In 1987, Riley, Aaron Hall, and Timmy Gatling formed the R&B group Guy. Managed by Gene Griffin, Riley's work with Guy pioneered the New Jack Swing style of R&B, which had been showcased previously in Riley's productions for Johnny Kemp ("Just Got Paid"), Bobby Brown ("My Prerogative"), and Keith Sweat (Make It Last Forever), among others. Riley infused his own unique blend of hip-hop beats, R&B progressions and the Gospel vocal stylings of Hall to create the archetypal New jack swing sound on Guy's eponymous debut, which was much emulated in the immediate years that followed. In 1989, Riley produced Big Daddy Kane's "I Get The Job Done", as well as other work for The Jacksons, The Winans, Today, James Ingram; he is also credited with a highly successful remix of Jane Child's "Don't Wanna Fall in Love."
After the release and tour of Guy's second album The Future, Riley co-produced half of Michael Jackson's album Dangerous, on the recommendation of Jackson's long-time producer Quincy Jones. Featuring the Riley co-produced singles "Remember the Time", "Jam", and "In the Closet", Dangerous remains the most successful New jack swing album of all time with 32 million copies sold.[7][8]
After the disbandment of Guy in 1992, Riley moved to production, performance on and promotion of Wreckx-N-Effect's second album Hard or Smooth. Based in Virginia by this time, Riley discovered The Neptunes who assisted production on Wreckx-N-Effect's smash hit single Rump Shaker.
In late 1992, Riley formed a second group, Blackstreet, with Chauncey Hannibal as lead singer. The group would go on to release several major hits, including "Don't Leave Me" (1997), the number one single "No Diggity" (1996, featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen), and "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999, with Janet Jackson, Eve, and Ja Rule). By 2011, the group had disbanded and reformed several times.
In 2000, Riley worked on an album with Outsiderz 4 Life, producing "Wil' Out" and other songs.
At the start of 2006, he was part of the New Jack Reunion Tour, featuring Blackstreet and Guy, in addition to After 7, SWV, and Tony Toni Toné. In May 2006 Riley announced that he would be working on two key projects: a new Blackstreet album and a new Guy album.
In June 2008, a fire destroyed Riley's Virginia Beach recording studio. Fire investigators said that an electrical problem caused the blaze that burned the abandoned recording studio. The Virginia Beach Fire Department said lightning in the area also could have been a factor, although there was no direct strike. The empty studio was for sale and was insured for $336,000.[9]
In 2009, Riley performed with Guy at the BET Awards.[10] In the same year, Riley worked with Amerie and Robin Thicke on their respective albums. Leading on from his work on Snoop Dogg's album Ego Trippin' Riley became part of the production supergroup QDT, which features DJ Quik as well as Snoop Dogg. Teddy produced and Taja Riley co-wrote an album track Teeth with Lady Gaga for her EP The Fame Monster
Speaking in March 2010 to Blues & Soul's Pete Lewis - Riley said that he was no longer affiliated with Guy (Riley last performed with the group in October 2010). Riley also said that the current line-up of Blackstreet comprised himself, Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister and Sherman 'J-Stylez' Tinsdale. He also confirmed that he was working on a new Blackstreet album, though intended to release his own album - entitled 'TRX' - first. Artists he could possibly be working with for the project included Stevie Wonder, Elton John, plus his own new, upcoming acts.[3] However, Hannibal, who is currently living and performing in Australia, says he has no plans of returning to the United States or working with Riley.
In June 2010, Riley entered Encore Studios in Burbank, California to begin writing and producing an album with Boston-based band Bad Rabbits. Riley co-wrote and produced 14 tracks for the upcoming album, due out in Fall 2011. One of the songs is a remake of "I Like," which was originally released by his first group, GUY in 1988 and was a #2 Hit on the U.S R&B Charts. Guests artists on the album include Riley himself, Chino Moreno of the Deftones, and other unconfirmed artists.
In August 2010, co-executor of the Michael Jackson estate, John Branca, confirmed that a posthumous album of Michael Jackson would be released, containing work done in the previous five years with producers Neff-U, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Riley himself, as well as work written and produced solely by Jackson himself. The album Michael was released on December 14th, 2010 in the United States.
Recently, Riley has stepped into the Asian music market. Riley worked with singer/rapper Jay Park on a track titled 'Demon', which has yet to be officially released, and produced a mini album for the Korean girl group Rania
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