Andre O’Neal Harrell (September 26, 1960 – May 7, 2020) was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper.[3] He formed the short-lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown in 1980; they signed with Profile Records the following year. After disbanding in 1986, he founded the record label Uptown Records that same year, which saw commercial success in contemporary R&B, new jack swing, and hip hop music releases into the coming decade. The label entered a distribution deal with MCA Records and signed artists including Jodeci, Heavy D & the Boyz, Mary J. Blige, Guy, and Al B. Sure, as well as then-unknowns the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, among others.[4] He is credited with discovering and giving the latter his start in the industry in 1990.[5] Harrell was later appointed as CEO of Motown from 1995 to 1997.[4]
Following years of sustained medical issues, Harrell died of heart failure in May 2020.[6]
Early life
Harrell was born in New York City’s borough of the Bronx on September 26, 1960.[2][7] His father, Bernie, worked at a produce market in the Bronx's Hunts Point section; his mother, Hattie, was a nurse's aide.
Harrell cultivated his entrepreneurial instincts throughout high school, raising money with candy drives and picking up jobs with a local messenger service.[8] While still a teenager, Harrell formed with Alonzo Brown—a friend from high school—a rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. Harrell acted as Jeckyll, while Brown as Hyde.[7] They first performed together as members of the Harlem World Crew and recorded on Tayster and Rojac Records in 1980, but broke off from the group and formed Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde.[9] Alonzo Brown joined Profile Records in 1981 under the name Lonnie Love and recorded "Young Ladies." That same year, Brown teamed with Harrell and, as Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, they recorded the well-received song, "Genius Rap" (1981), which was one of the first hip hop records to use a sample from the Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love."[9] They also recorded "The Challenge" (1982), "Gettin' Money" (1983), and "Fast Life" b/w "AM/PM" (1984), produced by Kurtis Blow.[10] In 1985, the duo released their only album, Champagne of Rap. Later they released the singles "Yellow Panties" (1985) and "Transformation" b/w "Scratch on Galaxy"(1986). Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde deviated from established hip hop style code by performing in suits and ties.
Harrell graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School in 1978.[2] He attended Baruch College, and then transferred to Lehman College in the fall of 1980. With the aim of being a newscaster, he majored in communications and business management.[11][2] After spring 1983, he withdrew from Lehman and began working full-time selling airtime on WINS radio in New York City, continuing to perform on the weekends.[2][11]
Career
In 1983, Harrell met Russell Simmons, a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings. He went to work for Def Jam and within two years became vice-president and general manager. In 1986, when MCA Records offered Harrell his own record company, he entered into a joint venture, and formed his own label, Uptown Records.[2] "Rather than replicating the street-wise persona of Def Jam Recordings, Uptown Records represented the "good life" that many young Blacks desired. The Uptown Records image was of performers draped in stylish clothing and surrounded by luxury, homes, furnishings, and cars."[9]
As president of Uptown, Harrell launched the career of Heavy D & The Boyz. Guy, Al B. Sure!, and Jodeci. Harrell is credited with having discovered and signed Sean "Puffy" Combs.[12] In 1988, Mary J. Blige recorded an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall.[13] Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd sent it to Harrell, who met with Blige. In 1989, she was signed to the label and became the company's youngest and first female solo artist.[14]
In 1988, Harrell was offered a label deal MCA Music Entertainment Group. After he had multiple successful releases, in 1992, MCA offered Harrell a multimedia deal, which involved film and television productions. They developed the feature film Strictly Business and FOX's hit police drama series, New York Undercover, which aired from 1994 until 1998.[2]
Harrell renamed Uptown Records as Uptown Enterprises, and its records were featured in productions for Universal Pictures and Universal Television.[15] In 1994, Harrell had a son with Wendy Credle, a music attorney. They named him Gianni Credle-Harrell.[16]
In 1995, Harrell was appointed CEO of Motown Records and remained there until 1997.[2] He also hosted Champagne & Bubbles on Sunday nights from 6 to 9pm on Emmis Urban AC WRKS (98.7 Kiss FM)/New York.[17] Harrell was the CEO of Harrell Records, which is distributed through Atlantic Records.[18] He partnered with budding Atlanta-based production company L7 Entertainment for the release of their new artists Hamilton Park and Netta Brielle.[19]
Harrell was the Vice Chairman of Revolt, Diddy's multi-platform music network. On October 17, 2014, he was instrumental in launching the Revolt Music Conference in Miami, Florida, at the Fontainebleau Hotel. The event was attended by such entertainment figures as Guy Oseary, Russell Simmons, and L.A. Reid.[20]
At Lehman College's Leadership Gala on September 14, 2023, alumnus Andre Harrell was awarded (posthumously) the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa.[23]
^ abcdefghijCaramanica, Jon (May 9, 2020). "Andre Harrell, Executive Who Bridged Hip-Hop and R&B, Dies at 59". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2020. Andre Harrell, an innovative music executive who in the late 1980s founded Uptown Records, a crucial bridge between the worlds of hip-hop and R&B, and who gave the first career break to Sean Combs, today one of hip-hop's signature moguls and global ambassadors, died on Thursday night at his home in West Hollywood, Calif.
^Janine McAdams, "Uptown, MCA seal multimedia deal: Harrell looks to 'synergize' music, film, TV", Billboard, 1992 Jun 20;104(25):8,89. For a briefer take, see Dimitri Ehrlich, "Andre the giant", New York, 1992 Sep 21;25(37):26.
^ abKiki Mason, "Pop goes the ghetto", New York, 1995 Oct 23;28(42):37–43, whereby p 38 offers a Harrell portrait prioritizing the recent, p 40 covers Harrell's early life and segues into his start in the music business, p 41 includes his own successes in it, p 42 introduces Sean "Puffy" Combs, and p 43 returns to Harrell in the present, 1995, including recent multimedia ventures.
