He undoubtedly touched many lives by his work in music, making a serious and lasting influence on the tradition. Andre Harrell, the founding father of Uptown Information, and individual credited for locating Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, died Thursday evening, based on The New York Occasions.
Harrell’s imprint on RnB & hip hop music will final endlessly as he went from artist to music govt serving to signal and mould so many beloved musicians, together with Mary J. Blige.
Harrell lived in West Hollywood, Ca. and died Thursday evening from coronary heart failure on the age of 59, based on ex-wife Wendy Credle. She mentioned he had lingering coronary heart points for a while.
Born within the Bronx, Andre O’Neal Harrell attended Charles Evans Hughes Excessive College. He was solely 16 when he kicked off his personal profession as an artist, serving as one half of the rapping duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with a highschool buddy. They reached some notoriety with singles “Genius Rap,” and “Genius of Love.”
His work as an govt got here years later, getting his begin with one other large title, Russell Simmons. He departed Def Jam in 1986 to launch his personal label, Uptown Information. Harrell then turned an vital bridge between the worlds of RnB and hip hop. He put an vital finesse on the 2 opening up the world for memorable collaborations. The label was successful because it constructed the careers of iconic artists Jodeci, Al B. Positive!, Heavy D & the Boyz, Man (that includes the multi-talented Teddy Riley), Father MC, and a teenage Mary J. Blige. Within the mid-90s, he left Uptown to briefly take the helm of the long-lasting Motown Information in Detroit as President/CEO.
Past the artists at Uptown, he notably helped leap begin the profession of Sean Combs, who got here on as an A&R for the label. Harrell served as mentor to the eventual icon. He fired him in 1993, however we all know Combs ended up doing fairly good for himself. The 2 maintained a relationship down the road, and Harrell served as vice chairman of P Diddy’s music cable community Revolt TV.
Andre Harrell / Instagram
Harrell additionally made an influence on the earth of tv and movie within the 90s. He executive-produced the favored police drama New York Undercover, and labored on the comedy movie Strictly Enterprise.
Most not too long ago, he was collaborating with BET to develop and govt produce a miniseries about Uptown Information, titled Uptown. It was anticipated to air in 2020, and hopefully, the plans for the collection will proceed.
Music’s elite have been posting heartfelt condolences on social media about his passing:
I simply woke as much as the terrible information that my buddy Andre Harrell has handed away.. Andre really was the individual the acquired me on New York Undercover which began my relationship with Dick Wolf.. My honest condolences to his household. RIP my buddy. Smh 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CJTymfAylg
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) Might 9, 2020
RIP Andre Harrell. Whether or not we knew it or not, he had such an enormous affect on the R&B/hip-hop my era grew up loving. He signed and mentored so many nice artists, made a lot nice music occur, helped form the tradition
— John Legend (@johnlegend) Might 9, 2020
RIP to my little bro, Andre Harrell…Gone manner too quickly, however a life lived effectively & an enduring imprint on our enterprise that may’t be argued. pic.twitter.com/xTitn1z3Ap
— Quincy Jones (@QuincyDJones) Might 9, 2020
Relaxation in peace Andre Harrell, your work and influence won’t ever be forgotten.