Brutha
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active2002–2011
LabelsThe Island Def Jam Music Group
SpinoffsJake & Papa
Past members
Grady Harrell III
Anthony Harrell
Jared Overton
Cheyenne "Papa" Harrell
Jacob Harrell

Brutha was an American R&B and soul group consisted of five brothers: Anthony Harrell, Cheyenne Harrell, Grady Harrell III, Jacob Harrell and Jared Overton. The group was formed in 2002 and Brian McKnight first introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special.[1] The brothers were subsequently signed to Def Jam Records. The group's first album Brutha was released in December 2008.[2] Their reality show, Brothers to Brutha, documented their rise to fame.[3] In 2011, the three eldest brothers Grady, Anthony and Jared left the group to pursue solo careers, leaving the remaining two brothers Jacob and Cheyenne to form the duo Jake & Papa.[4][5][6]

History

Early life

The five brothers in the band are (eldest to youngest) Grady Harrell III, Anthony Harrell, Jared Overton, Cheyenne "Papa" Harrell and Jacob Harrell. Four of the brothers' father is Grady Harrell Jr., a singer from Los Angeles who made his mark in music and encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps, while Jared has a different father and the same mother as two of his brothers making him unrelated to Cheyenne and Jacob. Their father was a disciplinarian. He taught them how to sing, while the boys' uncle Donny (Drano) Harrell furthered their music careers. However, the boys had different mothers. Papa and Jacob's mother is named Valerie. The mother of Jared, Anthony, and Grady Jr. is Nancy Lynn. Papa and Jacob were not raised by their father, as he had been convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. The boys were raised on the music of their inspirations, which ranged from Sam Cooke to Stevie Wonder. Before hitting the "Big Time" they played graduation parties and bar mitzvahs.

Early career

The Harrell brothers came to the entertainment world at a young age out of a four-generations musical family. At 5 or 6 years old, Anthony Harrell and Grady Harrell III met up with their first cousin Canela Cox and formed the group Papa's Results, being trained and taught by Grady Harrell II, who was then signed to MCA Records prior to a prison term. The children appeared in his R&B hit single "Sticks and Stone"[7] and Anthony provided the singing voice of young Michael Jackson played by Alex Burell in the 1992 TV mini series The Jacksons: An American Dream. Papa's results lasted until Canela moved to Holland to follow her mother's musical career.[8] The brothers filled her spot with family friend Jeff Lee and changed their name to Serenade.[9] They appeared on episodes of Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1997 where Anthony played the regular role of Eric Little. As a duet consisting of Grady and Anthony, they recorded two independent albums.

Brutha

In 2002, Grady and Anthony were joined by their brothers JR, Jake, and Papa and formed the group Brutha.[8] The group was discovered by Brian McKnight, who introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special. In 2008, their uncle Donny "Drano" Harrell, CEO of Goodfellas Entertainment, and Shakir Stewart, senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam, invited the group to Atlanta to do a filmed audition in front of Jermaine Dupri and a range of producers.[10] The audition resulted in a one-hour special entitled Jermaine Dupri Presents: Brutha broadcast on March 24, 2008, on Peachtree TV. Dupri was impressed and signed the brothers to the Island Def Jam Music Group. In 2007, Brutha made a special guest appearance on the Discovery Kids television show Hip Hop Harry.[11]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Information Chart positions Sales and certifications
U.S. U.S. R&B BCA
2008 Brutha
81
15
89
  • RIAA: TBA
  • U.S sales: 100,000
2011 Vacancy
—
—
—

Singles

Year Song Chart
positions		 Album
US US R&B
2008 "I Can't Hear the Music"
(featuring Fabolous)		 — 51 Brutha
"She's Gone" — 103
2010 "One Day on This Earth" — 94 Vacancy
"Can't Get Enough" — 50
2011 "High Is Coming Down"[12] — —

References

  1. ↑ "Introducing: Brutha". FemaleFirst. Play-2-Win Ltd. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  2. ↑ Farber, Jim (2008-12-23). "Siblings make sweet music with Brutha". Daily News. NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  3. ↑ "Brothers to Brutha | Shows". BET. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  4. ↑ "Interview: Jake&Papa: Brutha-hood Never Dies". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  5. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Jake & Papa Says They Didn't Break Up Brutha". Singersroom.com. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  6. ↑ "Behind the Scenes: Jake & Papa (4rm Brutha) - Show Me". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  7. ↑ "Brutha – Discover music, videos, concerts, stats, & pictures at". Last.fm. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  8. 1 2 http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=696 Archived December 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Feature: Brutha - ARTISTdirect News". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  10. ↑ "Jermaine Dupri Presents: BRUTHA". Sandrarose.com. 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  11. ↑ MusicRemedy.com /. "Brutha Music, Songs, Videos, Pictures, Download". Musicremedy.com. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  12. ↑ "Urban/UAC Future Releases | R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates |". www.allaccess.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
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