Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986.^[1] It went on to become one of the most popular Hip-Hop and R&B labels of the late 1980's and early 1990s. Featured on the roster were such luminaries as Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Soul for Real to name a few.

History[link]

Founded in 1986 by one half of rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Andre Harrell. After securing distribution deal through MCA Records the compilation album, "Uptown Is Kickin' It" was released. Among the artists featured on the album was Heavy D & The Boyz and Marley Marl. By 1987 two debut albums by Heavy D and Al B. Sure! would be very successful for the young label. Heavy D & The Boyz Living Large would be certified Gold while Al B. Sure! Warner Bros distributed Uptown album In Effect Mode would have many hit singles and chart number seven on the R&B charts. In 1988, Guy featuring group member and producer Teddy Riley would release their debut album Guy. This album would continue Uptown's hot streak as the album went number one and continued building upon the bubbling New jack swing sound created by Teddy. Continued success followed the label with the release of Heavy D & The Boyz 1989 second album, Big Tyme and Guys 1990's The Future. Tragedy would struck as Heavy D & The Boyz member, Trouble T Roy died that summer due to an accidental fall while out on tour. The spiritual third Heavy D album, Peaceful Journey was dedicated in his honor. By 1990, Sean “Puffy” Combs had started interning at Uptown and started working with newly signed acts Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. Uptown would have another hit on their hands with Jodeci's debut album, "Forever My Lady. Around the same time, Andre was busy producing the film Strictly Business and it's accompanying soundtrack.

In 1992, due to all of Uptown's success, MCA offered Harrell a multimedia deal, which involved film and television productions. Uptown Records was subsequently renamed to Uptown Entertainment. Also in 1992, saw changes in the Hip Hop and R&B musical landscape which was changing towards a harder edge sound due to the popularity of gangsta rap. In keeping in step with the changing times, Mary J. Blige would release her debut album, "What's the 411?" in Summer 1992. Dubbed The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, the success of her debut single, You Remind Me and others would help her album be certified three times Platinum. By 1993, Uptown was the leading urban label. In February, Uptown artists Jodeci, Father MC, Mary J. Blige, Christopher Williams and Heavy D would perform an acoustic set on MTV Unplugged. Taped at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California it would be called "Uptown Unplugged" and released as both a home video and CD. Jodeci did a live cover of Stevie Wonder’s "Lately" at the show and the song was released as single. It would chart at both number one on the R&B charts and number four Pop. Later that spring they released the soundtrack to the hip hop film Who's the Man? which featured a new rising emcee called B.I.G. who would later be known as The Notorious B.I.G.. Towards the end of the year, Jodeci would release their second album, "Diary of a Mad Band".

Decline[link]

In the summer of 1993, Sean “Puffy” Combs was abruptly terminated due to tension between him and label head Andre Harrell. Within two weeks of that dismissal he established Bad Boy Records and took The Notorious B.I.G. along with him. Without Comb's keen vision, Uptown began to suffer. However, he remained involved as Executive Producer of Mary J. Blige’s second album My Life, which was released in late 1994 and would later be certified three times Platinum. Tension started to exist between Uptown and its key acts Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. The two signed to Death Row Records label head Suge Knight's "West Coast Management" firm. Knight was able to upgrade their contracts by doubling their royalty rates, secure greater creative control and landed them substantial back payments.^[2]

Even with all these distractions, Uptown managed to still put out some hit records. 1994's Heavy D & The Boyz final album, "Nuttin' But Love" would chart number one on the R&B charts and be certified Platinum. While in 1995 both Soul for Real's debut album Candy Rain and Jodeci's final Uptown album The Show, the After Party, the Hotel" which charted number one on the R&B charts

By early 1996, Andre was offered the chance to revive Motown Records and became their CEO. Heavy D moved into the role of Uptown's president and CEO. Even with this change, there was only some minor success with rap group Lost Boyz debut album, "Legal Drug Money". The album sold well, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 200 and #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. Not long afterwards, Uptown folded when Heavy D decided that running the company was not for him, choosing instead to pursue acting and performing. Mary J. Blige would move over to MCA Records to release her next album, "Share My World in 1997The same year, Uptown was repositioned to operate under the newly established Universal Records umbrella. By 1999, Uptown Records was absorbed into Universal Records. Subsequently, many of Uptown's artists (with the exception of Monifah and Soul for Real) were moved to the MCA roster. Today the label is a part of Universal Motown Republic Group, but remains defunct.

