Manuel L. Seal, Jr. (born September 26, 1960) is an American

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter,

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often a ...

, and arranger. His credits include artists as

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

, TLC,

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

, Xscape, Cherish, Tyrese,

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, Ashanti, Monica,

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

, Avant,

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

, Aaron Hall,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, Mary J Blige,

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album '' Fun ...

, Jagged Edge,

El DeBarge Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include " Time Will Reveal", " Who's Hold ...

, Shanice, Johnny Gill, LSG,

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development de ...

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert was also a ...

, Marc Dorsey and

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

. He has won one

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

from 13 nominations. Manuel Seal is the owner and CEO of Seal Music Productions. Inc. and S.L.A.C.K.A.D. Music.

Early life

He as born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, United States, to parents Manuel and Betty Seal. Manuel also has two younger sisters. The family moved to Freeport, Illinois when Manuel was three. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds and they got him into piano lessons at the age of 5. His father was in a band, sang and played multiple instruments and his mother sang in the church choir. They lived in the projects and when Manuel was 10, his father left the family, moving back to Chicago. His mother was a school teacher and worked hard to get her and her children a home. By the time Manuel was in high school, his mother had purchased a home that he and his sisters still share today. Because his grade school did not offer guitar, Manuel started playing the flute at that time. He was already excelling at the piano and wanted to learn every instrument he could. By high school, he had formed a band and traveled to the few towns near him to perform. He was performing at bars (while being underage) and picked up a huge fan base throughout the Midwest. He traveled extensively, performing and perfecting his skills as a musician.

Career

Manuel Seal was found by a manager while working with Grammy Award-winning artist Ann Nesby. He and Ann had known each other for years, as they are from the same two small towns. His manager had gotten him meetings in LA and he stayed there for three months working at BMG. He then moved back to Freeport. Soon thereafter, his manager set up meetings for him in Atlanta, Georgia. At the hotel one night, he was found by

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

in the lobby while playing the piano and singing. He had attracted a huge crowd and Jermaine signed him instantly. He began work with

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

. The first major success came with Xscape. Manuel wrote, produced and arranged their first album, '' Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha'' (1993). He wrote two #1's and a top 10 on that album. The surprise hit on that album was "

Understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

", which Manuel wrote in his hotel room one night between sessions. Da Brat's '' Funkdafied'' (1994) was the next huge success for him. He is the vocals on the lead single " Funkdafied", and composed all the music on the album. It was the first time a female rapper reached Platinum status. TLC's ''

CrazySexyCool ''CrazySexyCool'' is the second studio album by American girl group TLC, released on November 15, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. Following the group's record deal, they released their debut album '' Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip'' in 1992 ...

'' (1994) sold 23 million copies worldwide. Manuel wrote three songs on that album. Usher's '' My Way'' (1997) album went 7× Platinum and Manuel wrote seven of the ten songs on the album, including " You Make Me Wanna", " My Way", and " Nice and Slow". Mariah Carey's ''

Daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...

'' (1995) album sold 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Manuel wrote " Always Be My Baby", among others. He went on to write numerous hits for Jagged Edge, Aretha Franklin, Destiny's Child,

Bebe Winans Benjamin "BeBe" Winans (born September 17, 1962) is an American gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine albums, seven with his sister CeCe as Be ...

, LSG, Johnny Gill, George Benson, Tamia, Aaron Hall, Mary J. Blige, Monica, Lionel Richie, Ashanti and Gerald Levert. Major success came with " My Boo" from Usher's '' Confessions'' (2004, Special Edition), which went on to sell more than 10 million copies in America. Seal also won a Grammy Award for his contribution on Mariah Carey's "

We Belong Together "We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her 10th studio album, ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). The song was released on March 15, 2005, through Island Records, as the second single from the album. "W ...

" from '' The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). He continued with Mariah Carey's follow-up album ''E=MC²'' (2008), Usher's '' Here I Stand'' (2008), and

's ''

20 Y.O. ''20 Y.O.'' is the ninth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. It was released on September 20, 2006, by Virgin Records. Its title makes reference to her third studio album '' Control'' (1986), and is a commemoration to its twentieth ann ...

'' (2006) and ''

Discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

'' (2008).Manuel Seal Jr
at

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal, Manuel Jr. 1960 births Living people People from Freeport, Illinois Record producers from Illinois Songwriters from Illinois Grammy Award winners African-American businesspeople African-American record producers American music industry executives 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people