Brutha

All Music Guide:

A sibling quintet of R&B vocalists, the Los Angeles native Harrell brothers -- Anthony, Cheyenne (aka Poppa), Grady, Jacob, and Jared -- signed with Def Jam and released their self-titled album as Brutha in late 2008. (the second to last possible release date of the year, in fact). Brutha, featuring collaborations with Ne-Yo, Jazze Pha, Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, and Dwayne "D-Town" Nesmith, coincided with the first season of their BET reality program, Brothers to Brutha.

Wikipedia:

Brutha was originally composed had 5 members, but the three older brothers, Anthony & Grady Harrell III, and Jared Overton left the group because they wanted to move on and do their own thing. Their show, Brothers to Brutha, shows their transformation during and after they rose to fame. The brothers are signed to Def Jam Records, and their self-titled debut album "Brutha" was released in December 2008.

The group formed in 2002 and Brian Mcknight introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special.

In 2007, their uncle Donny "Drano" Harrell, CEO of Goodfellas Entertainment, and Shakir Stewart, senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam, invited the group to Atlanta to do a filmed audition in front of Jermaine Dupri and a range of producers. It resulted in a one-hour original special TV show called "Jermaine Dupri presents: Brutha", broadcast March 24 on Peachtree TV. The group caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri, who signed them to the Island Def Jam Music Group.

Because the group disbanded, the two brothers left decided to change their name from Brutha to Jake & Papa.

The Brothers and their childhood

The five brothers in the band are Grady Harrell III, Cheyenne Harrell (Papa), Jacob Harrell (Jake), Jared Overton (J.R), and Anthony Harrell(Ant). 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 "J.R." Overton has a different father but the same mother as 2 of his brothers making him unrelated to Cheyenne Harrell and Jacob Harrell. Their father was a disciplinarian. He taught them how to sing, while the boys' uncle Donny (Drano) Harrell furthered their music careers. The boys, however, had different mothers. Papa and Jacob's mother is named Kierra. 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 prison. The boys were raised on the music of their inspirations, which ranged from Sam Cooke to Stevie Wonder. Before hitting the "Big Time" they played graduation parties and bar mitzvahs.

Brothers

Growing up

The Harrell brothers came to the entertainment world at a young age out of a four-generations musical family. At 5 and 6 years old, Anthony Harrell and Grady Harrell III hooked 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 prior to a prison term. The children appeared in his R&B hit single “Sticks and Stone” and did many local shows throughout California. The group lasted until Canela moved to Holland to follow her mother's musical career. They filled her spot with family friend Jeff Lee and changed their name to Serenade. The trio quickly gained notice. They appeared on episodes from Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1997, where Anthony played the regular role of Eric Little. The Nade split up. As a duet comprising the two Harrell brothers Grady and Anthony, they recorded two independent albums, in 1999 and 2001. In 2002 they were joined by their brothers JR, Jake, and Papa and formed Brutha. The group was discovered by Brian Mcknight, who introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special. Along with their success, there has also been controversy in their family. Anthony Harrell also did the voice over singing for "Young Michael Jackson" played by Alex Burell in the 1992 TV mini series, The Jacksons: An American Dream.

Making success

In 2008, their uncle Donny "Drano" Harrell, CEO of Goodfellas Entertainment, and the late Shakir Stewart, senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam, invited the group to Atlanta to do a filmed audition in front of Jermaine Dupri and a range of producers. It resulted in a one-hour original special TV show called Jermaine Dupri presents : Brutha, broadcast on March 24, 2008, on Peachtree TV. The group caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri who signed them to the Island Def Jam Music Group.