Jeff Redd
Encyclopedia
Career
A New York native, Redd began singing with the short-lived group, The Sophisticated Gents, at the age of 17 in the mid-1980s. Redd has also appeared on Sesame Street.Redd signed a deal with Uptown Records
Uptown Records
Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986. It went on to become one of the most popular Hip-Hop and R&B labels of the late 1980's and early 1990s. Featured on the roster were such luminaries as Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Soul for Real...
/MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
after André Harrell saw him perform as a solo artist. Uptown/MCA produced his 1990 debut album A Quiet Storm
A Quiet Storm
This is one of the most highly acclaimed soul albums of the 1970s. A longtime innovator at Motown, Robinson responded to the funk revolution in black music with an effective counterpoint: the stylish and mature album A Quiet Storm...
. It included the uptempo new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
tracks "I Found Lovin'" and "Come and Get Your Lovin'," and the ballad "Love High." Two of the album's singles found their way onto the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart: "What Goes Around Comes Around" reached #53, and "Love High" reached #16.
The album A Quiet Storm had major producers such as Devante Swing from Jodeci and Timmy Allen as well as The Untouchables Dave "Jam" Hall and Eddie F. It had a strong underground following in the UK, where it fared well by being played on Black radio stations. Remixes were played on Westwood's Capital Rap Show New Jack Swing segment.
He released a song entitled "You Called and Told Me" from the Strictly Business
Strictly Business (soundtrack)
Strictly Business is the soundtrack to the 1991 comedy film, Strictly Business. It was released on October 29, 1991 through Uptown Records and consisted of hip hop and R&B music. The soundtrack reached number 64 on the Top R&B Albums chart, and its lone single, "Strictly Business" by LL Cool J, did...
soundtrack in 1991.
Redd played a large part in getting then-unknown singer Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
her start in the music industry. While working on the assembly line at General Motors, Redd met Blige's stepfather, who gave Redd a tape that featured Blige performing Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
's "Caught Up in the Rapture." After hearing the tape, Redd helped her get signed to Uptown Records. Blige then toured with Redd as one of his backup singers.
In 1993, Redd recorded a second album, Down Low. However, before the album could see release, MCA shuttered their entire black music department. As a result, only 1000 copies ever circulated, and the album is very hard to find. Some of the album was produced by rapper Lord Finesse.
Jeff Redd then went on to work as an A&R executive at MCA Records. While at MCA, Redd worked with artists like Regina Belle and K-Ci & JoJo. When MCA closed their doors in 2003, Redd established his own independent label, Sol Real Records, LLC. Under this banner, Redd currently works with artists Akili, Blaq Rose and Forever, among others. In 2007, Redd released an album entitled Jeff Redd Presents: The Essence of Soul, a sampler which features tracks from each of these artists. Redd has an album in the works to be released in 2008.