Eric A. Bellinger, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Bellinger began songwriting in 2010, and his co-writing credits including "Lemme See" by Usher, "New Flame" by Chris Brown, "You Don't Know" by Tank, "Right Here" by Justin Bieber, and "Disrespectful" by Trey Songz. In 2011, Bellinger won a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Album for contribution to Chris Brown's album F.A.M.E.. In 2014, Bellinger released his debut studio album, The Rebirth, and released the extended playsEric B for President: Term 1 in 2016, and Eric B for President: Term 2 in 2017.
Early life
Eric Bellinger grew up in Compton, California but attended schools in the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs area, where he met his future manager Nieman Johnson, the grandson of Jackson 5 songwriter Bobby Day.
Career
''The Writing Camp'' and early career
Bellinger had earned a football scholarship to University of Southern California, but rejected the offer to record and tour with R&B group AKNU. The group was signed to Epic Records by executives Max Gousse and Tommy Mottola, and in 2010 he was invited to work with songwriting collective The Writing Camp by childhood friend and mentor Erika Nuri. Bellinger first co-wrote for pop acts such as Selena Gomez and the Scene, Jacob Latimore, and Big Time Rush, until 2012 when he contributed to the song “Death Penalty” on Los Angelesrapper The Game's mixtape California Republic. Bellinger's connection with The Game led to him writing and featuring on several songs off The Game's album The Documentary 2, for which he received greater recognition and signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV. However, complications with Bellinger's songwriting catalogue caused him to leave Sony ATV to sign with publisher BMI.
Solo career and ''The Rebirth''
In 2013, Bellinger released a three-part series of mixtapes: Born II Sing Vol. 1, Born II Sing Vol. 2, and Born II Sing Vol. 3. Bellinger released his debut studio album, The Rebirth, on May 17, 2014, as a double album. The Rebirth peaked at 23 on the US R&B/Hip Hop charts, and 15 on the US R&B chart, and also entered the Heatseakers Albums chart. Bellinger followed The Rebirth with the studio albums, Cuffing Season and Cuffing Season, Part 2, which released in July 2015 and December 2015, respectively. Cuffing Season peaked at 6 on the US R&B chart, while Cuffing Season, Part 2 peaked at 23. Bellinger released two mixtapes in the spring of 2016, Choose Up Season and Eventually. Choose Up Season featured the song "Valet" featuring Fetty Wap and 2 Chainz. Between 2016 and 2017, Bellinger released three extended plays as part of the Eric B. for President series, the title referencing the Eric B & Rakim song "Eric B. Is President". The Eric B. for President series featured two full-instrumental extended plays: Eric B for President: Term 1, released on September 9, 2016, an acoustic remake of the EP titled Term 1, titled Eric B for President: Term 1 , released on January 20, 2017, and Eric B for President: Term 2, released on March 10, 2017. G.O.A.T. Certifications Gold from RIAA.
Awards
In 2011, Bellinger won a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Album for his work on F.A.M.E. by Chris Brown. In 2013, Bellinger co-wrote "Lemme See" by Usher, which was named an ASCAP Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Song.
Personal life
Bellinger is married to singer and actress La’Myia Good. Bellinger and Good met in the mid-2000s in Los Angeles, where both were working on music with the same manager before losing contact for a few years, they re-connected later. Bellinger and Good have 2 sons, Elysha and Eazy Bellinger.
