media executive; chief executive officer; president (organization); vice president (organization); founder; rap musician
Personal Information
Born Andre O'Neal Harrell, c. 1962.
Education: Attended Lehman College.
Career
With Alonzo Brown, formed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (rap duo); Rush Management, New York City, vice president and general manager, c. 1985; Uptown Records, New York, NY, founder and president, 1987-92; Uptown Entertainment, New York, NY, president, 1992-1995; Motown Records, president and CEO, 1995-1997; Bad Boy Entertainment, consultant, 1999-.
Life's Work
"I am a lifestyle entertainment entrepreneur," professed Andre Harrell, founder of Uptown Entertainment in Upscale magazine. "I'm promoting the whole spectrum of black lifestyles, from the teenage street hip-hop lifestyle to an adult, upwardly mobile black lifestyle." With his record label, Uptown Records, Harrell promoted the "black lifestyle" by catapulting former unknowns Jodeci, Heavy D and The Boyz, Mary J. Blige, and Al B. Sure! to stardom. Upscale noted that Harrell quickly gained a reputation as having a "golden finger on the pulse of what's hot in the music industry," and left the entire entertainment industry "standing at rapt attention, waiting for his next successful move." While the chances for any marked success have been minuscule for most young record producers, Harrell demonstrated such an uncanny ability to package and market young black singers that he was offered a seven-year, $50 million deal to produce projects with MCA Music Entertainment Group and Universal Pictures--an astounding deal rivaled only by those offered to megastars Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Born Andre O'Neal Harrell to a supermarket foreman and a nurse's aide, Harrell grew up in the housing projects of the Bronx, New York. While both of his parents labored for their meager existence, Harrell was somehow confident of a promising future. Though he was a self described poor, inner-city kid, he explained, "I grew up thinking wonderful things could happen, I always believed I'd have a wonderful life."
Harrell's sixteenth year was a watershed period in his life. While his parents were divorcing, he teamed up with high-school buddy, Alonzo Brown to form the successful rap duo, Dr. Jekyll (Harrell) and Mr. Hyde (Brown). For their first performance, the duo stood atop chairs and rapped for a crowd of 40 that had gathered at the DeWitt Clinton Housing Project. Harrell said he turned to rapping because "I couldn't play basketball well enough to be on the starting team, but I could rap well enough." In fact, Harrell and Brown rapped so well that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde enjoyed three top 20 hits: "Genius Rap," "Fast Life," and "AM/FM."
In the late seventies, the duo became popular weekend rappers, but having set his sights on becoming a newscaster, Harrell went on to study communications and business management at the Bronx's Lehman College. After three years, however, he dropped out and went to work selling air time for a local radio station. In 1983, Harrell met Russell Simmons, the founder of Rush Management, a company that launched the careers of cutting-edge black "street" artists. In time, Simmons persuaded Harrell to come to work for Rush at a mere $200 per week. Within his two years at Rush, Harrell became vice-president and general manager, playing a pivotal role in building the careers of artists like Run DMC, LL Cool J, and Whodini.
Filled the Urban Void
While at Rush, Harrell became increasingly aware that a certain black lifestyle was missing from the marketplace. Rush did a phenomenal job of promoting the raw, black street sound, but Harrell saw another black sound being overlooked: the more subtle sound coming from the marriage of rhythm and blues with hip-hop. The black lifestyle, Harrell saw, was being expressed in extremes: in the street culture of many cutting edge black musicians and in the bourgeois culture represented, somewhat unrealistically, in television's Cosby Show.
Harrell felt he could bridge the gap between "street" and middle to upper class. "I had more of an understanding of what this vibe was all about than any other major label executive I knew," he commented. In 1986, he left Rush Management to launch Uptown Records, a company that would fill the void in urban black music. Longtime friend tag Nelson George explained that Harrell made music for the type of people he knew growing up, "the black bus driver from Queens [New York] who wears suits on weekends and goes to clubs to pick up girls." Harrell argued that the media--especially white critics--"think it is boring when black people sing about being in love or paying bills." Uptown was created to market music reflective of a more mainstream black lifestyle.
Harrell took Uptown through a series of successes. By 1988, MCA was courting Harrell and offered him a $75,000 label deal. His first release under MCA, a compilation of works by then-unknown artists, was a huge success. Harrell followed up this surprise hit by producing Heavy D's platinum album, Livin' Large. He built on these first successes with hit albums from Al B Sure! and Guy. It became almost commonplace to see Uptown releases go gold or platinum, as the enterprise became a major force in the music industry.
