By Bruce C.T. Wright, NewsOne
Condolences were pouring in Saturday morning after it was reported that legendary music executive Andre Harrell had died overnight at the age of 59. Harrell was not only responsible for some of the biggest names in urban music — and music overall — but also for some of the culture’s most iconic moments over the years.
Variety broke the news but Harrell’s cause of death was not immediately reported.
His cryptic final post on Instagram — posted on Friday — will likely be discussed for a while as he seemed to he implied he was “leaving tomorrow,” through it also appeared to be a tongue in cheek message about how terribly the year 2020 has been going.
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Harrell is widely known for being responsible for starting Sean “Diddy” Combs’ amazing career in music by hiring him as an A&R at Uptown Records, the record label founded by Harrell. Diddy has called Harrell a mentor who helped facilitate the careers of 1990s icons whose names include but are definitely not limited to: JoDeCi, Mary J Blige, Heavy D and a young Biggie Smalls.
Harrell was also helped develop the hit TV show, “New York Undercover,” which began in the mid-1990s and many times featured music of the artists that Harrell either worked or was working with at the time.
He and Diddy remained close through the years. Most recently, Harrell held the position of vice chairman of Revolt, Diddy’s successful multimedia music company that includes a TV station.
Because of that mark he left behind in Black music and with the artists that he worked with, they were they main ones posting messages of condolences on social media as they grappled with the loss of their friend, mentor and co-worker.
While many people Saturday morning were waiting for Diddy to break his silence about the death of his mentor, scroll down to see some of the heartfelt tributes that were still being left as America woke up to discover that the legendary Andre Harrell had died.
May he Rest in Power.
