Don’t Leave: 8 Year of Working with Teddy Riley Blackstreet & Future Recording Studios

Author Anthony Tony Brown is a native of Portsmouth Virginia who between the years 1990 and 1998 worked for super-producer Teddy Riley, founder of NEW JACK SWING as an A&R and Studio Manager at Riley’s Future Recording Studios. Tony worked with Riley in his heyday and during this time witnessed the metamorphosis of one of R&B’s most impact groups BLACKSTREET The story recounts Brown’s years managing Future Recording Studio and his interaction with the many iconic celebrities who passed through the doors. Brown shares his interactions with celebrities such as Pattie Labelle, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Jay Z, LL COOL J, Old Dirty Bastard, Pharrell Williams, PuffY, J-LO, New Kids on the Block, and the King of Pop Michael Jackson. The story also recalls the many challenges of running a recording studio owned by one of the biggest producers in the music business, managing studio employees, scheduling sessions, and the turmoil between Teddy and the members of Blackstreet who by the time their third album was released had already been through 5 members. Brown touches on legal issues that caused a rift between him and Riley and some of the violent incidents that happened during his time as studio manager. The most magical moments come through Brown’s description of the song creation process as he describes witnessing a song being created from the idea stage to being a certified hit. Brown’s story hits on the music industry sex, violence, jealousy, envy, cheating and greed everything you need to make this book a good read.