Prince Charlez

Charles Hinshaw records and composes under the alias Prince Charlez, contributing songwriting and vocals to multiple Top 20 pop successes for Usher and Rihanna. A native of Compton, California, Hinshaw secured his breakthrough credit on Usher’s “More,” which rose to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010. Before the year ended, he joined T.I. and B.o.B. as a featured performer on Quincy Jones’ Q: Soul Bossa Nostra for a new version of Jones’ Sanford and Son theme. Subsequent sessions with Marques Houston, Timothy Bloom, and ScHoolboy Q yielded released material, while Hinshaw also co-wrote Rihanna’s number-seven single “Needed Me” and Beyoncé’s “Ring Off.” In February 2017 he issued his first solo single, the Drumma Boy-produced melodic trap cut “Bitty,” via Republic. Mary J. Blige released “U + Me (Love Lesson)” as a single weeks later with Hinshaw among its co-writers; the parent album Strength of a Woman contained two additional tracks bearing his contributions.