Teddy Riley
USA, 1987–now
American producer (b. 1967), the inventor of new jack swing - hip-hop drum programming welded to R&B singing. Through Guy, Blackstreet and his work for Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown he defined the sound of late-1980s and 1990s black pop, and its reach extended as far as the birth of K-pop.
MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced Teddy Riley and 1 artist Teddy Riley influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Teddy Riley?
- James Brown — Riley described new jack swing as a dream of James Brown and Michael Jackson on one record - Brown supplying the raw funk energy he built the drums around.
- Michael Jackson — The other half of that dream was Michael Jackson's pop accessibility - the polish Riley welded onto hip-hop drums, and later supplied directly on Dangerous.
- George Clinton — Riley learned his soulful funk from George Clinton and Parliament among others, then combined it with hip-hop to get new jack swing.
- Sly and the Family Stone — Sly Stone's funk is named by Riley among the sources he fused with hip-hop to make new jack swing.
- Prince — Prince's fusion of funk, pop and machine rhythm is another of the models Riley names behind new jack swing.
Which artists did Teddy Riley influence?
- Seo Taiji — The debut that broke Korea open was built on new jack swing - Teddy Riley's welding of hip-hop drums to R&B melody, transplanted into Korean pop.