Joined With MCA
With the growing popularity of Uptown's artists, the company's success continued to grow until 1992, when MCA offered Harrell a $50 million multimedia deal. The nearly unprecedented arrangement opened up Harrell's creative vistas to include film and television. Uptown Records thus was renamed Uptown Entertainment. Over the next seven years Harrell produced albums with MCA Music Entertainment Group and featured his recording artists in film and television productions for Universal Pictures and Universal Television respectively.
With the power to produce for music, film, and television, Harrell's mission remained the same: "I want to tell stories about everyday black people that will have a wide reaching appeal--experiences that are African American, but feelings that are universal." Working with MCA/Universal allowed Harrell to nearly triple Uptown's staff and to set up satellite offices in Los Angeles.
With ever increasing responsibilities and less time for being "in the mix," Harrell staffed both his New York City and Los Angeles Uptown offices with young producers and vice-presidents who could keep him connected to the pulse of the urban African American lifestyle. The swell of funds and staff also allowed Uptown to thrive with the incorporation of in-house video, publicity, and marketing departments.
Uptown Entertainment immediately launched development of a full slate of film and television projects, many featuring Uptown recording artists. For example, it was not long before Uptown Entertainment sold a pilot to Fox Television starring Heavy D as a rapping dad. A drama called Flavor, a variety/comedy show similar to In Living Color, and a feature film starring the soulful singers of En Vogue were also soon in the works.
Uptown's musical prowess was celebrated in 1993, when Music Television (MTV) showcased Uptown recording artists Mary J. Blige, Father MC, Heavy D, Christopher Williams, and Jodeci on the cable network's popular acoustic show, Unplugged. Not surprisingly, this event was the first time that the popular show had devoted its entire time slot to artists of a single record label. The show was such a success that it was released as a video.
In the Game
In addition to creating overwhelming pressures to keep increasing profits, Harrell's success reaped the financial rewards necessary to build the lifestyle he dreamed of during his childhood in the housing projects of the Bronx. In 1988, Harrell recalled. "I was rollin'. I was in the game. I was coming into spots and it was going on. I was all over the country, all over the world. I was 20 years old. The dough was flowing. I bought a house. Bought a BMW. Two. Was Happy. It was the beginning of the game. I was crazy happy. Crazy happy." He enjoyed his success thoroughly, earned a reputation as the premiere party-giver on the east coast. However, he realized that with success came a responsibility, for, as he told "I want to show kids what can be achieved if they never take no for an answer."
Harrell's extraordinary rise in the music, film, and television industries prompted the inevitable reflection on just what accounts for such success. In large part he credited his success with being both a rap artist and an entrepreneur. As a former performer Harrell gained a rapport with musicians that some industry executives lacked. He was perceived as a peer of musicians, an approachable ally.
Harrell's entrepreneurial savvy may have also found its roots in his youth in the Bronx. Chris Albrecht of Home Box Office (HBO) Independent Productions told Vanity Fair that Harrell's business edge was reflective of his street-fighter sense of survival. In essence, Harrell's success stemmed from fierce determination. As he told Vanity Fair, "I can do just about anything I want. It's a matter of will. Yeah, I guess you have to be talented and smart and stuff, and I hope I've proven that. But I know, at this point in my career, the doors of opportunity are open. As long as I have the desire and the will to want to do it, a lot of different things will get ready to happen."
From Uptown to Motown
By the end of 1994, according to Billboard, "Uptown ranked second among all labels for number of charted R&B singles ... fifth for the number of charted R&B albums." Harrell was at the top, and the door of opportunity opened wide. Harrell had been identified as "the" person to build new artists, and to keep them going strong. "He's driven," said Alain Levy, president and CEO of Dutch conglomerate, PolyGram, who bought Motown in 1993. Motown, an internationally known record label, had lost its dominant status and was in search of someone to help bring the label back into the limelight. Polygram had their eye on Harrell as the man who could breathe new life into Motown, the first wholly black-owned record company that had, at one time, an impressive roster of stars. In 1995 Harrell became the new president and CEO, replacing Jheryl Busby, who was credited for helping Motown out of its slump in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Aside from being energetic and talented, Harrell was thought to be an excellent choice perhaps because his style was similar to Motown's founder, Berry Gordy. Harrell told Eric L. Smith of Black Enterprise, "When I was building Uptown, I realized a lot of my philosophies were similar to what Berry Gordy did in the 60s. And I think what I bring to the party is a youthful kind of feel and a new kind of energy." Harrell regarded Motown as the best name in the entertainment business, and willingly made the move. Harrell admitted to Adam White, writer for Billboard, "The one thing that made me want to take this opportunity [to lead the company] was to be in a position to make superstars. That you could do things in a first-class fashion: that when you knew you had quality product, you could put it out on the good china."
