley produce the Jackson classic, "Remember the Time"). Even throughout his reins as producer, Riley found time to form another band - Blackstreet - in 1993.
After the modest success of their 1994 self-titled debut (featuring the hits "Booti Call" and "Before I Let Go"), he took the group to national prominence with the release of their sophomore effort, "Another Level", in 1996, which featured their biggest-selling hit to date, "No Diggity". Ironically, since its success, Riley's prowess as a producer dimmed as the 90s progressed. As of 2005, he had disbanded and reformed Blackstreet and there's still rumors of a fourth album with his old group, Guy.