Andre Harrell Passed Away!

Andre Harrell passed away from possible symptoms of COVID-19.

Andre Harrell, the famous producer who gave us hits from your favorite R&B and hip-hop acts has passed away at the age of 59.

The guy who helped Sean "Puffy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Today, Father MC become successful acts of the early 1990s passed away from complications of COVID-19.

DJ D-Nice, his longtime friend and producer confirmed the news on social media on Saturday.

Andre's death is unknown but he did acknowledge the coronavirus.

Despite the minor rift, Diddy stayed close to Andre Harrell. He often called him his mentor.

He was known for the founding of Uptown Records.

One day before his passing, Andre took to Instagram to share a poignant message amid the coronavirus pandemic as he wrote: "Whoever need a ride to 2021....we leave tomorrow morning."

View this post on Instagram

Skip the virus and Let's Pick it up again at the top of the year

A post shared by @ andreharrell on May 7, 2020 at 8:18am PDT

He was known for giving a little known eran boy named Sean Justin Combs an opportunity to be a CEO. Harrell had promoted Combs to being the A&R of Uptown Records. After a few mishaps, Combs was fired out the cannon. He would soon break out by signing two New York based rappers, The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack. He would launch Bad Boy Records with the money borrowed from Harrell.

He was then a part of a rap group called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

He began working in the business side of music in 1983, when he first teamed up with Rush Communications and Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. He would go on to be the company's vice president and general manager within two years.

Then he would leave Def Jam and start up Uptown Records. He signed on a little known gospel singer turned pop singer Mary J. Blige to his label and she played a huge role in the growth of the company. He was her longtime producer and manager.

Andre went on to become executive producer of the series, "New York Undercover."

Uptown Family.

Tributes are pouring in ... Mariah Carey said, "Why Andre ... My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. He was an amazing friend and I will miss him forever." DJ D-Nice said, "Truly heartbroken. Rest peacefully, Andre Harrell." Viola Davis ... " RIP Andre Harrell ... thank you for the gift of so many incredible artists. Gone too soon." And, Ava DuVernay tweeted, "Saluting Andre Harrell. The architect of so much music, so much culture."

He leaves behind his longtime wife Wendy Credle and their son Gianni Credle-Harrell.

The music industry is lost without him.

Without Harrell, there wouldn't be a Mary J. Blige, Diddy, Jodeci, Today and Father MC.

As of this week, we're at 85,000 Americans killed from the coronavirus.

Andre Harrell with Mary J. Blige and Sean "Puffy" Combs aka Diddy.

Donald J. Trump has once again proved to the world that his leadership could destroy the world. He failed to act on the possibility of COVID-19 making it to the United States. It had appeared in the states around January and Trump was warned of the danger back in December. His daily briefings came in January, February and March before he declared a national emergency. By that time, he did campaign rallies, complained about Senate trial on his impeachment, criticized the Democratic candidates running for the nomination, golf, spent nights at Mar a Largo and of course, call the coronavirus a "hoax."

With over 33.5 million Americans out of the workforce, 2.5 million confirmed case of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of the economy, Trump is gambling on hoping Joe Biden slips and falls.

Here's the map.



Here's things to remember about the coronavirus.

1. Wash your hands frequently
2. Do not touch your face (mouth, nose and eyes)
3. Cough into your elbow instead of your hands.
4. Keep a safe distance (at least 6 to 10 feet) from individuals.
5. If you're sick, please stay home.
6. There is no treatment or cure for the COVID-19.
7. Follow state and federal laws regarding this.
8. Do not hoard items like toilet paper, bread, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.
9. Use social media like Facebook Messenger, Google Duo, Skype or social media to connect.
10. COVID-19 can live on surfaces for more than 72 hours. Including steel, plastic and cardboard.
11. A pandemic has no timeline.
12. COVID-19 doesn't care about borders.
13. If you deliberately infect other individuals, food and first responders, you will be charged with crime.
14. If you have signs of bluish lips or face, inability to wake or stay awake, new confusion, persistent pain in the chest, trouble breathing or blood in cough, call 9-1-1.
15. Not all symptoms of COVID-19 are confirmed or denied. New issues keep showing up.

The coronavirus doesn't care about your age, race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, politics, economic or social standings. It doesn't care about anything. It's a living organism that causes mild symptoms that include: fever, sore throats, chills, respiratory issues, loss of taste or smell and other unknown symptoms. If you have a weak immune system or health issues, your risk increases.

Death does happen to at least 40% of those who are affected by COVID-19.

Healthy people can die from this.

If you need more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.