Ryan Leslie - You're Not My Girl

When Something That I Like, the first leak off Ryan Leslie‘s forthcoming sophomore LP, hit our front page, both I and DJ Z commented that the cut sounded like official single material.  Two weeks later, the album’s received an official title, Transition, and the official lead single’s been selected—the obvious question is, how does it stack up?  Pretty evenly, to my ears.  Besides the lack of Pusha T, the main difference is that You Ain’t My Girl takes advantage of a certain lyrical theme du jour... you guessed it: this cut finds R-Lez jumping on the Boyfriend #2 bandwagon, informing an ostensibly-taken shorty know that, as far as anyone else is concerned, they’re just very good friends. Of course, lyrical infidelity alone does not a hit record make, and, as fans might expect, YNMG shines brightest on the production tip. Layering his trademark woozy synths over a bassline reminiscent of Chic’s disco classic, Good Times (which was sampled on Rappers Delight, as well as inspiring Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust),  Leslie delivers a funky beat sure to get bodies moving wherever the record’s spun.  Drenched in hit potential, YNMG is sure to stir up early interest in R.L.‘s Transition LP, set to drop this fall.