Multi-talented Eric Bellinger, a GRAMMY Award-winning singer and songwriter, may very well be the most confident and humble man in all of Hollywood.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended school in Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs where he met future manager Nieman Johnson. From the very beginning, Bellinger has been destined to be a rockstar.
How did his journey start? The artist joins the Rockstar Experience Podcast for an exclusive interview.
“For me? Singing groups, R&B groups. I began in football, so you know my first method is team,” says Bellinger. “I was in four-man groups, five-man groups, three-man groups – I got signed. I got signed to Epic Records. I got signed to Capitol Interscope. The group kind of bounced around, but as I got out of my group in 2010, that’s when I said: ‘I am Eric Bellinger.’”
“What I was doing was demo-ing songs for songwriters. I was writing songs for other artists, anything. I was just in every session,” he explains. “I would go to eight, nine, ten studios a day where I just flooded the marketplace with Eric Bellinger. At the same time, I couldn’t do too much because of contractual agreements. That’s what made me really focus on the writing.”
His writing skills took him to the next level, and higher-ups in the industry began asking “who is this guy?”
And for good reason. After writing three songs for the album, Bellinger won a GRAMMY for his work on Chris Brown’s FAME.
Showing off his GRAMMY awards, one thing is clear: the man is aware of his talent. However, his easy charm coupled with a humble, hardworking nature show an interesting dichotomy between career and personal life.
“You’ve got to have the fine line with confidence and cockiness. Cockiness is no one wants to work with you, confidence is when everyone wants to be around you,” he says. “If you don’t wear it on your sleeve, and you don’t unapologetically be yourself, then the world is going to try to dim you.”
“That’s what I was going through for a long time because I was behind the scenes and I was a songwriter while at the same time I was putting my own music out,” he continues. “People were used to me being a songwriter. People were used to me being behind the scenes. For the people that hadn’t known me as a songwriter and just knew Eric Bellinger the artist, they saw what I wanted them to see. My peers, my close friends, the labels, they saw the Eric Bellinger who we call when we want a song for our artists. Period.”
With a seemingly endless list of high-profile song credits, his joy when describing past work and the accolades that sprouted from those endeavors is infectious.
“The song writing is what has built the leverage and has made it to where [people are saying] ‘you kind of gotta respect the guy!’” he laughs. “I think the work ethic that I put into the craft has kept me here man, it’s just the work ethic.”
In February, Bellinger released a joint album with super producer Hitmaka called 1-800-HIT-EAZY. The album is led by singles, “Hit Eazy” and “Only You”.
“Anybody that knows me knows I can’t stay out of the studio,” the artist laughs. “When I met Hitmaka, [in him] I had found somebody that has the same love. Like he don’t like to leave the studio ever.”
From there, their flow was natural, and it was only a matter of time before an album was born out of their shared love. From hustle to heart, the talent Bellinger emits is evident on 1-800-HIT-EAZY.
Listen in for more of Bellinger’s interview with the Rockstar Experience Podcast to hear about his dream collaborations, grab some insider info on how all angles of the music industry works, and some honest, real smiles. Check out Bellinger’s and Hitmaka’s 1-800-HIT-EAZY available on all streaming platforms. ❖
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