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He had a similar eye for executive talent Harrell curated a company full of people who lived the very lifestyle Uptown was selling. But… she doesn’t know it yet.” As he was departing Uptown for Motown, he told Vibe of his artist relationships, “I talked to his mother, his girlfriend, his babies’ mother with the two children, dealt with his drug counselor, and whatever other… problems he has.” “She lacks the self-confidence of someone of her stature because she grew up with someone telling her, ‘You ain’t nothing, and you’re never going to be anything.’ In the end, she turned out to be…something very special. Blige abruptly cut a 1995 New York Times interview short after a long day of press for her sophomore album My Life, Andre explained, on record, that the young singer was still unlearning trauma. He put me in suits and coached me like a director dress this way, smile that way, look at the camera from a certain angle.”Īndre had an understanding of who his artists were, where they came from, what they were facing as new stars, and what they needed to navigate pitfalls and succeed. Sure!, credited Dre for his heart throb status, “Andre taught me about style,” A l B. “It was part pep talk and part critique.” Uptown’s first R&B star Al B. “He’d talk to us after every show,” Heavy D once shared. He put new acts through camps that included styling, media training, and choreography but also kept a close eye on them himself. Harkening back to the Gordy/Motown method, Harrell prioritized artist development. He also took the helm as the company’s president once Andre departed. Heavy once recounted to New York Magazine : “(Andre) spent months trying to convince Russell that we could be a hit, and Russell was like, ‘But he’s fat,” and Andre would say ‘Yeah, but girls will love him.’” Andre built Uptown around Heavy, and “the overweight” lover was not only a consistent platinum seller for most of his recording career, but is credited as one of the rap artists that helped chart hip-hop’s path into the mainstream.
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A turning point in Simmons and Harrell’s professional relationship came when Russell dismissed an artist Andre was feeling: Mount Vernon rapper Heavy D.
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But he could see the potential where others couldn’t. It perhaps goes without saying that Harrell had an eye for talent, with a roster of artists that include some of the most impactful acts in both R&B and hip-hop. If you don’t feel like you have to conform in your dress or your attitudes, you become a black person. “The best of all these situations, from ghetto to color to elitist intellectuals, is to be black - when you can be who you truly are in any situation and feel good about yourself. His target audience for the aesthetic he alternatively called “ghetto fabulous,” “high Negro style,” and “ghetto glamor,” superseded self-identifying boxes. In the same 1993 Vanity Fair interview, Harrell broke down his four echelons of Black consumers - he wasn’t concerned about crossover, at least not yet - based on class and lifestyle. He also had a clear idea of his audience. Hyde: European suit wearing, suitcase carrying lyricists who touted a style called Champagne Rap and his experience helping develop burgeoning Def Jam talent like LL Cool J and Whodini as part of Simmons’ Rush Management.ġ0 Essential Tracks That Defined the Legacy of Uptown Records and Founder Andre Harrell Uptown’s ethos came from Harrell’s combined experiences as a NY nightlife VIP an ad sales exec an early rap star in his own right as part of duo Dr. The Bronx-born and bred Harrell’s vision and instincts were that of the rare, landscape-shifting music men, like Gordy, Clive Davis, Ahmet Ertegun.
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Uptown was the first urban lifestyle label, and Andre was the first executive to understand how to sell Black glamour that embraced, rather than ignored, its street edge. The label set trends and created moments that still reverberate today: It was the home of the New Jack Swing the incubator for the marriage of hip-hop and R&B with hip-hop soul the proof of concept for ghetto-fabulousness the predecessor for labels like So So Def and Roc A Fella, and the direct parent of Bad Boy and one of the first labels associated with party vibes and fly s–t. Uptown Records was often dubbed the new iteration of Motown a label where Black artists were seen and nurtured, and Harrell the heir apparent to Berry Gordy. Uptown’s - and by extension Harrell’s - impact spanned beyond making music to creating culture and Harrell gave the world more than Heavy D., Jodeci, Mary J. BET Orders 'Uptown' Miniseries Based on Hip-Hop Executive Andre Harrell