Teddy Riley’s concerts at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Dec 9th served as a homecoming for the talented producer and artist. It had been over twenty years since he last performed at the historical venue. Accompanying him were his groups Guy and Blackstreet in addition to artists he produced for including Keith Sweat and Kool Moe Dee along with others. This year his career has experienced a resurgence. Linking back up and producing for the likes of Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Trey Songz, and Nile Rodgers.
Showtime at the Apollo – Guy – Groove Me
Showtime at the Apollo – Guy – Round and Round
Showtime at the Apollo – Wreckx-n-Effect – New Jack Swing feat. Teddy Riley
Showtime at the Apollo – Wreckx-n-Effect – Rump Shaker/Wreckx Shop feat. Teddy Riley
The music Teddy Riley has produced over the years is timeless and has been impactful on hip hop. Much of his catalog has been sampled by high profile artists. The first artist to mention is Tupac with the sampling of “Piece of My Love” from Guy’s 1988 self-titled album. The sample was used for “Run tha Streetz” from his 1996 double album All Eyez on Me. That same year Celly Cel used Teddy Riley’s produced “How Deep Is Your Love” from Keith Sweat’s 1987 debut album Make It Last Forever for “It’s Goin’ Down” which appeared on Killa Kali.
2Pac – Run tha Streetz
Guy – Piece of My Love (prod. by Teddy Riley)
Celly Cel – It’s Goin’ Down
Keith Sweat – How Deep Is Your Love (prod. by Teddy Riley)
The following year the West Coast group 3X Krazy masterfully used Guy’s “I Like” for “West Coast Sh*t” from the album Stackin Chips. Songstress Mariah Carey sampled Keith Sweat’s “Make It Last Forever” for a remix of “Thank God I Found You” which also featured Joe and Nas. The track was associated with her 1999 album Rainbow. In 2001 Kurupt would use Teddy Riley’s produced hit “Just Got Paid” from Johnny Kemp’s 1988 album Secrets of Flying for “At It Again”. Which appeared on Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey.
3X Krazy – West Coast Sh*t
Guy – I Like (prod. by Teddy Riley)
Mariah Carey – Thank God I Found You (remix) feat. Nas & Joe
Keith Sweat – Make It Last Forever (prod. by Teddy Riley)
Kurupt – At It Again
Johnny Kemp – Just Got Paid (prod. by Teddy Riley)
That same year Krayzie Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony sampled Heavy D’s first single “Don’t You Know” from his 1987 album Living Large for “Time After Time”. Which appeared on Thug on da Line. The last track to mention is Snoop Dogg’s 2009 “I Wanna Rock” from the title track 1988’s “It Takes Two” from Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. The prior year Snoop had worked with Teddy Riley on several tracks for his 2008 album Ego Trippin’.
Krayzie Bone – Time After Time
Heavy D – Don’t You Know feat. Al B Sure (prod. by Teddy Riley)
Snoop Dogg – I Wanna Rock
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock -It Takes Two (prod. by Teddy Riley)
Teddy Riley’s resurgence is a testament that his fans miss the days when his music dominated the airwaves. Beyond for other artists hopefully full-fledged projects from his groups Guy and Blackstreet will come into fruition. The music industry sorely needs Teddy Riley’s presence including hip-hop. New Jack Swing is back “Yep Yep”.
