Maestro Harrell, also known as M A E S T R O (born July 29, 1991), is an American DJ, singer, rapper, actor, and record producer. He appeared on the HBO original series The Wire as Randy Wagstaff (2006–08), and on the ABC comedy Suburgatory as Malik.[1]
Maestro Harrell | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Born | July 29, 1991 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Rap, R&B, Pop, progressive house, electro house, big room house, future house, future bass, trap |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, Record Producer, Singer-Songwriter, Recording Artist, Actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano, Drums, Guitars, Keyboard |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Def Jam, WonderWall Recordings, Mainstage, Armada, Spinnin' Records |
| Website | www |
Early life and career
editHarrell was born in Chicago. He was the recipient of The Most Talented Child Under Twelve Years Old at the Chicago Music Awards in 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 2005, Harrell performed at the grand opening ceremony for Disneyland in Hong Kong. He signed a recording deal with So So Def/Island Def Jam with hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri.
Starting at the age of 7, Harrell made appearances on television shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Maury Povich and other TV shows. Serving as the spokesperson for Western Union's Study Buddy Reading Program enabled him to travel around the United States performing at schools and delivering motivational speeches to encourage students to read, as well as singing numerous jingles. He had a lead role in the television comedy series Guys Like Us but the series was cancelled after one season. Harrell has appeared in several television commercials.
Harrell made his motion picture film debut in the movie Ali, which was directed by Michael Mann. He portrayed the young Cassius Clay, and the all-star cast included Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight. He was in Barbershop and the film The Promotion. One of his most known roles is in The Wire as Randy Wagstaff.
Harrell's voice is featured on the Twilight Zone episodes DVD, along with Blair Underwood. Harrell starred in ABC's production of the PGA Tour Western Open with Tiger Woods and other pro-golfers. In 2003, Maestro was selected to play Young Simba in the Chicago production of Disney's The Lion King.[2]
Harrell had a recurring role as the character Malik LeFrique on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory, which ran from 2011 to 2014.
In 2011, he started producing music. His first record was a remix to DJ Ruckus' single "Soul Soldier". In 2014, he started a career as a music producer and DJ. His first solo single developed as a collaboration with Antoine Becks, who has a career as an actor as well. "Drop It" contains many characteristics of the big-room-genre, which was somewhat popular at that time. "Drop It" was the title, released on German label Kontor Records.
In 2015, Maestro was cast to the role of Matt Sale in AMC's Fear The Walking Dead.[3]
His break through in the EDM scene was finally done in 2015 with the progressive-house track "For You", a collaboration with Dzeko & Torres and singer-duo Delora. Later in 2015 he was signed to W&W's label "Mainstage Music", where he got much attention for his track "Olympus" as well as his collaboration "Poseidon" with Maurice West. One year later he changed his style with a jungle-terror-crossover track called "Zantar", which was produced together with newcomer NoTech.
In early 2018, Maestro released his self-produced song "Which One Which"[4] which would later be featured in The First Purge. A week later, he released a follow-up track titled "Woke up".[5] Later that year, M A E S T R O released his self-produced debut EP WAV GOD.[6]
Harrell's song with David Gemmill Crystals was featured in the animated superhero musical-comedy film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies later that year.
