The Life Of B. Jareal

MY STORY

Brandon J. Harris was born in Detroit, MI. at Hutzel Hospital on May 14, 1986 to Deanna Ervin (Mother) and the late George Donald Harris (Father).

Growing up, Brandon was raised in a singing family and quickly gained a passion for music and the arts himself. At the tender age of three, he began singing at his family’s local Detroit church, Locket Memorial Church of God & Christ, participating in many holiday programs and special church events.

Brandon’s talent was quickly recognized early on by his grandmother, who took an immediate interest in helping him shape his musical abilities and talents. With the support of his grandmother, Brandon went on to take piano lessons, join the Boys Choir of Detroit, in which he was given a variety of solo pieces by his choir director, and won 2nd place at a local talent competition held at Detroit’s TCF Center, formerly known as Cobo Hall and/or Cobo Center.

With Brandon’s developing passion for music during his childhood, he vigorously began exploring other facets of the arts to help build his inevitable pursuit of becoming a professional entertainer. Brandon, also being talented in art and design at a young age, ended up attending a Summer art program for children at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. where he developed his drawing and painting abilities. He also went on to attend modeling and acting school at John Robert Powers Acting School & Modeling Agency located in Southfield, MI. where he first began his journey with acting, and he began writing his own short stories, plays and songs.

With all the many talents that Brandon possessed at such a young age, he used writing was a creative outlet from him after losing in father due to a violent crime in 1992. Brandon often wrote to help cope with his father’s death and even began writing short stories, musicals and plays that he and his cousins and/or peers would often perform before other family members or members within his Detroit eastside neighborhood. Additionally, while attending elementary school Brandon took on an interest in running and decided to join the track team which later persuaded him to run cross-country track during middle school.

During this time Brandon also excelled in academics and received several honor-roll awards and a variety of essay writing awards from various programs, including the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (M.E.A.P) by the State of Michigan.

With all the other skills and talents that Brandon had been developing, his love for music had never died. The more he matured and developed, the more fond he grew of music and his passion for it. Brandon continued to write songs for several years, starting at the age of nine, and eventually recorded his first song at the age of eleven, a love song entitled “Yesterday.” During middle school, Brandon became widely recognized by teachers and peers for his singing and musical abilities and was encouraged to perform in several school talent shows.

Later, Brandon went on to attend Edwin C. Denby High School in 2000 where he also became widely respected by peers, teachers and administration for his “down to earth” personality, success in academics and his variety of talents, particularly in music. Brandon joined the school’s Concert Choir and enrolled in a male vocal class, both under the direction of the late Sylvia Greenwood, to better study music and to advance his musical gifts. Brandon was classically trained musically and participated in the district’s Solo & Ensemble Festival Competition 3 years in a row (sophomore, junior and senior year). The program was for students to perfume one classical and one spiritual piece and to be rated before a professional judge on a 1-4 scale, one being the highest for excellent performance and four being the lowest. Each year Brandon received a “1” (for an excellent performance) and became eligible to participate in the statewide Solo & Ensemble Festival. Also, during high school, Brandon gained a greater passion for songwriting and began more writing and arranging. During his freshman year, Brandon rewrote and arranged the school’s theme song, which became highly praised and popular among his fellow choir members, peers, teachers, staff members and principle. Later in Brandon’s junior year of high school, he was elected president for the Concert Choir and began to train other students vocally and musically.

After High School, while attending Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills, MI., Brandon began independently recording his first EP demo in 2005 titled “Revealed.” The intention of this project was solely to began building an audience for Brandon and to display his singing, songwriting, producing and arranging capabilities. Brandon challenged himself by working on the project alone, including the lyrics, vocal arrangements, backgrounds and music. Brandon never officially released the project. Instead, he sold it locally and received much praise for his work. Brandon had found his musical sound during this time and found who he wanted to be as an artist. He wanted to be an artist who inspired people and created music that could be relatable to others. Brandon created his sound and individuality as an artist; however, like many other upcoming artist, he was inspired by many of the greats. Some of his inspirations includes Mariah Carey, Donnie Hathaway, Tank, Brandy, Fred Hammond, Karen Clark Sheard and many others.

During his time at Oakland Community College, Brandon also created and started his own production company, BullzHead Productions. Brandon ultimately created BullaHead Productions to be able to release his projects independently, as well as provide services to other musicians and artist in the entertainment industry.

Brandon later graduated Cum Laude from Oakland Community College in 2010, obtaining an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts. He then relocated to Kalamazoo, MI. shortly after, and started working on his Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies, also known as Family Life Education, at Western Michigan University (WMU).

 

 

While attending WMU., Brandon started briefly at InterAct of Michigan, as an intern, in which he provided assertive community treatment services to individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses, personality disorders, severe functional impairments, and to individuals who have avoided or not responded well to traditional outpatient mental health care and psychiatric rehabilitation services. He also worked with the homeless, substance abusers and individuals involved in the judicial system to provide comprehensive, community-based psychiatric treatment, rehabilitation, and support.

Shortly after InterAct, Brandon joined the local community-based non-profit AIDS organization: CARES – Community AIDS Resource and Education Services as an intern. This organization focuses on minimizing further transmission of HIV and on maximizing the quality of life for all people affected by HIV Here Brandon gained certification by The Michigan Department of Community Health: Division of Health Wellness and Disease Control as HIV Prevention Specialist & Test Counselor. Shortly after interning, he gained a full-time position with CARES as a Prevention Specialist and Program Coordinator, providing prevention education to the community.

While at WMU, Brandon achieved much success academically and was considerably invited to more than six national and local honor societies. He selectively joined The National Society of Leadership & Success and the Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society for Family & Consumer Sciences honor students. Brandon graduated Summa Cum Laude from WMU with an overall G.P.A. of 3.95 on a 4.0 grading scale in 2014.

Right before leaving WMU, Brandon released his second unofficial EP titled “Realistically Speaking.” While Brandon’s focus was on school at the time, he released Realistically Speaking ultimately for promotional purposes and not for profit or as an official album. The project was intended to show his followers and supporters that he had not given up on music and had been writing and recording throughout the years.

Shortly after graduating from WMU, Brandon relocated to Dallas, TX for a career opportunity in the Health and Human Services field. Within the same year of moving to Dallas, Brandon recorded and released a 3rd unofficial musical project, a Christmas album titled “My Greatest Gift.” This particular project was special to Brandon, as Christmas is his favorite holiday; however, this project was also not for profit, but instead was intended to hold his followers over until he got back in the studio to record his first official studio project. The album was well received and had Brandon’s supporters more anxious to hear what he had in store next.

A few years later, in 2019, Brandon began working on his official 1st album, and R&B project titled “No Holds Barred” which is scheduled to be released the summer of 2020. Along with this project, Brandon has many of other projects in the works. Stay tuned to hear about more coming soon.

Brandon’s ultimate dream is to help inspire and motivate others through his musical and other artistic abilities to help promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.