Andre Harrell

Early life Harrell was born in New York City’s borough of the Bronx on September 26, 1960. His father, Bernie, worked at a produce market in the Bronx's Hunts Point section; his mother, Hattie, was a nurse's aide.

Harrell cultivated his entrepreneurial instincts throughout high school, raising money with candy drives and picking up jobs with a local messenger service. As a teenager, he and Alonzo Brown—a friend from high school—formed the rap duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. Harrell was Jeckyll, Brown was Hyde. In 1981, Brown joined Profile Records under the name Lonnie Love, recorded "Young Ladies", and, as Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, recorded with Harrell the well-received song "Genius Rap", one of the first hip hop records to sample the Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love." In 1985, the duo released its only album, Champagne of Rap. It also released the singles "Yellow Panties" (1985) and "Transformation" b/w "Scratch on Galaxy"(1986). Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde deviated from established hip hop style code by performing in suits and ties.

Harrell graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School in 1978. Her mother's boyfriend at the time played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd sent it to Harrell, who met with Blige. In 1989, she signed with the label and became its youngest and first female solo artist.

In 1988, Harrell was offered a label deal from MCA Music Entertainment Group. After he had multiple successful releases, in 1992, MCA offered Harrell a multimedia deal, which involved film and television productions. They developed the feature film Strictly Business and FOX's hit police drama series, New York Undercover, which aired from 1994 until 1998. In 1994, Harrell had a son, Gianni Credle-Harrell, with Wendy Credle, a music attorney.

In 1995, Harrell was appointed CEO of Motown Records. He remained there until 1997. Harrell was CEO of Harrell Records, which is distributed through Atlantic Records. He partnered with the Atlanta-based production company L7 Entertainment for the release of their artists Hamilton Park and Netta Brielle.

Harrell was the Vice Chairman of Revolt, Diddy's multi-platform music network. On October 17, 2014, he was instrumental in launching the Revolt Music Conference in Miami, Florida, at the Fontainebleau Hotel. The event was attended by such entertainment figures as Guy Oseary, Russell Simmons, and L.A. Reid.

Death Harrell died on May 7, 2020, at his home in West Hollywood, California. According to Wendy Credle, Harrell's ex-partner, he had suffered heart problems in the time leading up to his death.

At Lehman College's Leadership Gala on September 14, 2023, Harrell was posthumously awarded the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa.