Influential music executive Andre Harrell, the founder of the pioneering hip-hop and R&B label Uptown Records who's credited with giving Sean "Diddy" Combs his first career opportunity in the record industry, died Thursday (May 7) in his Los Angeles home. He was 59.
The New York Times reports that Harrell, who suffered from heart problems, died of heart failure, as confirmed by his ex-wife, Wendy Credle.
A former rapper himself—he released original music as a founding member of the hip-hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, alongside his high school friend, Alonzo Brown, across the '80s—Harrell brought the artist perspective and highlighted the artistry of rap during his various executive roles throughout his career. This firsthand know-how would prove pivotal to his success and long-standing career as an executive: When rap was just beginning to establish a major commercial foothold within the U.S. music industry in the mid- to late-'80s, Harrell capitalized on the then-burgeoning hip-hop genre and culture, using his insider experience to champion the sound and bolster both an artist community and committed listener audience through his trailblazing Uptown Records.
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Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, shared a touching message about Harrell's passing on behalf of the organization.
"Andre Harrell was a pioneer who defined culture and created an indelible legacy in music," Mason jr. said. "His influence and impact transcends time and Andre's contributions will continue to inspire generations of musicians for years to come."
Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1960, Harrell first broke into the music scene as an artist. His hip-hop duo, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, released several successful singles in the early '80s, The New York Times writes, including "Genius Rap" (1981), "The Challenge" (1982), "A.M./P.M." (1984) and "Fast Life" (1984). The group released its debut album, The Champagne Of Rap, its sole full-length, in 1985 before disbanding in 1987.
Following stints at two NYC radio stations, Harrell began working with Russell Simmons' Rush Management in the early '80s, where the former worked with the company's marquee acts, including Run-DMC and LL Cool J, among others. Simmons, himself a legendary record executive, was also co-founder of the iconic rap label Def Jam Recordings; Harrell quickly rose to become Def Jam's vice president and GM, according to Variety. (Simmons would become one of the first patriarchal figures in a long line of black hip-hop executives that connected Harrell and Sean "Diddy" Combs and opened doors for today's generation of leaders, like Top Dawg Entertainment's (TDE) Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and Quality Control's Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "Pee" Thomas.)
Harrell launched his own record label, Uptown Records, in 1986; within two years, in 1988, the imprint entered a partnership with the major label, MCA.
Like his mentor Simmons and Def Jam, Harrell's imprint saw the potential of hip-hop's growing fan base, particularly black audiences, and cultural reach before others could even understand the music itself. As The New York Times points out, Harrell "understood his target audience intimately," digging into his deep understanding, rooted from his own rapping days, of both the music and its surrounding culture.
"Andre thought he could deliver entertainment to the black audience in a full and total way," Al Teller, former chairman of MCA Music Entertainment Group, told Vanity Fair in 1993. "He had tremendously clever insights into the audience and how to connect the dots. He was talking like an advertising executive who knew everything about music."
Uptown became a breeding ground for artists who blurred the line between hip-hop and R&B, with acts like Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Al B. Sure! and Guy leading the label's roster. With the help and musical innovation of Teddy Riley, the label was pivotal in the formation and popularization of New Jack Swing, a hybrid genre mixing hip-hop production with R&B influences, which dominated the U.S. charts throughout the mid-'80s and early '90s.
The label was also influential in mainstreaming crossover hip-hop music via artists like Heavy D & The Boyz and Father MC, Variety notes. Blige, who Harrell signed to Uptown in the late '80s when she was a teenager, would go on to embody the hip-hop-meets-R&B formula: Her 1992 debut album, What's the 411?, for Uptown/MCA earned her the moniker, "Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul."
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During his tenure at Uptown, Harrell also discovered a then-young Sean Combs, who joined the label as an intern before rising to become the imprint's talent director and A&R man. (For his part, Combs would continue Harrell and Uptown's hip-hop/R&B hybrid sound through the former's own influential Bad Boy Records via acts like Faith Evans, 112 and Lil' Kim.)
While Harrell ultimately fired Combs from Uptown due to a power dynamic in 1993, according to The New York Times, the two reconciled and remained close throughout the years. Harrell served as president of Bad Boy as well as Vice Chairman of Revolt, the music-oriented multi-platform TV and digital network Combs launched in 2013.
During his speech at this year's Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons event honoring him, Combs paid tribute to Harrell at length.
"I want to take the time to thank Andre for being a big brother, for believing in me ... I'm only standing up here because you gave me the chance, you gave me the opportunity," Combs said. "But most importantly … as a black man, you took me underneath your wing ... You taught me what it was to be a record man."
"Even to today," he continued, "you still teach me. And I call you my big brother, but tonight I got to tell you the truth. I told you my father died when I was 2-and-a-half. Andre, you've been my father for the last 30 years."
In 1992, Harrell secured a multi-million-dollar, multimedia deal with MCA. The contract helped the executive span into film and TV—he executive-produced the hit FOX TV show "New York Undercover" and produced the 1991 comedy Strictly Business—with Harrell subsequently rebranding the company as Uptown Enterprises
In 1995, he became the CEO of Motown Records, where he worked for two years.
Later in his career, he remained active in R&B circles. He was pivotal in developing the career of a then-young Robin Thicke in the 2000s, according to Billboard. Harrell later launched his own Harrell Records in the early 2010s.
The legacy of both Harrell and his Uptown Records will see new life via a three-part scripted miniseries, called Uptown, set to debut on BET this year.
Harrell is survived by his son, Gianni Credle-Harrell, his brother, Greg, and his father, The New York Times reports.