Artists[link]

See Category:Uptown Records albums

• Al B. Sure!
• Christopher Williams
• Father MC
• Guy
• Heavy D & The Boyz
• Horace Brown
• Jeff Redd
• Jodeci
• Little Shawn
• Lost Boyz
• Mary J. Blige
• McGruff
• Monifah
• Soul for Real

References[link]

External links[link]

• Uptown Records at Discogs
• Uptown Records and Andre Harrell at NJS4E

Dwight Arrington Myers^[2] (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011),^[3] better known as Heavy D, was a Jamaican-born American rapper, record producer, singer, actor, and former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a hip hop group which included G-Whiz (Glen Parrish), "Trouble" T. Roy (Troy Dixon), and Eddie F (born Edward Ferrell). The group maintained a sizable audience in the United States through most of the 1990s. The five albums the group released were produced by Teddy Riley, Marley Marl, his cousin Pete Rock and Eddie F.^[4]

Biography[link]

Myers was born on May 24, 1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica, the son of Eulahlee Lee, a nurse, and Clifford Vincent Myers, a machine technician.^[5] His family moved to Mount Vernon, New York, in the early 1970s,^[6] where he was raised.^[7]

Heavy D & the Boyz were the first group signed to Uptown Records, with Heavy D as the frontman and only rapper, and Eddie F was his business partner in the group and one of his producers. The other two members, T-Roy and G-Wiz were the dancers. Their debut, Living Large, was released in 1987. The album was a commercial success; Big Tyme was a breakthrough that included four hits.

Dancer Troy "Trouble T. Roy" Dixon died at age 22 in a fall on July 15, 1990, in Indianapolis. Dixon's death led to a tribute on the follow-up platinum album, Peaceful Journey. Pete Rock & CL Smooth created a tribute to Trouble T. Roy called "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" which is regarded as a hip hop classic.^[4]

Heavy D gained even more fame by singing the theme song for the television program In Living Color and also MADtv. Heavy D performed the rap on Michael Jackson's hit single "Jam" as well as sister Janet Jackson's hit single "Alright". Heavy D then began focusing on his acting, appearing in various television shows before returning the music charts with Nuttin' But Love. After appearing in the off-Broadway play Riff Raff at Circle Repertory Company, Heavy D returned to recording with the hit Waterbed Hev.^[4] In 1997, Heavy D collaborated with B.B. King on his duets album Deuces Wild rapping in the song "Keep It Coming". Heavy D was referred to in the song "Juicy" by the Notorious B.I.G., and appeared in his music video for "One More Chance".

In the mid-1990s, Myers became the first rapper to head a major music label, when he became the president of Uptown Records. Myers helped to develop rhythm-and-blues singer Mary J. Blige's career and hired Sean “Diddy” Combs as an intern. During this time, Myers also developed the R&B boy band Soul for Real, and was the executive producer and principal writer of several songs on the group's breakout album, Candy Rain.^[8] He later became the senior vice president at Universal Music.^[9]

Death[link]

Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 29, 2011. Although it was his first televised live performance in 15 years, it was also his final live performance. Myers died on November 8, 2011, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 44. He collapsed outside his Beverly Hills home and was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.^[7] Heavy D's death was initially thought to be connected to pneumonia.^[10]

An autopsy report, released on December 27, 2011, found that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism.^[11] The coroner's office found that Myers died of a blood clot in his lung. He also suffered from deep leg vein thrombosis and heart disease. The blood clot was "most likely formed during an extended airplane ride," said Craig Harvey, chief of the Los Angeles County department of coroner. The rapper had recently returned from a trip to Cardiff, Wales where he performed at a tribute to Michael Jackson.^[11]

Discography[link]

• Living Large (1987)
• Big Tyme (1989)
• Peaceful Journey (1991)
• Blue Funk (1993)
• Nuttin' But Love (1994)
• Waterbed Hev (1997)
• Heavy (1999)
• Vibes (2008)
• Love Opus (2011)

Filmography[link]

• New Jersey Drive (1995)
• B*A*P*S (1997)
• The Cider House Rules (1999)
• Life (1999)
• Big Trouble (2002)
• Larceny (2004)
• Step Up (2006)
• Tower Heist (2011)

Television appearances[link]

This section may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (November 2011) Click [show] on right for more details. No reason has been cited for the Wikify tag on this article.You can insert a reason using the |reason= parameter, like this: {{Wikify|reason=Your reason here}} Please replace HTML markup with wiki markup where appropriate. Add wikilinks. Where appropriate, make links to other articles by putting "[[" and "]]" on either side of relevant words (see WP:LINK for more information) and check that your links work as expected. Please do not link terms that most readers are familiar with, such as common occupations, well-known geographical terms, and everyday items. Format the lead. Create or improve the lead paragraph. Arrange section headers as described at Wikipedia:Guide to layout. Add an infobox if it is appropriate for the article. Clean up / format the references and footnotes, using citation templates when appropriate. Remove this tag.

