A visionary, an icon, the man with the ear for talent that was a soundtrack to the lives of the ghetto. The man who gave the world some of the greatest talent we’ve ever seen and heard. One half of a rap group that was popular during the mid to late 80’s and then a CEO of a company and chairman of a label that gave birth to the world’s greatest entertainers in both Hip hop and R&B history. An uptown native, born in Harlem, raised in The Bronx, Andre Harrell was the man who gave us so many great gifts to music. Including himself when he joined forces with a high school friend to create the Hip hop duo Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. André and his friend Alonzo Brown, together were a duo that was the beginning of what was to come next in the legacy of André Harrell. With three singles like “Genius Rap”, “Fast Life” and the infamous “AM/PM”, André had other plans; much bigger plans for the future. After dropping out of Lehman College studying communications and business management, André went to work for a local radio station. The year was 1983 when André met Russell Simmons. He worked for Def Jam as vice president and general manager until he founded his own label. Uptown Records. The perfect name for an uptown native from the streets of New York. The label was started in 1986. From there, he found and hired Sean “Puffy” Combs, who we all know today as Diddy. After officially securing a distribution deal with MCA Records, “Uptown’s Kickin’ It”, a compilation album that featured acts like Heavy D & The Boyz & Marley Marl, was released. Heavy D & The Boyz and Al B. Sure! were the labels first acts. Their debut projects “Livin’ Large” and “In Effect Mode” we’re huge successes for the label and for the acts themselves, stamping Uptown Records as the new hottest label to hit the streets. Birthing a new generation of artists that’ll change the look and sound of music forever. Creating new pioneers to come along and set the trends for years of music to come. Then comes Guy, Father MC, Jodeci, and The Queen of Hip Hop Soul herself, Mary J. Blige. Mary’s demo tape with her own rendition of Anita Baker’s “Caught Up In The Rapture” landed on the desk of André Harrell, forcing him to go visit the future Queen of Hip Hop Soul himself at her home to see her in her element and from there the rest is history. Starting off singing background for Father MC and then releasing her debut album, “What’s The 411?” in July 1992, which crowned Mary the new Queen of this new movement in R&B and Hip hop music, along with Jodeci’s “Forever My Lady.” Now gone were the New Jack Swing days and now in comes the birth of Hip Hop Soul. A new sound that combined the gritty, rough and tough attitude and sounds of the streets in Hip hop and the smooth harmonies and melodies of R&B. This sound not only changed the game but it reinvented both Hip hop and R&B and open doors for a plethora of artists to follow with the same blueprint and sound in their work too. Christopher Williams, Monifah, Horace Brown, and Soul For Real were all other acts that were on the label as well. Uptown Records was on an all time high for about 10 years but the glory days came to an end when Diddy was fired, forcing him to create the Bad Boy label, contractual disputes came in and André left Uptown in 1995 to become the CEO of Motown Records, leaving the late great Heavy D to be in charge until 1997 and the label was then taken in and absorbed by Universal in 1999. It is absolutely unfortunate and shocking to hear the news of the passing of this man but we all celebrate the vision of this man and what he has brought to the music world. André Harrell was a man that brought talent who had the full package: attitude, swag, style, and with a personality that was real. Something that perfectly represented the streets and not just being pretty. His artists reminded you that you can be hard and have it rough and still be a diamond, still be a superstar. There’s a lot of hard work that comes with the territory of being a superstar but it’s much harder to not work on your talent and still staying in the hood not reaching your potential. André Harrell has definitely exceeded his expectations and potential, making him one of the most important faces in the music industry of all time. We love you and we salute you! Thank you André for giving us true talent and amazing music. May you rest in peace. This is the life and times of André Harrell.
Written by Jalen Hemphill