Teddy Riley King of New Jack Swing

Updated: May 25, 2020

After his triumphant return to the limelight, via the Instagram Live battle put on by the Verzuz team of Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Songwriter producer Teddy Riley is enjoying some renewed respect and popularity. With the disappointing first attempt, behind them the Teddy Riley v Babyface battle will go down as an epic encounter. Round two was a big smash with over 500k watched simultaneously at heights of the event, breaking all previous records for the most viewed IG live. One of the outcomes of the event, was that black music fans worldwide were surprised to learn that Teddy Riley wrote, produced and performed so many hit songs across genres. So, let us remind you just who is Teddy Riley Known as the “King of New Jack Swing," Teddy Riley was responsible for a new genre of urban music which merged soul, gospel pop and hip hop which was labelled New Jack Swing. Riley’s distinctive sound and melodic hooks were some of the high points of the late 1980s and 1990s. He produced songs for almost every big star with an enviable list of platinum-laced credits include Guy, the Winans, Joe Johnny Kemp, Blackstreet, Keith Sweat, Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Hi-Five, Wreckx- N-Effects and Al B. Sure among many others. Riley's immense talents began to shine with the powerhouse group Guy, the r&b trio that included Riley and brothers Aaron Hall and Damion Hall. The group scored numerous platinum hits on the billboard charts.` One of Riley's early production was Deja's 1988 Virgin LP, We Belong Together. In the early 90s, Guy disbanded and Riley formed Blackstreet with Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister, and Levi Little. The self-titled debut album went platinum. Their second album, Another Level, followed suite and spawned the million-seller "No Diggity." Which sampled Bill withers Grandma Hands. Tiring of the rigors of big city life, Riley moved to Virginia, opening his state-of-the art Future Recording Studios in the mid-'90s. It was during his time in Virginia that Riley started to groom a lot of young songwriters and beat makers, include Hugo Chad and Pharrell Williams (the Neptunes) who became major hit makers in their own right. See below some of Riley big songs