Kuk Harrell


Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, music arranger and engineer. He is known for his vocal production credits on several hit songs throughout the 2000s, often on productions by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Harrell and Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed by its contestants.
Harrell's vocal production credits include three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: Rihanna's "Only Girl " and her Grammy Award-winning "Umbrella", as well as Beyoncé's "Single Ladies ". He vocal produced Mary J. Blige's album Growing Pains, which won the Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Its lead single, "Just Fine", was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Early years

Harrell's music career began in his native Chicago, where he performed as a drummer and a vocalist before becoming a session musician. He soon became a commercial writer and producer, working for Joy Art Music, contributing to major ad campaigns for McDonald's, Kraft, Coca-Cola and many others. After relocating to Los Angeles with his cousin, writing and production partner Laney Stewart in 1992, Harrell then added worship leader to his repertoire, and became a touring vocalist and choir director for Promise Keepers as well. During this time, he sang on tracks written and produced by Diane Warren and David Foster.

2004–present

RedZone Entertainment

2004 brought Harrell to Atlanta, where he joined his cousins Tricky Stewart and Mark Stewart at RedZone Entertainment as a writer, producer, and engineer. RedZone Entertainment is an Atlanta-based, music-production entity, whose discography includes collaborations with many artists, producers, and composers of note, and is responsible for over 25 million records sold.
In a 2008 Billboard interview, Mark Stewart describes Kuk Harrell as "...the secret weapon."
2007 was a pivotal year for Harrell. Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" and Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" were released this year, both featuring his composition and vocal production skills. The single "Umbrella" off of "Good Girl Gone Bad" and "Just Fine" off of "Growing Pains" were both nominated for Grammys in 2007. This was also the year that Harrell established his own music production company, Suga Wuga Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope.

Rihanna, ''Good Girl Gone Bad'' / "Umbrella"

On March 29, 2007, the first single from Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad, "Umbrella", was released. Harrell co-wrote and produced the vocals on the track, which subsequently had one of the highest digital debuts in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003. The song, which featured an introductory rap verse from rapper Jay-Z, won Harrell a Grammy for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year, and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
The song won ASCAP's Pop Music Award which honored "Umbrella" as one of the most performed pop songs of 2007, and was also nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Music: Single. Time magazine named "Umbrella" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 3. Writer for Time magazine, Josh Tyrandiel, cited Rihanna's vocal performance and special talent for vocal innuendo as the reason he declared it "The Sexiest Song of 2007." Umbrella was set at No. 2 at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable".
In the United Kingdom, "Umbrella" broke a record on the UK Singles Chart by debuting at number one on the chart based on digital sales alone, becoming Rihanna's first chart-topper in the country. During the single's fourth week on the chart, both the single and album topped the UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart. "Umbrella" eventually reached a total of ten weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the country's longest-running number-one single of the 21st century since 1994. Rihanna has become the seventh artist in the history of the UK Singles Chart to top the chart for ten straight weeks. By the end of 2007, "Umbrella" had sold 512,730 units, making it her biggest-selling single to date and the second biggest-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom. It has since been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on July 20, 2007.
"Umbrella" had a similar success throughout Europe, reaching number one in Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Germany and Spain.
The music video premiered on April 26, 2007, at Thisisrihanna.com, and was officially released on the iTunes Store on May 11, 2007, peaking at number one for a period eight weeks. On May 1, 2007, it received five nominations at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, including "Female Artist of the Year", "Video of the Year" and "Monster Single of the Year", going on to win the latter two.
"Good Girl Gone Bad Live" was nominated for a 2008 Grammy for "Best Long Form Music Video"

Mary J. Blige, ''Growing Pains'' / "Just Fine"

