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Kuk Harrell
Harrell in 2009
Background information
Born	Thaddis Laphonia Harrell (1964-12-30) December 30, 1964 (age 61)
Genres	Pop R&B dance-pop hip hop
Occupations	Songwriter vocal producer arranger engineer
Years active	1992–present

Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell^[1] (/ˈkuːk həˈrɛl/ KOOK hə-REL^[2]) (born December 30, 1964) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, music arranger and engineer. He is known for his vocal production credits on several hit songs throughout the 2000s, often on productions by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Harrell and Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed by its contestants.

Harrell's vocal production credits include three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)" and her Grammy Award-winning "Umbrella", as well as Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)". He vocal produced Mary J. Blige's album Growing Pains, which won the Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Its lead single, "Just Fine", was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.^[3]