Eric Aldwin Bellinger Jr. (born March 26, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He began songwriting in 2010, and his co-writing credits including "

Lemme See "Lemme See" is a song by American singer-songwriter Usher (musician), Usher, released through RCA Records, as the third single from his seventh studio album ''Looking 4 Myself'' (2012). The track features vocals from rapper Rick Ross. It was writ ...

" by

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 ...

, " New Flame" by

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

, "You Don't Know" by

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

, " Right Here" by

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, and "Disrespectful" by

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

. In 2011, Bellinger won a

Grammy 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 pres ...

in the category of

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

for contribution to Chris Brown's album '' F.A.M.E.''. In 2014, Bellinger renewed focus on his recording career and released his debut album, ''The Rebirth'' in February of that year. He then released two

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s with

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, el ...

, ''Eric B for President: Term 1'' in 2016, and ''Eric B for President: Term 2'' in 2017.

Early life

Bellinger grew up in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, but attended schools in the Norwalk/ Santa Fe Springs area, where he met his future manager Nieman Johnson. Bellinger is the grandson of Jackson 5 songwriter

Bobby Day Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René und ...

Career

''The Writing Camp'' and early career

Bellinger had earned a football scholarship to

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, but rejected the offer to record and tour with R&B group AKNU. The group was signed to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

by executives Max Gousse and

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...

, and in 2010 he was invited to work with songwriting collective

The Writing Camp The Writing Camp is an American songwriting collective, founded by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones. Since its formation in 2007, the team has been responsible for a series of successful released in pop, R&B and dance music, includi ...

by childhood friend and mentor Erika Nuri. Bellinger first co-wrote for

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

acts such as

Selena Gomez and the Scene Selena Gomez & the Scene was an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2008, its last lineup consisted of vocalist Selena Gomez, drummer Greg Garman, bassist Joey Clement, keyboardist Dane Forrest, and guitarist Drew ...

Jacob Latimore Jacob O'Neal Latimore (born August 10, 1996) is an American actor, singer and dancer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2016, Latimore released his debut album ''Connection''. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Black Nativity'', ''Th ...

, and

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood mi ...

, until 2012 when he contributed to the song "Death Penalty" on Los Angeles

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

The Game's mixtape ''

California Republic The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now So ...

''. Bellinger's connection with The Game led to him writing and featuring on several songs off The Game's album ''

The Documentary 2 ''The Documentary 2'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper the Game. It was released on October 9, 2015, by Blood Money Entertainment and eOne Music. The album serves as a sequel to his debut album. The project is first half of a tw ...

'', for which he received greater recognition and signed a publishing deal with

Sony ATV Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

. However, complications with Bellinger's songwriting catalogue caused him to leave Sony ATV to sign with publisher BMI.

Solo career and ''The Rebirth''

In 2013, Bellinger released a three-part series of mixtapes: ''Born II Sing Vol. 1'', ''Born II Sing Vol. 2'', and ''Born II Sing Vol. 3''. Bellinger released his debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''The Rebirth'', on May 17, 2014, as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

. ''The Rebirth'' peaked at 23 on the US R&B/Hip Hop charts, and 15 on the US R&B chart, and also entered the Heatseakers Albums chart. Bellinger followed ''The Rebirth'' with the studio albums, ''Cuffing Season'' and ''Cuffing Season, Part 2'', which released in July 2015 and December 2015, respectively. ''Cuffing Season'' peaked at 6 on the US R&B chart, while ''Cuffing Season, Part 2'' peaked at 23. Bellinger released two mixtapes in the spring of 2016, ''Choose Up Season'' and ''Eventually''. ''Choose Up Season'' featured the song "Valet" featuring

Fetty Wap Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage names Fetty Wap or Harlem Fetty, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence after his debut single " Trap Queen" reached number two on the U.S. ''B ...

and

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

. Between 2016 and 2017, Bellinger released three

extended plays An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

as part of the ''Eric B. for President'' series, the title referencing the

Eric B & Rakim Eric B. & Rakim are an American hip hop duo formed on Long Island, New York, in 1986, composed of DJ Eric B. (born Eric Barrier) and MC Rakim (born William Michael Griffin Jr.). AllMusic wrote that "during rap's so-called golden age in the late ...

song " Eric B. Is President". The ''Eric B. for President'' series featured two full-instrumental extended plays: ''Eric B for President: Term 1'', released on September 9, 2016, an acoustic remake of the EP titled ''Term 1, titled Eric B for President: Term 1 (Acoustic)'', released on January 20, 2017, and ''Eric B for President: Term 2'', released on March 10, 2017. G.O.A.T. (combiner two version) and Drive By Certifications Gold from

