Charlie Bereal is a testament to the power of divine timing. Born into a family of musicians, the multi-talented artist has collaborated with some of the most iconic names in the world, from JAY-Z to the late Aaliyah. Despite forging an incredibly fruitful path as a producer and songwriter, he's now poised to conquer the world as a solo artist. Having come full circle by uniting with early inspiration Snoop Dogg and the legendary Death Row Records, Bereal proudly presents the evocative soul of The Greatest.
Bereal was born in Pasadena, CA, where his musical talents were fostered from an early age. "My Grandfather was a pastor in Church," he recalls. "A lot of my uncles and aunties, my father, the family all played instruments so I was exposed to it really early." While he flirted with percussion and singing during this time, Charlie would gravitate to a different instrument out of necessity. "We had too many drummers," Charlie admits. "My older cousins, they basically had that job," he adds with a chuckle. With drums crowded, Bereal would carve a unique path for himself by adopting the guitar. "It helped me develop because I was able to play that consistently every Sunday morning," he notes.
Having nurtured his musicality over years in the Church, it was soon time for Bereal to spread his wings. A visiting performance by Grammy-winning Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin led to Bereal joining him on the road. "I was playing for him all through high school," says Bereal. "It was already handed to me like it was a job." During these formative years, Bereal also inherited a wealth of studio equipment from his eldest brother. "He said if I wanted to make money I had to learn to write songs," Bereal says of his sibling. "We started writing songs together, and I never really looked back from that. By the time I was eighteen, we had two LLC's." Soon, Bereal was flourishing as both a producer and touring guitarist - if he wasn't traveling with superstars like Aaliyah, he was securing breakthrough production and publishing deals.
Although Bereal was experiencing phenomenal success as a producer, songwriter and musician, he remained intent on sharing his own artistry. "I reached the mountaintop as far as playing for other artists," he acknowledges. "I played for Beyonce and JAY-Z in the same weekend. It was great, but I just knew that wasn't my feeling. I wanted more." With that prolific weekend serving as an epiphany, Bereal knew he had to go "all-in" on crafting his own records. In addition, Bereal felt a void in the mainstream arena he had inhabited. "I wanted to do soul music, and I felt like nobody was really doing that around me," he professes. Fortunately, Bereal's pivot was smooth once he embraced his faith. "The hard part was just believing," he admits. "I stepped out on faith and started paying for a studio rental. It was above my overhead and that's the part that was hard, but when I actually did it the work started coming."
The studio space became Bereal's sanctuary, and his music soared. "I was making the best music of my life," he adds with palpable joy. "Being in that studio, it was so much support. People were popping up and working with me, and I was getting features for free. I needed somewhere to just be." This spirit of collaboration would ultimately lead Bereal into a pivotal session with Snoop Dogg. While Bereal and Tha Doggfather had crossed paths occasionally, this particular meeting occurred when Snoop was working on his chart-topping 2018 Gospel project, Bible Of Love. "Snoop was like, 'Man, I want a Gospel record but I don't want it to sound churchy," Bereal recalls. "In my mind I was like, 'I've got just the record that he's looking for.'" The two would cut a record that "set the tone" for the Bible Of Love project. Although it didn't make the final cut, it established an early chemistry between the pair.
While Snoop and Charlie would lose touch in the subsequent years, the latter remained highly productive. "I toured with Raphael Saadiq, he let me do my own music on his tour, I was able to do Pitchfork Music Festival," lists Bereal. After a musical detour producing for such acclaimed artists as BJ The Chicago Kid, Charlie felt the spark to resume his own recording. "I'm ready to go," he summarizes concisely. Bereal would collaborate with revered producer (and longtime Snoop affiliate) Josef Leimberg, with the fruits of their labor becoming the lush new album, Walk With The Father. It was Leimberg who insisted that Snoop had to hear the project, thus reuniting Tha Dogg and Bereal. After sending Snoop three sample tracks, things took a career-affirming turn. "Snoop gave me a call, we talked, and the rest is history."
Anchored by Bereal and Snoop's shared love of vintage Soul and R&B, The Greatest is a sumptuous record that harkens back to the finest offerings of The Stylistics, The Delfonics and Blue Magic. Lead single "Never Going To Take Away My Love" is driven by twinkling strings and Bereal's delicate, impassioned harmonizing. Charlie serenades the object of his affection as he confesses: "You were there when no-one cared or came around, you were the only one who could change my frown into a smile." The tempo slows on the hypnotic "The Greatest," where Charlie lauds his woman for having "the very best love" over slight, deliberate drums and complimentary backing vocals. While the album is steeped in definitive Soul, Bereal makes sure to embrace his Gospel roots on the soaring "Hope." Vowing to serve Him "till the day I die," his voice practically melts into the rich instrumentation. In contrast, his relatively airy vocals float on the ethereal title track, as Bereal reminisces about coming to L.A. "to be a star" over rolling drums and lingering guitar plucks.
This fruitful partnership with Snoop and Death Row has finally afforded Bereal the opportunity to take his artistry to the next level. "It's like an athlete that goes to the right team and understands their vision," Bereal suggests. "All I needed was a little bit of support from somebody like that." Safe in the knowledge that Snoop has no interest in "hit-chasing," the reinvigorated Death Row has provided Bereal a home for his stunning, unrestrained gifts. "When I think about my life... it was predestined. It was planned by God," Bereal states contemplatively. He divulges a childhood connection to Dr. Dre, when his father would bring a young Charlie into sessions with the legendary producer and Death Row co-founder. While Dre wanted to sign Bereal as a boy, his father had other ideas. Now, Charlie stands on the precipice of leading the label in its new iteration, and delivering a classic Soul project in the process. All in divine timing.