In September 2019, M A E S T R O released a follow-up to his debut EP titled "WAV GOD 2".[7]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Ali | Young Cassius Clay | |
| 2002 | Barbershop | Tillman | |
| 2008 | The Promotion | First Kid in Parking Lot | |
| 2009 | Lowering the Bar | Pimp D | Short film |
| 2010 | Polish Bar | Dawan | Short film |
| 2014 | Dark Summer | Kevin Dowdle | [8] |
| 2015 | Some Kind of Hate | Willie | |
| 2015 | Bone Tomahawk | Gizzard | |
| 2019 | Thriller | Ronnie DeBerry | |
| 2019 | John Henry | Young Hell | |
| 2020 | Dinner Party | Short film | |
| 2020 | Loco | Jason |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Meego | Marcus | Episode: "Magic Parker" |
| 1998–99 | Guys Like Us | Maestro Harris | Main role: 13 episodes |
| 2007 | ER | Todd | Episode: "Lights Out" |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Terrance Carter | Episode: "Wunderkind" |
| 2006–08 | The Wire | Randy Wagstaff | Main cast (season 4); guest cast (season 5): 14 episodes |
| 2008 | Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story | Joe - Teen | Television movie |
| 2010 | Team Spitz | Tye | Television movie |
| 2010 | Meet the Browns | Antonio | Episodes: "Meet the Boyfriend", "Meet the Big Wedding" |
| 2010 | Lie to Me | Tyrel | Episode: "Delinquent" |
| 2011 | The Protector | Tagger | Episode: "Revisions" |
| 2012 | CSI: NY | Morris Davis | Episode: "Unwrapped" |
| 2013 | The Soul Man | Young parishioner | Episode (#2.5): "The Punching Preacher" |
| 2011–14 | Suburgatory | Malik LeFrique | Recurring role: 30 episodes |
| 2014 | Young & Hungry | Derek | Episode (#1.9): "Young & Getting Played" |
| 2015 | Fear the Walking Dead | Matt[9] | Recurring role: 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Louis Armstrong | Episode: "New Orleans" |
| 2016 | House of Lies | J.R.[10] | Episode: "Creative Destruction Phenomenon" |
| 2017 | American Koko | Teen Boy #1 | Recurring role: 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. | James 'Lil' Cease' Lloyd | Recurring role: 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Adam Ruins Everything | Tre | Episode: "Adam Ruins a Sitcom" |
| 2020 | FBI | Big Trey | Episode: "Studio Gangster" |
Discography
editAlbum
edit2018:
- WAV GOD - EP
2019:
- WAV GOD VOL. 2
Singles
edit2014:
- Drop It (with Antoine Becks)
2015:
- For You (with Dzeko & Torres featuring Delora)(Club Life, Vol. 4 - New York City)
- Higher (with Antoine Becks featuring Sherry St. Germain)
- Olympus
2016:
- Boa (with Arcando)
- True (featuring Posso)
- Poseidon (with Maurice West)
- Siren
- Zantar (with NoTech)
2017:
- Pandemik
- Hear Me
- I Don't Care
- Luv Me (featuring Alyxx Dione)
- What U Wanna
- We Rage (DJ Ruckus, Maestro Harrell, Jermaine Dupri)
2018:
- 6Figga
- She Wanna (ft. Rich The Kid)
- Woke Up
- Which One Which
- Crystals (David Gemmill & M A E S T R O)
- Symphony (with Olly James)
2019:
- Stay FLYY
- 2 For 1
- IN MY BAG
- U & I
- MILLION
- MAD AT U
- LOOKING GOOD
- SOUL FOOD (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O)
- HYDE PARK (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O)
- MIDWAY (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O)
2020:
- Quarantine (Maestro Harrell, M A E S T R O)
Remixes
edit2011:
- DJ Ruckus featuring Mannequim - Soul Soldier (Maestro Harrell Remix)
2015:
- A&G and Northmark featuring Gabrielle Ross - Run With Me (Maestro Harrell Remix)
2016:
2017:
- Dash Berlin feat. Do - Heaven (Maestro Harrell Remix)
References
edit- ^ "Suburgatory - Interview with Maestro Harrell". www.spoilertv.com. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (2003). "The Lion King Opens in Chicago May 3". Playbill.
- ^ Abrams, Simon (30 August 2015). "Fear the Walking Dead Recap: Well-Meaning Madness and Other Viral Maladies". Vulture.
- ^ P, Milca (12 February 2018). "Maestro Comes Through on "Which One Which"". HotNewHipHop.
- ^ P, Milca (24 February 2018). "Maestro Returns With "Woke Up"". HotNewHipHop.
- ^ Markow, J (26 March 2018). "M A E S T R O releases self produced debut "WAV GOD EP"". ELEVATOR.
- ^ "M A E S T R O Follows up With "WAV GOD 2" Mixtape". HotNewHipHop. 8 September 2019.
- ^ Dark Summer
- ^ "Fear the Walking Dead add Maestro Harrell to cast". undeadwalking.com. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "A Look at "House of Lies" Season 5 Premiere: "Creative Destruction Phenomenon"". whatelseisonnow.com. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