• A Different World episode "Delusions of Daddyhood"
• Roc (recurring)
• Living Single (recurring)
• Boston Public
• The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, 2 episodes: "Someday Your Prince Will Be In Effect" (Parts 1 & 2) aired 29 October 1990.^[12]
• The Tracy Morgan Show
• Bones
• Tyler Perry's House of Payne episode "Dream Girls"
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Personal Fouls"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Heavy D on Facebook
• Heavy D on Myspace
• Heavy D at the Internet Movie Database
• Heavy D on Twitter

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2008)

Isaac Freeman III, better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop is an American hip hop promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw, loud voice.

He is known for the track "Be Faithful" which went to number one in the UK and Ireland in late 2003 and top 5 in Australia. The song has been a favorite in clubs around the world for years but it took two years to clear the samples from Jay-Z, Black Sheep, Queen Pen, The Beatnuts and Faith Evans.^{[citation needed]}

TV[link]

Fatman Scoop also has his own sex and relationship show/podcast. All episodes can also be seen on the Man and Wife channel on internet TV network, ONLOQ.com, as well as MTV.^[1] He also appears as himself on the TV series The Boondocks (season 2, episode 5, "The Story of Thugnificent" and episode 15, "The Story of Gangstalicious Part 2", from the same season).

Fatman Scoop received his stage name after appearing in the Fugees 'Killing Me Softly' video as a cinema worker serving popcorn and ice-cream. Lauryn Hill was a massive ice-cream fan herself so would shout 'scoop, scoop, fatman scoop' when she wanted a tub of her favourite snack. Lauryn Hill and Pras also made a spoof version of their most popular song, exchanging the lyrics 'killing me softly with his song' for 'filling my belly with popcorn'. Fatman Scoop was laughing for weeks.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

In July 2006, a club promoter in New Bern, North Carolina sued the Sheriff of Craven County, North Carolina after a 2003 concert held there was shut down by the sheriff due to a noise complaint. The suit is asking for more than $10,000 (US$) in lost wages and punitive damages.^[2]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2003: Fatman Scoop's Party Breaks: Volume 1
• 2006: In the Club
• 2007: Outside the Club
• 2008: In the Queue to Get Back Into the Club
• 2009: Refused Re-entry to the Club
• 2010: Arguing With Door Staff of the Club
• 2011: Barred For Life From the Club
• 2011: In Jail for Trying to Forcibly Re-enter the Club
• 2012: On Parole, Looking for a New Club

Compilation albums[link]

• 2008: Fatman Scoop's Hottest
• 2009: Fatman Scoop's Heaviest
• 2010: Fatman Scoop's Hardest
• 2011: Fatman Scoop's Hungriest

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

• 2001: "Drop" (Timbaland & Magoo featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2005: "Lose Control" (Missy Elliott featuring Ciara & Fatman Scoop)
• 2005: "Dance!" (Lumidee featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2005: "It's like That" (Mariah Carey featuring Jermaine Dupri & Fatman Scoop)
• 2006: "Take the Lead (Wanna Ride) (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony & Wisin & Yandel featuring Melissa Jiménez & Fatman Scoop)
• 2006: "When I Were a Lad (Many Moons Ago)" (Association of Zoos and Aquariums featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2006: "Up In Da Hood" (The Wiggles featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2006: "Let's Ride" (Chingy featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2007: "Behind the Cow" (Scooter featuring Fatman Scoop )
• 2007: "Layaway Love" (Notch featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2008: "Turn Around" (The Crooklyn Clan featuring Fatman Scoop & Afroman)
• 2008: "Be Faithful" (Welsh Transport Regiment featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2009: "Just A Little Bit" (Claudia Cream featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2009: "Think About Letting Go" (Fedde Le Grand featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2009: "Onslaught 2" (Slaughterhouse featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2009: "Love Is Back" (David Guetta featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "Go Crazy" Art Beatz & Ariez Onasis (featuring Fatman Scoop & Clinton Sparks)
• 2010: "That’s What’s Up" (Frauenarzt und Manny Marc featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "Gettin' Money" (Doesya featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "Stick It to the Man" (B*Witched featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "Please Don't Break My Heart" (Kalomoira featuring Fat Man Scoop)
• 2010: "New Years Anthem" (The Disco Fries & DJ Class featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "I Wanna Get Drunk" (DJ Felli Fel featuring Three 6 Mafia & Lil Jon & Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "The Situation" (Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino featuring The Disco Fries & DJ Class & Fatman Scoop)
• 2010: "Pop & Drop" (Joosuc featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2011: "Drop It Low" (Kat Deluna featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2011: "Shake It" (Kat Deluna featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2011: "Feel The Love" (Marvin Priest featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2011: "Wine De Best" (Orange Hill featuring Busy Signal & Fatman Scoop & Kano)
• 2011: "Umutsuz Vaka" (Demet Akalın featuring Fatman Scoop)
• 2011: "Rock the boat" (Bob Sinclar featuring Fatman Scoop, Pitbull and Dragonfly)
• 2012: "Raise the roof" (Hampenberg & Alexander Brown featuring Fatman Scoop, Pitbull & Nabiha)
• 2012: "Bad Girl" (Oun-P featuring Remo The Hitmaker & Fatman Scoop)