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. On April 6, 2018, Bellinger released the album ''Eazy Call.'' One month later, while on his Eazy Call Tour, Bellinger released a 5-track EP, ''Meditation Music,'' to commemorate National Meditation Day (May 21). This project was inspired by yoga and meditation which he claimed changed his life for the better. The 5 tracks ("Meditate", "Frequency" (ft. Blaq Tuxedo), "Chakras", "Hours" and "Massage") were later joined into a single 20min track titled after the EP name, ''Meditation Music''. On September 10, 2021, Bellinger released ''New Light'', the album which earned him his first Grammy nomination as an artist:

Best Progressive R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at ...

. In May 2022, Bellinger announced his publishing deal with

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

. It was also announced that he performs the theme song of the

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

spinoff series

Mecha Builders ''Mecha Builders'' (also known as ''Sesame Street Mecha Builders'') is a computer-animated children's television series and a spin-off of ''Sesame Street'', that began production in May 2020. The series is co-produced by the United States organiz ...

, alongside Shanice.

Awards

As a songwriter In 2011, Bellinger won a

in the category of

for his work on '' F.A.M.E.'' by Chris Brown (he wrote "She Ain't You" and Say It with Me"). As a songwriter, he was nominated three other times for a Grammy: two nominations for

Best Urban Contemporary Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...

(

Fortunate "Fortunate" is a neo soul song from the 1999 motion picture ''Life'' and was released on the film's soundtrack. The song was written, composed, produced and arranged by R. Kelly and recorded by Maxwell. "Fortunate" was awarded Best R&B Single o ...

and '' X'' by Chris Brown) and one nomination for Best R&B Song (for " New Flame" from '' X'' by Chris Brown). In 2013, Bellinger co-wrote "

" by

, which was named an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Song. As an artist As an artist, Bellinger's album "New Light" (2021) received a nomination for

at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Personal life

Bellinger married La'Myia Good on January 1, 2015. Bellinger and Good met in the early 2000s in Los Angeles, where both were working on music with the same manager before losing contact for a few years, they re-connected later. Bellinger and Good have 2 sons, Elysha and Eazy Bellinger. Bellinger is the brother-in-law of

Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good is an American actress. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Cousin Skeeter'' (1998–2001). Good received further ...

Discography

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

* "I Don't Want Her" (2014)
* "Valet" (2015)
* "Type a Way" (2019)
*"Moist" (2019)
*"Only You" (2021)
*"Hit Eazy" (2021)

Songwriting credits

Guest appearances

*2011 **"Whatever" (with

Ashlyne Huff Ashlyne Anderson Huff (born August 28, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is the daughter of Nashville record producer and session-guitarist Dann Huff, the granddaughter of Nashville arranger Ron Huff and the niece of Giant ...

on ''Let It Out'') *2013 **"Don't Wanna Fall In Love" (with

Lil Rob Roberto L. Flores (born September 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Lil Rob, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. Biography Flores was born in San Diego and raised in La Colonia de Eden Gardens, a Mexican American neighborhood i ...

on "''Don't Wanna Fall In Love''" single) *2016 **"Stay Away" (with

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

on '' The D-Boy Diary: Book 1'') *2017 **"Welcome to My City" (with Ai &

Junior Reid Delroy "Junior" Reid (born 6 June 1963) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for his featuring on the songs " One Blood", " It's Okay (One Blood)" and " This Is Why I'm Hot", as well as being the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru ...

on '' Wa to Yo'') *2020: **"How I Feel" (with T.I. and

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single "T ...

on '' The L.I.B.R.A.'') *2021: **"Over the Moon" (with Oso) **"Bet" (with

Kristinia DeBarge Kristinia Jamie DeBarge (; born March 8, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. DeBarge first appeared on national television in 2003 as a contestant on the ''American Idol'' spin-off, '' American Juniors''. In 2009, DeBarg ...

) **"Filet Mignon" (with

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

) **"Single & Happy" (with Kash Doll & Wale) **"World Is One" (with Chuu and Kim Yo-han) **"Energy" (with VEDO on ''1320'') **"On My Way" (with DJ Era, O.T. Genasis & AD)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellinger, Eric 1984 births Living people African-American record producers Record producers from California African-American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California Grammy Award winners American hip hop singers American pop musicians 21st-century African-American male singers