Brutha was an American R&B and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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 Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...

first introduced them on the 2003 ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'' Holiday Special. The brothers were subsequently signed to

Def Jam Records Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. The group's first album '' Brutha'' was released in December 2008. Their reality show, '' Brothers to Brutha'', documented their rise to fame. 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.

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 Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. 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 MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

prior to a prison term. The children appeared in his R&B hit single "Sticks and Stone" 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.http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=696 The brothers filled her spot with family friend Jeff Lee and changed their name to Serenade. 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. The group was discovered by

, who introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special. In 2008, their uncle Donny "Drano" Harrell, CEO of Goodfellas Entertainment, and

Shakir Stewart Shakir Stewart (April 12, 1974 – November 1, 2008), a native of Oakland, California, was an American record producer and record executive in a number of companies, the latest being Def Jam. At the time of his death he was the Senior Vice Pr ...

, senior vice president of A&R at

Island Def Jam Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...

, invited the group to Atlanta to do a filmed audition in front of

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

and a range of producers. 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 Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...

. In 2007, Brutha made a special guest appearance on the

Discovery Kids Discovery Kids, stylized as discovery k!ds, is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television block within Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel in October 1996. Discovery Kids on NBC was ...

television show '' Hip Hop Harry''.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official site
* Bruthaon

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

BET Shows - Brothers to Brutha

Def Jam label website

Press release

Bruthaskeepers.com
{{Authority control American rhythm and blues musicians Musical groups from Los Angeles Island Records artists Sibling musical groups American musical quintets Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 American soul musical groups