MUSIC MONDAYS - Eric Bellinger - Creators For The Culture

#RunTheCulture

Having a great signing voice is indeed one way to make it in the music biz. But having a great pen game is a great way to stand out from your contemporaries. And for this week’s #MusicMonday selection we’re featuring one of the top singer/songwriters you really need to be listening to right now, Eric Bellinger.

A true student of his craft, Bellinger began writing songs in 2010 when he was invited to work with illustrious songwriting collective The Writing Camp and has some serious credits to his name. He co-wrote “Lemme See” by Usher, “New Flame” by Chris Brown, “You Don’t Know” by Tank, and even went pop with “Right Here” by Justin Bieber among many other major collabs. In 2011, Bellinger won a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Album for his contributions to Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E. album.

Letting his writing serve as a stepping stone into his own career, in 2014, Bellinger released his debut studio album, The Rebirth. Bellinger followed with two more studio albums, Cuffing Season and Cuffing Season Part 2 in July 2015 and December 2015, respectively and released two mixtapes in the spring of 2016, Choose Up Season and Eventually. Then Between 2016 and 2017, Bellinger released three more EPs as part of his Eric B. for President series, (the title referencing the hip-hop classic Eric B & Rakim song “Eric B. Is President”. Term 1, released in September 2016, an acoustic remake of the EP released in January 2017, and Eric B for President: Term 2, released in March 2017. with G.O.A.T. (the combiner of the two EPs) going gold. Yes this creator for The Culture stays creating.

In his music, Bellinger embraces today’s trends in R&B but with his own unique flare. He is part of the wave of blurring the lines between R&B and rap as he tends to forgo the smoother, more poetic lines that characterized R&B in past eras. Instead, his lyrics are often more straightforward and even conversational. But a lot of times they’re lighthearted. He will be explicit but with a tone that shows he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s just as quick to flex his vulnerability as he is his playboy side which all comes together to make an interesting listen for a fan of R&B music and The Culture.

#FunFacts: When Bellinger was in high school he met his future manager Nieman Johnson whop is the grandson of Jackson 5 songwriter Bobby Day. Bellinger also earned a football scholarship to University of Southern California, but turned it down to record and tour with R&B group AKNU. The group was signed to Epic Records by legendary music exec (and former husband of Mariah Carey) Tommy Mottola And lastly, Bellinger is married to singer and actress La’Myia Good (sister of actress Meagan Good).