Birth name Gerrell Gaddis Years active 1997–present Name Gerrell Gaddis | Role Songwriter | |
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Born July 22, 1976 (age 47) ( 1976-07-22 ) Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, backing vocalist Associated acts Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Timbaland, Nicole Wray, Usher, Amil, Freeway, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Lord Finesse, Young Gunz Movies State Property, Streets Is Watching Genres Contemporary R&B, Hip hop music, Soul music Similar People Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jim Jones, Consequence, Freeway | ||
Gerrell Gaddis (born July 22, 1976), better known by his stage name Rell, is an American R&B recording artist and songwriter from Bowman, South Carolina. He was the first male R&B singer to sign to New York City-based label Roc-A-Fella Records, where he recorded with artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Consequence, and Young Gunz.
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Life and career
Rell grew up in Bowman, South Carolina, and is a former South Carolina State University pre-med student. He signed to Roc-A-Fella Records in 1997, and began work on his debut album which was tentatively titled, Medicine. Rell got his break in 1998, appearing in Jay-Z's rap cult flick Streets Is Watching and contributing the club banger "Love for Free" to the movie's soundtrack and would later be featured on his debut album. Within the latter part of 1998, Rell renamed his debut, The Remedy, and re-released, "Love for Free" as the lead single. In 1999, two other singles ("When Will U See" and "Darlin'") were released as radio buzz singles for the album, however, within the first quarter of that year, Remedy was shelved due to the failed charting of his album's singles. Still signed to the Roc, Rell went on to sing hooks for nearly every Roc-a-Fella MC since, including Jay-Z's "It's Obvious" and Freeway's "Victim of the Ghetto", and appearing on "The Message" featuring Mary J. Blige, from Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001.
In 2001, Rell met agreeable terms with Jay-Z, and began retooling for his cancelled debut, The Remedy. The project spawned a new and official lead single titled, "If That's My Baby". While the album was scheduled for a September release, after the release of another single, "It's Obvious", the album was slated to be released in spring 2002. In early 2002, yet again the expected reworked version of The Remedy was shelved.
In 2004, Rell began work on yet another project, titled Long Time Coming. In promotion of the album, Rell released several leftover tracks from his cancelled project The Remedy on numerous mixtapes and limited Roc-a-Fella EP samplers. Rell eventually released "Real Love" as the lead single for Long Time Coming in 2005. However, in the midst of the release, Rell was moved from the Roc label to Dame Dash Music Group. Under the new label, Long was to be released in May 2006. Unfortunately disagreements and lack of promotion from the new label ended up shelving Rell's album and he initially split from the label.
In 2007, collaborations with Latin reggaeton artists Don Omar and Zion saw releases. Rell wrote the title track for Usher's 2008 album Here I Stand. Also in 2008, Rell partnered with Nate Pitts, CEO of Right Arm Music Group, the Charlotte-based indie record label which is the home for producers Dale Williams, Shabbykat Production and Dark Sun Production.
In 2009, Rell teamed with Tre Williams to form The Revelations. They released their debut album, The Bleeding Edge, on October 6, 2009.
In 2011, Rell wrote "Love Contract" on Musiq Soulchild's album, MusiqInTheMagiq.
Discography
Singles
1 The song was to be released on Rell's first version of The Remedy but was re-recorded for Young Gunz and a possible track for Rell's other unreleased project, Long Time Coming.