Harrell's new responsibilities were overseeing all of Motown's operations: marketing, publishing, creative development, and sales for all of Motown's music labels, MoJazz, Mad Sounds, and Biv Ten. Since the Berry Gordy days of Motown, the company had also developed other business interests such as film and television, animations, video production, and multi media productions; Harrell was in charge of it all. Levy had high expectations and essentially gave Harrell free reign. He was extremely successful in identifying new artists and helping artists remain strong, but Harrell may not have been ready for the particular challenges of running a mega company, such as the legendary Motown.
From Hitsville to Pittsville
Of the 30 new acts that Harrell signed for Motown, and of the few acts which had released albums, none had qualified as a major hit. According to Forbes, Motown lost as much as $100 million dollars during the first 22 months with Harrell on the job. During his first year on the job, Harrell increased Motown's "headcount by about 50%" and moved Motown headquarters from Los Angeles to New York City. Robert La Franco's article in Forbes stated that "One source figures the move alone cost $10 million." He was known for his lavish spending and was heavily criticized for a self-promotion campaign that he organized and funded before a single album had been released. Harrell was scrutinized further: on one hand he was credited for increasing the pay of black executives to industry standards, but on the other hand he was operating on, according to Newsweek, "broken promises and bad-faith negotiations."
The fact that Harrell failed to live up to the industry's expectations reflected some of the woes of the music industry. Harrell may have been trying to keep the essence of Gordy's Motown intact, when in fact he could not. In Newsweek, Jonnie L. Roberts cited music historian, Nelson George, as saying, "Motown's decline became almost inevitable as early as the '70s, when white-owned record giants, such as CBS Records (now Sony Music), made a grab for the black-music business ... most black record labels, like Motown, are controlled by entertainment conglomerates run by white executives. The irony for Motown has been that it can't compete with the biggies in wooing and keeping top black talent." Music executives have addressed the fact that, as record labels were eaten up by large conglomerates, many black executives were excluded and that black music departments were dismantled. What was left was an industry where even though black music often dominated the charts, there were few black executives. Tommy Matolla of Sony said, "As an industry, we really need to strengthen the whole black executive pool."
After two years at Motown, Harrell resigned. Harrell issued a statement that was published in Jet, "My decision to resign comes after considerable reflection about what is best for Motown in the wake of the restructuring." Despite his energy, vision, and commitment to bringing Motown back into glory, Harrell was unable to do it.
After his tenure at Motown, Harrell formed Harrell Entertainment and returned to doing what he does well--working and consulting with new artists. In the fall of 1998, Sean "Puffy" Combs, founder and CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment, hired Andre Harrell as a consultant. While talking about Harrell with writer Anita M. Samuels from Billboard, Combs said, "He's one of the wisest men in the business' he taught me almost everything I know."
Further Reading
- Billboard, May 11, 1991, pp. 21, 26; December 12, 1992, pp. 10, 83; June 20, 1992, pp. 8, 89; October 13, 1995, p. 8; March 9, 1996, p. 48; November 14, 1998, p. 25.
- Black Enterprise, August 1993, p. 74; December, 1995, p. 20.
- Ebony, November 1991, pp. 156, 160-64; October 1993, p. 50.
- Forbes, September 8, 1997, p. 48.
- Gentlemen's Quarterly, April 1993, pp. 168-75, 245.
- Hollywood Reporter, June 30, 1998, p. 6.
- Jet, September 1, 1997, p. 64.
- Newsweek, December 2, 1996, p. 49.
- Upscale, September/October 1993, pp. 128-29.
- Vanity Fair, September 1993, pp. 188-91, 233-38.
- Vibe, December/January 1994, pp. 70-3.
- Additional information for this profile was obtained from Uptown Entertainment press materials.
— Lisa Fredricks and Christine Miner Minderovic