The single "Just Fine" off of Mary J. Blige's Growing Pains was released in the U.S. on October 19, 2007. Harrell produced Blige's vocals on the track, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Harrell produced the majority of the vocals on the album, and co-wrote the song "Come To Me ".
Growing Pains has been certified 2× Platinum by RIAA and Gold by the BPI.
This single "Just Fine", was No. 41 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. "Just Fine" received another Grammy nomination in 2008 for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.
It was a successful chart single, peaking at No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, while also topping the American Hot Dance Club Play chart. This single sold over 500,000 in the United States alone and over 700,000 worldwide making it eligible for Gold in the United States.
Growing Pains won the Grammy on Feb 8, 2009 for "Best Contemporary R&B Album".
In a 2009 interview, Harrell described working with Blige thusly:

Chris Brown, ''Exclusive''

Harrell produced Chris Brown's vocals and engineered on the song "You" from the 2007 release "Exclusive". The album was commercially successful, reaching number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart on its debut. It sold 295,000 units within a week of release. The album yielded three Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, and was successful in music markets, entering the top twenty of many charts worldwide. The album has earned platinum certification in the United States from the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than three million copies worldwide.
This album was No. 34 on Rolling Stones list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.

Celine Dion, ''Taking Chances''

Harrell is also a vocal producer and engineer on Celine Dion's release of November 7, 2007, "Taking Chances", and co-wrote the ballad "Skies of LA". According to IFPI, the album had shipped 3.1 million copies by the end of 2007, becoming the 19th best selling album that year with a November release. To date, it has sold 3,500,000 copies worldwide. It is certified gold in many countries, and platinum or multi-platinum in many others. Particularly successful in Canada, it reached number 1 on the chart with the biggest first week sales of 2007. It also became the best-selling album in Canada that year and to date, has shipped 400,000 copies and is certified 4× platinum.
Taking Chances reached top 10 in many countries and is performing relatively well on the charts. In the United Kingdom, it sold about 365,000 copies and is certified platinum. In Japan, the album became Dion's biggest success since A New Day Has Come with 125,000 copies sold. In the United States it debuted at number 3 with sales of 214,556 copies and has sold over 1,000,000 copies to date and has been certified platinum.

The Dream, ''Love Hate'' / "I Luv Your Girl"

Harrell lent his engineering expertise to his production and writing partner "The-Dream" on the single "I Luv Your Girl" in 2007. Love Hate was the premiere project of RedZone's newly formed label Radio Killa/RedZone. It was released through Island/Def Jam, and "I Luv Your Girl" was the third single released off of the album.
The single, released on September 23, 2008, peaked at number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number 3, on U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 40 on the U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40, and number 58 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100.
The album itself peaked on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 30, and number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Jesse McCartney, ''Departure'' / "Leavin'"

Harrell produced the vocals on Jesse McCartney's "Leavin'", which was released on March 10, 2008. The song debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it McCartney's highest debut on the chart ever. In its second week, it rose to No. 10 becoming McCartney's biggest chart hit in the United States to date.
It stayed at No. 10 for 3 non-consecutive weeks. The single peaked No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart. and the Billboard Pop 100 Airplay. "Leavin'" stayed in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks. The single was certified Platinum in the U.S., and was the most successful single from the album and of McCartney's career.

Usher, ''Here I Stand''

Harrell was heavily involved in Usher's 2008 release Here I Stand. He produced Usher's vocals on four of the tracks, and co-wrote "Moving Mountains". Here I Stand is Usher's fifth studio album, released on May 27, 2008, in the United States. Currently worldwide sales stand at almost 1.9 million copies.
According to building chart data, the album topped the Billboard 200, and achieved first week sales of 443,000. This made it the ninth largest album debut of the year 2008.
The second single from the album "Moving Mountains", was written and produced by Tricky Stewart, Kuk Harrell, and The-Dream. The song has since reached number 6 in New Zealand and the top 30 in Ireland, Sweden and on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, "Moving Mountains" reached number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The third single released on September 9, 2008, "Trading Places" has been even more successful on the U.S. Billboard charts than the previous single. It reached No. 5 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Kuk Harrell produced Usher's vocals.