Uptown Records

Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986. It went on to become one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Featured on the roster were Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Al B. Sure!, and Soul for Real amongst others.

History

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 were Heavy D & The Boyz and Marley Marl. By 1987, two debut albums by Heavy D and Al B. Sure! would be 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, chart number seven on the R&B charts. In 1988, Guy featuring group member and producer Teddy Riley released their debut album, Guy. This album continued Uptown's hot streak as the album went number one and continued building upon the bubbling New jack swing sound created by Riley. Also in that same year, Uptown released the Capitol-distributed album from the Gyrlz Love Me or Leave Me.

Heavy D

Dwight Errington Myers (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), 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 dancers/background vocalists 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, DJ Premier, his cousin Pete Rock and Eddie F.

Biography

Myers was born on May 24, 1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica, the son of Eulahlee Lee, a nurse, and Clifford Vincent Myers, a machine technician. In the early 1970s his family moved to Mount Vernon, New York, where he was raised. His mother, Eulahlee, in an interview stated he spent most of his childhood hanging out with his brother Floyd and his childhood friend Mo.

Heavy D & the Boyz were the first group signed to Uptown Records, with Heavy D as the frontman and only rapper. Eddie F was his business partner in the group, DJ, and one of the 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.

Uptown

Uptown may refer to:

Neighborhoods or regions in several cities

United States

Chico DeBarge

Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966, Detroit, Michigan) is an American R&B singer and a younger brother of the members of the Motown family act DeBarge. Unlike the rest of his DeBarge siblings, Chico is the only male DeBarge that does not sing in the falsetto range that is well known in his family; he sings tenor.

Biography

Recording career

He began a musical career of his own with Motown in the mid-1980s. His debut self-titled album featured the hit single "Talk To Me." He released a second album with Motown, Kiss Serious, but was imprisoned for drug charges not long after and served time in prison for drug trafficking. After his release in the mid-1990s, DeBarge returned to Motown to continue his musical career under the auspices of Kedar Massenberg and his neo-soul pioneering label imprint Kedar Entertainment.

He later moved to the independent record label, Koch Records, where he released 2003's Free. DeBarge also contributed a song to the Beauty Shop movie soundtrack courtesy of Alove Entertainment. His most recent album Addiction was released July 14, 2009 under Kedar Entertainment Group.