Andre O’Neal Harrell was born on September 26, 1960 in Harlem, New York. He formed the rap/hip-hop duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde along with his high school friend Alonzo Brown. Among their major hit songs are "Genius Rap", "Fast Life", and "AM/PM". Despite their success, he continued to pursue his dream of becoming a newscaster and went to Lehman College in the Bronx. He majored in communications and business management but dropped out after three years. He then went to work for a local radio station.

Harrell gained his estimated net worth of $22 million with the duo. He also founded the now defunct record label, Uptown Records, in 1986. It became one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels in the late 80's and early 90's. Among its featured artists were Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Soul for Real to name a few. He also served as the president and CEO of Motown Records, a record company founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959 in Detroit, Michigan.

Andre Harell has also worked for Russell Simmons of Rush Communications and after two years, he served as the vice-president and general manager. He was offered a record label deal with MCA Music Entertainment Group in 1988. With his multiple successful releases, MCA offered him a multimedia deal which involved film and television productions.