Maestro Harrell, also known as M A E S T R O (born July 29, 1991), is an American DJ, singer, rapper, actor, and record producer. He starred on the HBO original series ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'' as

Randy Wagstaff Randy Wagstaff is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Maestro Harrell. Randy is an enterprising student who is dependent on social services. During season 4, he was an 8th grade pupil at Edward Tilghman Middle School a ...

(2006–08), and as Malik on the ABC comedy ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is ...

''.

Early life and career

Harrell was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the recipient of The Most Talented Child Under Twelve Years Old at the Chicago Music Awards in 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 2005, Harrell performed at the grand opening ceremony for

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

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. He signed a recording deal with So So Def/

Island Def Jam The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

with hip-hop producer

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

. Starting at the age of 7, Harrell made multiple appearances on TV shows like

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and The

Maury Povich Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...

-Most Talented Kids Show and other television shows; serving as the spokesperson for

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's Study Buddy Reading Program which enabled him to travel around the United States performing at schools and delivering motivational speeches to encourage students to read, as well as singing numerous jingles. He is a member of SAG,

AFTRA The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...

and

EQUITY Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

unions. In addition to his lead role in

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

TriStar's ''

Guys Like Us ''Guys Like Us'' is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider for the UPN channel. It was Schneider's first creator credit. The series aired from October 5, 1998 to January 18, 1999, and it starred Bumper Robinson, Maestro Harrell, and Chris Ha ...

'', Harrell has appeared in several television commercials. Harrell made his motion picture film debut in the movie '' Ali'', which was directed by

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films '' Thief'' (1981) ...

. He portrayed the young

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, and the all-star cast included

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

and

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

. He was in '' Barbershop'' and the film ''

The Promotion ''The Promotion'' is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Steven Conrad. A look at the quest for the American Dream, it focuses on two grocery store managers vying for a promotion. The film premiered at South by Southwest in Mar ...

''. He remains best known for his role in

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's ''

'' as

. His voice is featured on the '' Twilight Zone'' episodes CD, along with

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''. Underwood has a ...

. Harrell starred in ABC's production of the

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Western Open with

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and other pro-golfers. In 2003, Maestro was selected to play Young Simba in the Chicago production of Disney's ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

''. Harrell had a recurring role as Malik LeFrique on the ABC sitcom ''

'', which ran from 2011–14. In 2011, he started producing. His first record was a remix to DJ Ruckus' single "Soul Soldier". 2014 he officially started a career as a music producer and dj. His first solo single developed as a collaboration with Antoine Becks, who has a career as an actor behind him too. "Drop It" contains many characteristics of the big-room-genre, which was very popular to that point of time. "Drop It" was the title and it was signed to German edm-label "

Kontor Records Kontor Records or Kontor New Media is a record label based in Hamburg, Germany. The label's artist roster includes ATB, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Scooter. Jens Thele is the head manager of Kontor and is also the manager of Scooter. Edel ...

". In 2015, Maestro was cast to the role of Matt Sale in AMC's '' Fear The Walking Dead''. His break through in the edm scene was finally done in 2015 with the progressive-house track "For You", a collaboration with

Dzeko & Torres Dzeko & Torres was a Canadian production and DJ duo based in Toronto, Ontario. Their style was a combination of progressive house and electro, with influences from Avicii, Lazy Rich, Umek, and Alesso. History 2007 - 2010 Luis Torres and J ...

and singer-duo Delora. Later in 2015 he was signed to W&W's label "

Mainstage Music Armada Music is a Dutch independent record label that specialises in releasing electronic dance music. The name Armada derives from the first two letters of the founders' first names: Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis. Signed a ...

", where he got much attention for his track "Olympus" as well as his collaboration "Poseidon" with Maurice West. One year later he changed his style with a jungle-terror-crossover track called "Zantar", which was produced together with newcomer NoTech. In early 2018, Maestro released his self-produced track "Which One Which" which would later be featured in ''

The First Purge ''The First Purge'' is a 2018 American dystopian action horror film directed by Gerard McMurray and starring Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, and Steve Harris. Written and co-executive produced by James DeMonaco, it is the first film of ...

''. A week later, he released a follow-up track titled "Woke up". Later that year, M A E S T R O released his self-produced debut EP ''WAV GOD''. Harrell's track with David Gemmill ''Crystals'' was featured in the animated superhero musical-comedy film ''

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'' later that year. In September 2019, M A E S T R O released a follow-up to his debut EP titled "WAV GOD 2".

Filmography

Discography

Album

2018: * WAV GOD - EP 2019: * WAV GOD VOL. 2

Singles

2014: * Drop It (with Antoine Becks) 2015: * For You (with

featuring Delora)( Club Life, Vol. 4 - New York City) * Higher (with Antoine Becks featuring Sherry St. Germain) * Olympus 2016: * Boa (with Arcando) * True (featuring Posso) * Poseidon (with Maurice West) * Siren * Zantar (with NoTech) 2017: * Pandemik * Hear Me * I Don't Care * Luv Me (featuring Alyxx Dione) * What U Wanna * We Rage (DJ Ruckus, Maestro Harrell, Jermaine Dupri) 2018: * 6Figga * She Wanna (ft. Rich The Kid) * Woke Up * Which One Which * Crystals (David Gemmill & M A E S T R O) * Symphony (with Olly James) 2019: * Stay FLYY * 2 For 1 * IN MY BAG * U & I * MILLION * MAD AT U * LOOKING GOOD * SOUL FOOD (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O) * HYDE PARK (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O) * MIDWAY (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O) 2020: * Quarantine (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O)

Remixes

2011: * DJ Ruckus featuring Mannequim - Soul Soldier (Maestro Harrell Remix) 2015: * A&G and Northmark featuring Gabrielle Ross - Run With Me (Maestro Harrell Remix) 2016: *

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

vs.

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD wit ...

- C'mon (Maestro Harrell 2016 Remix) 2017: * Dash Berlin feat. Do - Heaven (Maestro Harrell Remix)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrell, Maestro Morgan Park Academy alumni Male actors from Chicago African-American male actors American male child actors American male television actors Living people Singers from Chicago 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Progressive house musicians 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 1991 births 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers