SRC/UNIVERSAL ARTIST SPOTLIGHT- Corte Ellis

Corte Ellis

Corte “The Author” Ellis was born to sing. That’s no exaggeration. The Portsmouth, VA native is the progeny of two singers, born into a family of musicians, his mother first remembers Corte starting to sing at the ripe young age of two. Now the whole world will see what momma knew she had all along, a star.

By elementary school, Corte was sanging in the church choir and in school plays. By junior high school, the popular student was recruited by four classmates to become the lead singer of their R&B group New Image. At the time the group only covered popular R&B songs. But Corte would develop his songwriting chops by crafting original songs for the group. But the hardworking Corte—credit his position as a middle child (the youngest of four brothers, followed by three younger sisters)—soon became disenchanted by the group’s lack of dedication. Corte realized music was more than a passing fancy, and dedicated himself to mastering his craft.

The lure of the streets, where he occasionally dabbled, or the possibility of sports (he was a star football player) was an ever-present part of Corte’s life. But music was his true calling, forsaking the street life in favor of his greatest instrument, his voice. Soon after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School he was ready to kick-start his career. As fate would have it, days later a talent competition at a local nightclub called Pizazz connected him with its owner, Monte Marshall. Under Marshall’s auspices Corte recorded his first independent album, even garnering regional airplay with the song “Independent Woman.”

With Corte’s name ringing bells, he then connected with producer Will Skillz, who taught him the nuances of creating complete records. It would be via Will Skillz that Corte, who was already writing songs for artist like former G-Unit artist Olivia, would eventually meet and partner with the New Jersey-based production duo the Soul Diggaz (Karriem "K-Mack" Mack, Shaun "Bless" Owens) in 2001. With Corte handling the song writing duties, the Soul Diggaz have gained renown in the recording industry, producing tracks for Beyonce, Monica, Fantasia and Corte’s first cousin Missy Elliot.

But don’t mistake Corte’s success as a byproduct of nepotism. Corte Ellis is preparing to release his as-yet untitled SRC/Universal Records debut and earned his rep without anyone knowing he and Elliot were even related. With a firsthand knowledge of the behind the scenes wheelings and dealings of the music industry, Corte is ready to step into the spotlight, with his talent, and resume, being the only helping hand he needs. An affinity for easily relatable and memorable lyrics and gift for melody can’t hurt either.

“We ‘bout to break the head board, and make a lot of noise/We so loud that the neighbors can’t ignore it, we gonna break the head board,” sings Corte on “Head Board.” As salacious an R&B song of seduction as you’ll ever hear, Corte flings his passionate vocals over a sultry sound bed of creeping keys and snappy drums. The sweeping instrumentation of “Be A Star” supports a tale of seduction that goes down at the club while “Just The Way You Are” is a mid-tempo and heartfelt ballad. Corte has already secured guest spots from Jadakiss on the spry party romp “Hangover” and Busta Rhymes on the futuristic synth blast, and appropriately titled, “Fire.”

Corte’s lyrics effortlessly resonate (see the touching “Tie A Tie” about his absentee father) with listeners that won’t help but become his avid fans. Citing music industry mentors like Clive Davis, Diddy, esteemed singer/songwriter, and new American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi and fellow Virginia natives Teddy Riley and Missy Elliot, Corte has developed a priceless treasury of knowledge from which to launch his career.

Consider Corte the talented salve that the male R&B arena, and the music world in general, has been waiting for.
DOWNLOAD HIS EP/INVITATION HERE
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