{"id":177339,"date":"2023-11-06T11:21:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T11:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=177339"},"modified":"2023-12-05T18:22:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T18:22:09","slug":"teddy-riley-on-what-its-like-to-create-a-genre-write-with-michael-jackson-and-nearly-lose-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/teddy-riley-on-what-its-like-to-create-a-genre-write-with-michael-jackson-and-nearly-lose-it-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Teddy Riley on what it’s like to create a genre, write with Michael Jackson and nearly lose it all"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters series celebrates the composers behind the globe\u2019s biggest hits. Teddy Riley is a founding father of new jack swing, helped reinvent Michael Jackson and was recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters is supported by AMRA<\/a> \u2013 the global digital music collection society which strives to maximize value for songwriters and publishers in the digital age.<\/p>\n

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Teddy Riley has a film about his life in development. And here\u2019s a tip: you\u2019re gonna want to supersize that popcorn, because the bio behind this pic is the stuff of blockbusters.<\/p>\n

He actually can\u2019t say too much about the project at this stage \u2013 no spoilers on cast or release date. But, as he jokes, \u2018that\u2019s ok, what I\u2019m giving you here is the documentary\u2019. It is certainly quite hard-hitting stuff at times.<\/p>\n

Riley was born in the St Nicholas housing project in Harlem in 1967 and soon proved himself a musical prodigy, playing various instruments in church and spending a large chunk of his spare time in his uncle\u2019s home-built studio.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all keyboards and self-improvement, however. Riley recalls how an early brush with the law helped shape his life and ambition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was getting in trouble, I was getting arrested, because I was in the streets. One day, a police officer said, \u2018What are you, 15?! What are you doing in here?\u2019 I said, \u2018I’m trying to help feed my family\u2019. He said. \u2018Not like this you\u2019re not. You\u2019re going to end up on Rikers Island helping nobody.\u2019 I didn\u2019t know what that was, but I knew it sounded bad!<\/p>\n

\u201cMy uncle came and picked me up, and my mom was behind him with the belt. I was walking with my head down because I was embarrassed. When I got home, I got the beating \u2013 and that was the evolution and revolution all in one. That was when I changed my life, my heart and everything, that led to me making music and becoming a creator.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Focus well and truly sharpened, whilst still a teenager he scored credits on early hip-hop classics such as Doug E Fresh\u2019s The Show<\/em> and Kool Mo Dee\u2019s Go See The Doctor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He also co-wrote and co-produced Keith Sweat\u2019s debut album, Make It Last Forever<\/em> [US No. 15, 1987], which included the track I Want Her<\/em> [US No. 5], widely regarded as an early classic of new jack swing \u2013 the genre which Riley helped create.<\/p>\n

By this time he had met local producer Gene Griffin, who became his mentor and manager, but from whom Riley would eventually split in extremely acrimonious circumstances \u2013 a traumatic and almost ruinous event that saw him genuniely worry about having to go back to the projects but which eventually led to a triumphant second act.<\/p>\n

Aged 20 he formed Guy (managed by Griffin), with Aaron Hall and Timmy Gattling, who would record two albums (an eponymous debut in 1988, The Future<\/em> in 1990), both of which topped the US R&B\/Hip-Hop charts.<\/p>\n

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More importantly, it was his work with Guy, as well as his status as a founding father of new jack swing, that led to working with Michael Jackson \u2013 most notably as the main creative collaborator on Dangerous<\/em> [1991, No. 1 in US and UK, 32 million+ units sold worldwide). Riley co-wrote two of the biggest singles from the record – Remember The Time<\/em> and In The Closet<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In 1991 he formed his second group, Blackstreet. As with Guy, Riley was the chief songwriter and producer, propelling them to a commercial peak with second album, Another Level<\/em> (1996, US No. 3) containing the No. 1 single, No Diggity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The two-time Grammy-winner has also written for stars including Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga and Bobby Brown (he co-wrote Brown\u2019s 1988 No. 1 My Prerogative).<\/p>\n

In case you were wondering if some of these credits might be a bit dry on screen, along the way he was also bankrupted by a Ponzi scheme and saw his Virginia Beach studio destroyed by fire. And he found time to discover and sign The Neptunes, as well as becoming one of the first US writers and producers to work with K-pop artists (he has a studio in Korea). There\u2019s enough here to keep the narrative compelling.<\/p>\n

One more note for potential screenwriters, if you\u2019re looking for a valedictory final scene, earlier this year Riley was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.\u00a0Here, he discusses that honor, how he got there, how he nearly didn\u2019t get there, bringing Michael Jackson \u2018back to R&B\u2019 and much more\u2026<\/p>\n

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How was your experience of getting inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame?<\/h6>\n

It was amazing. It\u2019s a special thing to be in the presence of a lot of other great writers. Being on that stage, everything comes back to you.<\/p>\n

Getting recognized as a songwriter means a lot, because sometimes writers get overlooked. Writers are people who really love and believe in what they do. Being rewarded for that is a blessing for me.<\/p>\n

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Where does being a songwriter rank in the list of things you do?<\/h6>\n

I would have to say I\u2019m a producer and a writer, but I would also say that the melody is king. Everything comes from the melody, which is from the songwriter. For example, No Diggity<\/em>, I came up with the melody for that song along with my partner, who’s not with us today, Will Stewart.<\/p>\n

And when we came up with the melody, we knew what we had. A lot of people didn’t. When we introduced it to the record label, they didn\u2019t understand it \u2013 until my friend Dr. Dre told Jimmy Iovine, you let Teddy know I want to be in the video when he puts this song out.<\/p>\n

I said, \u2018Great, but if he’s going to be in the video, he’s got to give me 16 bars\u2019. And right away, he gave me the 16 bars.<\/p>\n

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Do you remember the first song you wrote?<\/h6>\n

The first record that I worked on was I Want Her, with Keith Sweat [1987, US No. 5]. Keith asked me for a track. I gave him a hook and I gave him a melody; that created the song. He just slipped the words right in there.<\/p>\n

It all comes together as chemistry. It’s not just the writing; the writing is one portion. But if you put that writing on somebody who does not look the part for that song, it may not go anywhere. The chemistry of the song must match the chemistry of the singer. You have to study the artist.<\/p>\n