You've probably never heard of serial overachiever Ryan Leslie unless you have Diddy's number in your Blackberry or you've obsessively read the liner notes of some of the biggest R&B and pop hits of the past few years.
The in-demand producer has also recently lent his hot Harlem touch to records by Beyonce, Britney Spears, Cassie, and Snoop. Oh, and in case you're wondering, we call him an overachiever because dude got a perfect score on his SATs (nerd alert!) and graduated Harvard at age 19. So, yeah, he's kind of a smart guy.
How smart? Smart enough to make the move from behind the mixing board to behind the mike. His amazing retro-nuevo video for "Diamond Girl" (not to be confused with the awesome freestyle R&B track by Nice N Wild or the Seals & Croft album) begins with the most intriguing babbling French lady since the first season of Lost and ends with Ryan in a French Connection-style chase to a waiting limo.
What happens in between? Stax Revue-style horns, lots of crisp suits, and a doppelganger Ed Sullivan show. Oh, and some diamond ring action that should seal this future-throwback as the year's most in-demand proposal jam.