Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist credited with the creation of the new jack swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.
He fused hip hop and R&B in his production work with artists including Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Samantha Mumba, Doug E. Fresh, Today, Heavy D & the Boyz, Hi-Five, Men of Vizion and Profyle, as well as his spearheaded groups Guy and Blackstreet. Riley's consistency and drum ideas had some influence on modern-day R&B, which since him contained more samples and rapping segments as well as singing, a practice which in part was reminiscent of the Jackson family. Along with neo soul-style singers such as Marvin Gaye, he has had a seminal influence on gospel and R&B music, which became more open to using rap and sound effects in their recordings.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
