Kuk Harrell is currently signed to a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV U.K., and is considered one of the most sought after vocal producers in the industry.
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 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 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.
2007 was a pivotal year for Harrell. Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" and Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" were release 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 Music.
On March 29, 2007, the first single off of 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 legendary 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 the year 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 #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 #2 at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyonc�'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. Just recently, "Good Girl Gone Bad Live" was nominated for a 2008 Grammy for "Best Long Form Music Video"
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 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 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.
2007 was a pivotal year for Harrell. Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" and Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" were release 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 Music.
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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.
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