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The Brothers and their childhood

The five brothers in the band are Grady Harrell III 35, Cheyenne Harrell (Papa), Jacob Harrell (Jake), Jared Overton (J.R), and Anthony Harrell33(Ant). Four of the brothers father is Grady Harrell Jr., a singer from Los Angeles who made his mark in music and encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps, while Jared "J.R." Overton has a different father but the same mother as 2 of his brothers making him unrelated to Cheyenne Harrell and Jacob Harrell. Their father was a disciplinarian. He taught them how to sing, while the boys' uncle Donny (Drano) Harrell furthered their music careers. The boys, however, had different mothers. Papa and Jacob's mother is named Valerie. The mother of Jared, Anthony, and Grady Jr. is Nancy Lynn. Papa and Jacob were not raised by their father, as he had been convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. The boys were raised on the music of their inspirations, which ranged from Michael Bolton to Stevie Wonder

Brothers

Grady Harrell, 35

Anthony Harrell, 33

Jared "JR" Overton, 24

Cheyenne "Papa" Harrell, 22

Jacob Harrell, 20

Brutha Growing up

The Harrell brothers came to the entertainment world at a young age out of a four-generations musical family. At 5 and 6 years old, Anthony Harrell and Grady Harrell III hooked up with their first cousin Canela Cox and formed the group Papa’s Results, being trained and taught by Grady Harrell II, who was then signed to MCA Records prior to a prison term. The children appeared in his 1989 R&B hit single “Sticks and Stone”[5] and did many local shows throughout California. The group lasted until Canela moved to Holland to follow her mother's musical career[6]. They filled her spot with family friend Jeff Lee and changed their name to Serenade.[7] The trio quickly gained notice. They appeared on episodes from Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1997 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkYZihr4cMg where Anthony (20 at the time) played the regular role of Eric Little http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364078 and Moesha and signed a record deal with Dr Dre's Afterbirth Records. The record deal went nowhere, and, in 1998, the group shortened its name to Nade and signed with Elektra Records.[8] Clashing with record executives over image concerns due to the ages of Grady and Anthony, the Nade parted ways with Elektra, and Nade split up. As a duet comprising the 2 Harrell brothers Grady and Anthony, they put down 2 independent albums, in 1999 and 2001. In 2002 they were joined by their brothers JR, Jake, and Papa and formed Brutha.[6] The group was discovered by Michael Bolton, who introduced them on the 2003 Soul Train Holiday Special. Along with their success, there has also been controversy ranging from major family clashes to questions about their age. As of 2009, the true ages of Brutha): Anthony 33, Grady 35, Jared 24, Pappa 22, Jacob 20.

Making success

In 2008, their uncle Donny "Drano" Harrell, CEO of Goodfellas Entertainment, and the late Shakir Stewart(died in 2008 of an apparent suicide), senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam, invited the group to Atlanta to do a filmed audition in front of Jermaine Dupri and a range of producers.[9] It resulted in a one-hour original special TV show called "Jermaine Dupri presents : Brutha", broadcast March 24 on Peachtree TV.The group caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri who signed them to the Island Def Jam Music Group.[10] An alleged Presidential-elect Barack Obama aide had asked them to perform at the inauguration on January 20, 2009, after liking their acapellas on Youtube. There is no verification as to the legitamacy of this call and is determinded to be a hoax since Brutha did not appear or perform at the January 20th inauguration.