Teddy Riley Shares His Story In New Memoir

[ad_1] by Mary Spiller January 18, 2026

The Grammy-winning producer behind New Jack Swing and landmark hits will launch 'Bear in mind the Instances,' providing an inside have a look at a genre-shaping profession.

Music historical past is ready to be advised from the attitude of considered one of its most influential creators. Grammy Award–successful producer and songwriter Teddy Riley will launch his memoir, “Bear in mind the Instances” — named after the Michael Jackson hit — on Feb. 10, providing a private account of the profession that helped redefine R&B, Hip-Hop, and pop music over the previous 40 years. The e-book will likely be printed by way of Simon & Schuster.

The memoir takes its title from “Bear in mind the Time,” the Michael Jackson basic Riley co-wrote and co-produced in the course of the singer’s “Harmful” period. All through the e-book, Riley traces his function in shaping a number of generations of in style sound, from the emergence of New Jack Swing to its affect on up to date world pop music.

Written in collaboration with award-winning biographer Jake Brown, “Bear in mind the Instances” follows Riley’s path from a younger musical expertise in Harlem to a defining architect of contemporary Black music. The e-book revisits his early experimentation with merging hip-hop beats and R&B melodies—an method that advanced into New Jack Swing and set a brand new path for late-Twentieth-century music.

Past business success, the memoir examines the realities of working in a fast-changing business. Riley particulars moments of artistic collaboration, skilled rigidity, and perseverance, whereas recounting the formation of his teams Man and Blackstreet.

He additionally displays on the making of influential data equivalent to Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” and Doug E. Contemporary’s “The Present,” initiatives that helped set up new sonic requirements.

Riley’s story can be formed by his work with a number of the most recognizable names in music. The e-book contains reflections on collaborations with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Girl Gaga, and Michael Jackson, whose partnership with Riley stays probably the most celebrated of his profession.

When the memoir was first introduced, Riley described it as an effort to guard and doc musical legacy. “I efficiently created the New Jack Swing style 40 years in the past so we may have our personal technology of music, not their technology, and our personal historical past,” he advised Rolling Stone. “I’m so excited to share that historical past with my followers around the globe.”

Early reactions counsel the e-book delivers a vivid portrait of each the person and the music. Pharrell Williams praised Riley as “an unimaginable mixologist of so many various types,” whereas Library Journal mentioned longtime followers will likely be “wildly entertained.” One other outlet famous the memoir’s accessible tone and its broad have a look at how in style music advanced alongside Riley’s profession.