Attrell Cordes
| Attrell Cordes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Attrell Stephen Cordes Jr. |
| Also known as | Prince Be Prince Be The Nocturnal |
| Born |
May 15, 1970 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 2016 (aged 46) Neptune City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, Pop, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980s–2016 |
| Labels |
Gee Street V2 Island Spectra Music Group |
| Associated acts | P.M. Dawn |
Attrell Stephen Cordes, Jr. (May 15, 1970 – June 17, 2016), also known by the stage name Prince Be, was an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Cordes was the lead vocalist of the hip hop group, P.M. Dawn, which he formed in 1988 with his brother, Jarrett Cordes, also known by DJ Minutemix. Cordes, as the frontman and lyricist for P.M. Dawn, became known for blending rap with singing, as well as ethereal beats and aspects of mysticism and crypto-Christian imagery, to his songs. In 2016, The New York Times called both Cordes and P.M. Dawn "both underappreciated and quietly influential."
Cordes was born to Janice Carr and Attrell Cordes Sr. in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 15, 1970. His father died when he and his younger brother, Jarrett Cordes, were young. His mother later married George Brown, a drummer for Kool & the Gang, who became their stepfather.
Cordes, known on stage as Prince Be, formed P.M. Dawn with his younger brother, Jarrett Cordes, a.k.a. DJ Minutemix, in Jersey City in 1988. The duo created their first demo using $600 that Attrell Cordes had earned while working at a homeless shelter as a nighttime security guard. Attrell Cordes was one of first artists blend and transition between rap and singing, often in the same song, within his music.
The duo released their first single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind," in 1989. In 1991, P.M. Dawn released their gold certified, debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience, much of which was written and produced by Attrell Cordes. The album, a critical and commercial success, was led by the first single, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", in which Prince Be and DJ Minutemix sampled Spandau Ballet's 1983 hit, "True", with co-writing credits for Gary Kemp and Attrell Cordes. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" became the first single by a black rap group to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and only the third rap artist to reach to the top of that chart overall.
...
Wikipedia