The Many Ways That Fans, Friends Celebrated Andre Harrell’s Life
by Adrienne Gibbs
Music icon Andre Harrell passed away in early May but friends and family gathered virtually to fete him over the Memorial Day weekend while BET also aired a special in his name. The network also reupped plans to swiftly incorporate other Harrell-centric content into its mix.
The one hour special, named “Mr. Champagne and Bubbles” was a oft-somber affair, full of artists including Naomi Campbell and Mariah Carey to Snoop Dogg and Quincy Jones. All provided personal anecdotes of their time spent and friendship with Harrell. Perhaps the most poignant of the tributes came from Babyface, who created a song for his friend, and from director Lee Daniels, who was genuinely heartbroken that his cultural compass and good friend died on May 7, 2020.
The memorial broadcast, which carried one of Harrell’s nicknames, also featured tributes from Chris Rock, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Clarence Avant, Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons, Pharrell, Tyrese and Robin Thicke. It aired commercial free on several channels including BET, BET Jams and BET Soul. It also aired on REVOLT TV, where Harrell was vice chairman.
BET in December 2019 announced it had optioned a three part mini series on Harrell’s life and more specifically, the founding of Uptown Records. Harrell was excited about serving as executive producer on the series along with Jesse Collins, who had also worked on BET’s The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story mini series. [Both series broke social media engagement records and brought millions of viewers to the network .]
BET announced they would move forward with plans for the Harrell-centric mini series. BET CEO Scott Mills issued this statement: “We are mourning the loss of a cultural icon, Andre Harrell, a chief architect of the modern hip-hop and R&B sound. Andre was tremendously excited about sharing the origin story of Uptown Records, and its pivotal role in the urban music landscape. With his tragic passing, BET is committed to ensuring that the Uptown limited series event tells both the Uptown story and Andre’s story — that of the incredible music innovator, man and friend to so many.”
Over the Memorial Day Weekend several DJs in cities across the U.S. took advantage of the long weekend and held virtual events focusing on the music that Harrell helped birth, including New Jack Swing, and the sound of Mary J. Blige. Some of those sets easily lasted for hours.
Harrell, who died at age 59, is perhaps best known for discovering Sean Diddy Combs and founding Uptown Records, a label that shaped hip hop and R&B in the late 1980s to the 90s with legends such as Heavy D & The Boyz, Al B. Sure!, Guy (which gave birth to New Jack Swing creator Teddy Riley) and Mary J. Blige. He also was executive producer of New York Undercover, a FOX FOXA drama that, in the ‘90s, redefined what a cop drama could be and who it might attract in the world of viewers.
What’s clear from the tributes, and also from looking at Harrell’s life of making hits and creating hitmakers, is that he had a shrewd business sense and he will be sorely missed.
One highlight, for example, of the BET memorial was a retelling of Harrell’s beginnings at Def Jam Records, where he reportedly took a job in 1983 for $200. That investment paid off many times over for American culture.
Diddy posted many times on Instagram about the industry’s loss, including this quote: "I hope to God that you are all blessed to have someone in your life that loves you and believes in you like this man believed in me. I'm going to miss him so much. I can't even imagine life without Dre."