Aerle Taree

Reality Writings, CEO

Writer ~ Author ~ Publisher

Aerle Taree, two time Grammy award winning co-writer of the hit songs “TENNESSEE” and “REVOLUTION” with the music group Arrested Developer, has expanded her writing talent in the newly published book POETAREE: THE JURISPRUDENCE OF LIFE. This compilation of dynamic poetry was written while on the Lollapalooza, European and Australian tour with the pivotal group. Taree is noted as being a prolific writer. Her other titles are HUMANITIES MATTER: THE ESSAY COLLECTION, MOLLY’S MENTAL HEALTH: LOVE ME TOO, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AERLE TAREE: ORIGINALLY OF ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, and COCO: THE GIRL.

“Arrested Development took the light, funky sound of the Native Tongues school of hip-hop (De La Soul, Queen Latifah), blended in the folk-blues instrumentation of the their native South (harmonica, acoustic guitars), added uplifting, gospel-tinged lyrics and became one of the most successful crossover acts in rap.”

- from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)

She has been characterized as a modern-day Renaissance Woman: writer/author/publisher all describe the multi-talented, 34-year-old Atlanta-based Aerle Taree. Now, with her most recent venture as the president and founder of Reality Writings, Inc. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1973, Taree was inspired through the admiration of her mother, Attorney Donna M. Jones, a civil rights attorney and poet/writer, and her father, Anthony Bristowe, a corporate editorial writer. Their guidance led Taree to an appreciation for intellectual thought, creativity and education, and she spent most of her childhood writing and composing (anything from restaurant jingles to award-winning poetry). She continued her poetic quest while attending Cornell University in New York, where she studied fashion and apparel design. Her writing talent culminated in 1989 when she joined the Grammy award-winning group Arrested Development.

It was as a member of the Atlanta-based group that Taree’s writing blossomed, co-writing the hit songs Tennessee and Revolution, (at the request of Spike Lee for Malcolm X: The Movie). During this time, Taree continued her studies at Clark Atlanta University; by the age of 19, she had won two Grammy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards and a BMI Songwriter of the Year Award. Taree’s career with Arrested Development gained her nationwide recognition and awards, including MTV Music Awards, Soul Train Awards, and Rolling Stone Critic Poll’s Band of the Year.

Following her departure from Arrested Development, Taree continued to grow artistically. She has also started her own multifaceted entertainment company in Atlanta called Reality Writings, Inc., one of the newest members of the Universal Music Publishing family. Taree has written her own book of narrative poems entitled PoeTaree: The Jurisprudence of Life. Writer Zora Neale Hurston, activist/poet Sonia Sanchez and poet Gil Scott Heron have largely influenced her work. For additional details on Aerle Taree click here.

Honors and Awards

Georgia Executive Woman’s Network (scholarship) 2002-2003

Oglethorpe University Dean’s List 2001-2003

Spellman's Honor Society 1998

Grammy Award 1992

NAACP Image Award 1992

MTV Video Award 1992

BMI Song Writer of the Year Award 1992

People to People Award (Government Ambassador to China) 1991