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards[link]

• 2005: Grammy Award for Best Rap Song - Nomination - ("Lose Control", with Missy Elliott & Ciara)
• 2005: Smash Hits Poll Winners Party - Star Of The Year - Won - (voted best overall personality in 2005 by Smash Hits readers)
• 2005: Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video - Won - ("Lose Control", with Missy Elliott & Ciara)
• 2006: Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut ("Lose Control", with Missy Elliott & Ciara)
• 2006: BAFTA Award for Best Film - Nomination - (Fatman Scoop - "The Life and Times of...")
• 2007: European Car of the Year - Best In Class - (Superior handling, best passenger comfort)
• 2007: Bronze Medallion (United Kingdom) - Awarded - (Qualified to work as a lifeguard within most UK swimming pools)
• 2008: Ready Steady Cook - Runner up - (2nd place (with Nick Nairn) to Kriss Akabusi)

Collaborations[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2008)

As a hype man for various artists, he has appeared and performed with a great number of other artists. The following list are artists he has either done a song with, or in which he has appeared together with in a song:

See also[link]

Brown note

Shouting

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Homepage
• Official Booking Agency
• Official MySpace Page
• Mand and Wife TV Homepage
• Live photo gallery at regioactive.de
• Chancers Homepage

Andre Harrell (born September 26, 1960 in Harlem, New York) is founder of the now defunct record label, Uptown Records. Harrell also served as president/CEO of Motown Records. He was also the first half of the hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde.

Biography[link]

Harrell grew up in Bronx, New York. When he was a teenager, Harrell and Quadie Campbell, his high school friend, formed a rap/ hip-hop duo named Dr. Jekyll (Harrell) and Mr. Hyde (Brown). The group achieved success with three major hit songs "Genius Rap," "Fast Life," and "AM/PM." Despite this early success in the music industry, Harrell had other career intentions and he continued to pursue his study by attending in Lehman College in Bronx. There he majored in communications and business management, as he wanted to become a newscaster. After three years, he dropped out of college and went to work for a local radio station.

In 1983, Harrell met Russell Simmons, the founder of Rush Communications. He came to work for Rush and within his two years became vice-president and general manager. After a few years working at Rush, Harrell left Rush Management and founded Uptown Records, where he was responsible for discovering and hiring Sean "Puffy" Combs. In 1988, Mary J. Blige recorded an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up In the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd then sent it to Andre Harrell. Harrell met with Blige and, in 1989, she was signed to the label; becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.

In 1988, he was offered a label deal MCA Music Entertainment Group, and after multiple successful releases, in 1992, MCA offered Harrell a multimedia deal, which involved film and television productions. Uptown Records was subsequently renamed to Uptown Entertainment, and its records were featured in productions for Universal Pictures and Universal Television. In 1995, Harrell was appointed CEO of Motown Records.After working with(Brad Digital)on the branding of his Pet project Harrell Is now hosting Champagne & Bubbles on Sunday nights from 6-9pm on Emmis Urban AC WRKS (98.7 Kiss FM)/New York. Harrell is now the CEO of Harrell Records which is distributed through Atlantic Records and has partnered with budding Atlanta based production company L7 Entertainment for the release of their new artist Hamilton Park. Hamilton Park is scheduled for release Fall 2012.

Sources[link]

• Profile of Andre Harrell and Uptown Records

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