Earlier this week, a judge ordered Ryan Leslie to pay $1 million to a German man for recovering his stolen laptop, based on a reward offer Leslie made in 2010.
During a performance, Leslie addressed the issue in an attempt to clear the air, and his name.
“As you may or may not know, in 2010, someone stole all my music from me,” said Leslie during the performance. “…Initially, I put out an award of twenty thousand dollars backpack back. And when it never returned, I upped the reward to a million dollars because that music was absolutely everything to me. It was everything. It was my life.”
Ryan Leslie gave an account of the events that transpired after. “Eventually, somebody did return that backpack to me. And when I looked in the hard drive to access everything that I had lost, the music just wasn’t there. The hard drive wouldn’t mount. I couldn’t access anything. A year later, the same gentleman [who returned my backpack] – I don’t know if it was because he misunderstood what the million dollars was for – he filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York City, demanding that I pay a million dollars for the music I never got back.”
Leslie then addressed an article in the New York Post that referred to him as, among other things, a “Rap weasel.” “And yesterday, the reason I’m on the front page and everybody thinks I was just a cheapskate or something like that, a jury of my peers, eight people, they looked me in my face and said I had to pay this man one million dollars for music I never got back.”
“And so I got up today…and I looked at the headline, and it said ‘Rap weasel.’ So listen, man. Music always comes from a place of inspiration, and I gotta tell y’all, man – never have I been more inspired than when I lost everything [to then] create the most incredible album I could possibly make. And for the last two years, I invested every single penny, every dollar I had, to make the most incredible, artistic offering I possibly could.”
Finally, Leslie said he was not rescinding his offer. “And despite what the jury said, that million-dollar offer is still out there for anyone who can return all my compositions to me.”
After discussing the matter, Leslie took the issue of New York Post out in front of the cheering crowd and burned it. Watch the performance and speech below:
RELATED: Ryan Leslie Ordered To Pay $1 Million Reward For Recovered Stolen Laptop
Oh well, dude should have attached some fine print to the reward offer, but it’s too late for that now.
aint no fine print needed.. he said a mil for his laptop WITH the music on it…
^ hi ryan
pay up faggot
– german fan
But Ryen Leslie don’t have a million dollars.
to be honest i just thought he was being a cheap skate and bashed him prematurely. but thanks for clearing it up. i take back my judgments.
i cant front. same here
Nice to get some clarity
YOU PERFORMING IN SMALL CLUBS NIGGA…
YOU AIN’T GOT NO MILLION DOLLARS TO THROW OUT LIKE THAT, QUIT BULLSHITTING!
JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP NIGGA!
hes got way more money then you u fuckin bitch
You big dummy. Ryan Leslie is a child prodigy. He graduated Havard when was 16. You know those times square marquees with the lights? He owns some of those and has investments in a lot of things. Bet you didn’t know that.
lol @ when he was 16. he was 20. not that its still not impressive but 16 lol… and what does that have to do with his music anyway. nada
WORD UP…THAT NIGGA MUST OWN HALF OF NY JUST CUZ HE A HARVARD GRADUATE…
YALL FORGET THAT 1. HE’S STILL A NIGGA…AND 2. BEING RICH, DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT U GOT MILLIONS TO THROW AWAY U DUMB FUCKS…
I’M SURE THIS NIGGA GREW UP IN A PLATINUM CRIB, CUZ NO REGULAR NIGGA MAKE IT TO HARVARD…
BUT IF HE BOUT THAT LIFE THEN HE WOULDNT BE CRYIN OVER NO FUCKIN LAPTOP, BRINGING THE JEWISH LAWYER OUT IN A SMALL ASS CLUB FOR NO FUCKING REASON…
THESE RAP WEASELS NEED TO FALL BACK AND QUIT YAPPIN THAT BULLSHIT!
NIGGAZ AIN’T ABOUT THAT LIFE
Basically, I agree with BLACK, one sidenote though. True that no regular nigga make it to Harvard, but who did a perfect SAT is no regular nigga … regardless of his parent’s financial situation. And as far as I’m concerned, Ryan grew up in a middle-class family.
black why you talkin all stupid my nigga??
ryan leslie is posting here.
aint nobody know or care about a gay r and b bitch graduating harvard at any age.
we care about an r and b bitch tryin to flake on his word crying on stage like a sissy.
he still sucks
THIS NIGGA IS MAD OVERRATED IN TERMS OF SINGING…BUT HIS PRODUCTION IS OFF THE HOOK THOUGH, GOTTA RESPECT THAT
is this a poem, I felt a tear drop
Ryan Leslie Should Know That When Yo Shit Get Took, Of Course They Gon Tamper Wit The Laptop Bruh….What You Think They Stole It So They Can Look & Glance At That Shit??? Dumb Ass….His Fault For Uppin It To 1million….SMH….shouldnt be “rap weasel” on the headline should be “loud mouth, quiet pockets”. #SMH
He’s Lying his ass off. I highly doubt dude took the music out just so he could let it sit in his apartment and listen to it himself. This was 2 years ago and none of that shit leaked on the internet. He got everything back, he’s just trying to lie his way out of paying because he can’t afford it. Anybody with common sense can see that
HAHAHAHAHA
crying on stage
burning press clippings
talking about investing every dollar he had into his new work
yeah he’s broke and the man from germany who claimed the reward for the lap top is gonna really wipe him out. he’s scared of paying that reward he never thought he’d get the cpu back.
tough luck his music sucks and he really thinks hes living fat so fuck him. i’m sure your super talent will make it back.. well.. maybe get a real job.
pffffffffff
fucking haters
He probably heard the music and said “this isnt as dope as I remembered”
How does a laptop get stolen then some dude ends up with it and gets a million dollars? Why can’t I be that lucky?
Because you never stole from somebody stupid enough to put out a reward like that.
WOW
The level of hatred and ignorance!
Astounding, shameful, worthless.
Ryan, you were stupid enough to upped the reward to a million and now you trying to get out of paying? Nigga shut the fuck up and pay
I am hoping that the lawyer he brought out was not the same lawyer he had 2 years back, cause no legal practitioner in his right frame of mind will advice for such a stupid offer.
I followed this case 2 year back cause I live around the area where this shit happened here in Germany. Go back and check the what the offer clearly stated. There was no clause about returning music, Ryan said he just wanted his laptop back period and that is how the guy won in court. I am a Leslie fan, I think the guy is a brilliant artist, but irrevocably that decision will go down in history as the dummiest thing a Harvard graduate ever made.
dats what u get for trying to stunt!