Andre Harris

André "Dre" Harris
Origin Philadelphia, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments
  • Drums
  • keyboards
  • fender rhodes
  • bass
Years active 1995–present
Associated acts
Members Andre Harris

André "Dre" Harris is a Grammy Award-winning producer who has helped shape the sound of R&B/Soul music for the past two decades.

Biography

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, André grew up in a city known for its contributions to this genre. Deriving his inspiration from the local musicians that played with a lot of the major artists that came out of the City of Brotherly Love, as well as his musical family, he started playing drums in the church when he was just seven years old. André kept with his love for music throughout his youth; eventually teaching himself to play piano, guitar and bass during his teenage years.

His professional break came when he was introduced to DJ Jazzy Jeff as a musician in the early 1990’s, and began collaborating with him and other producers at his studio. There, André spent a lot of time in the studio working with local Philly acts that were a part of the city’s neo-soul scene. In 1995, André signed a production agreement with the legendary hip-hop DJ & producer, and became a part of his ‘A Touch of Jazz’ team along with five other emerging producers. During the five years he spent under Jazzy Jeff’s guidance, André worked with Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Will Smith, and Michael Jackson, to name a few.

In 2000, André and fellow ‘A Touch of Jazz’ alumnus Vidal Davis decided to go off on their own and work as Dre & Vidal. The two were inspired by another famous Philadelphia songwriter/producer duo – Gamble & Huff. The writing and producing duo is credited with creating hits for Usher ("Caught Up"), Chris Brown ("Yo [Excuse Me Miss]), Ciara ("Oh"), Mariah Carey ("Clown"), Destiny’s Child ("T-Shirt"), Musiq Soulchild ("Love"), Floetry ("Say Yes"), and Jill Scott ("The Way"), among others.

They went on to win two Grammy Awards in 2005 for their work on Alicia Keys’ The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Usher’s ‘Confessions.’ In 2009, they won a third Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album for Mary J. Blige’s ‘Growing Pains.’

Since 2010, André has been working independently as a producer. Most recently, he lent his soulful production to Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Melanie Fiona, Mali Music, and Pharrell’s I Am Other signee Cris Cab. He also co-executive produced Jill Scott’s latest album ‘Woman.’ André Harris’ signature style of mixing live instruments with studio production continues to be one of his most sought-after sounds.

Production discography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

"All My Love Feat. Melanie Fiona", "Make Luv", "What A Fool Believes Better With Time", "All I See"

"Prayer", "Dear Self (Can I Talk To You)"

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