Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, the Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, Deep Soul, Club Ultimate, and Li'l Mo Ying Yang, Morillo was best known for his international work in house music, in particular for the label Strictly Rhythm, and the 1993 hit "I Like to Move It", which he produced under the pseudonym Reel 2 Real, and which was featured in commercials, movies, and ringtones. His label Subliminal Records produced the number-one Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit "Fun" by Da Mob, and won the Muzik magazine "Remixer of the Year" award in 1999. Subliminal also brought attention to artists like Eddie Thoneick, Carl Kennedy, and DJ DLG. He was a three-time winner of DJ Awards "Best House DJ" in 1998, 2001, and 2003 and a three-time winner of "Best International DJ" in 2002, 2006, and 2009 receiving a total of 15 nominations in all from 1998 to 2010.
Erick Morrilo was attributed as "One of the best live DJ's I ever booked in my 20 years career, as an entertainments and promotions manager, and in many of London's top venues!" said U.K. club and events promoter Terry Slade.
He died from a drug overdose at his home in Miami Beach, three days before he was due to appear in court to face rape charges.
Early life
Erick Morillo was born in 1971 living with his mother, Elisa, and sister, Sheila, in an apartment at 1406 Bergenline Avenue in Union City, New Jersey.
Career
"Muevelo" and "I Like to Move It"
Morillo took a studio engineering course at the New York City's Center for the Media Arts, and began DJing at local clubs, While working at a club in nearby Weehawken, Morillo met Latin reggae star El General, whom he befriended. The two collaborated in 1991 on the single, "Muevelo", a mixture of reggae, house music, and a sample of T99's techno single "Anasthasia" that became a surprise hit, and went platinum. Pazzanese, who came up with the subliminal name, directed both the label and the management companies while Morillo oversaw A&R and rebuilt his image. DJ Sneak and Jr. Sanchez came over with Pazzanese, joining Morillo's friends, DJ/producers José Nunez and Harry Choo Choo Romero. Morillo described Subliminal's sound as "ghetto music", branded with European-designed record sleeves, "but with class". Its first single was 1998's "Fun", which featured Chicago diva Dajae, and drew positive response via test pressings and buzz across the Atlantic. However, Dajae refused to sign the contract with Subliminal, so vocalist Jocelyn Brown was hired to re-record the vocals. Brown's collaboration with Subliminal is known as "Da Mob", and their version of "Fun" became a number one Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit. Eventually, DJ Sneak left with Pazzanese in 1998 for her firm, Tight Artist Management, in New York City. Junior Sanchez also left Subliminal management in late 1998. The remaining trio of Morillo, Romero and Nunez are also known as the remix team the Dronez. With Subliminal, Morillo achieved financial success. According to Morillo, his most memorable job was on Ibiza's White Isle after the September 11 attacks: "I was playing the closing party of the Space Terrace straight after September 11th. I ended the night with Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York'. People were crying and waving American flags, everybody was singing. It's my most emotional memory as a DJ." The label has also spawned other labels, such as Sondos, Subliminal Soul, Bambossa and SUBUSA.
Morillo drew attention in June 2013 when he failed to appear at a June 6 show in Long Island, and then on June 12 when he had to be escorted off stage 45 minutes into a set, due to "erratic behavior." According to reports, Morillo appeared to be dazed when he began his set, and his condition worsened after he began it. At one point, he vanished from view, leaving a single loop playing over and over. Morillo later stated on his Twitter page, "The time has come to take a break and refocus my attention on my health and well-being."
Awards and accolades
thumb|Morillo and his mother, Elisa, at the October 11, 2012, ceremony in [[Union City, New Jersey, in which the portion of Bergenline Avenue on which he grew up was dedicated in his honor. To the right of Morillo are Mayor Brian P. Stack and Commissioner Lucio P. Fernandez.]]
On October 11, 2012, Morillo's former home town of Union City, New Jersey honored him in a ceremony in which the portion of Bergenline Avenue between 14th and 15th Street, where Morillo lived as a youth, was dedicated "Erick Morillo Way". Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack praised Morillo, who donated 100 Nook tablets to a local school, by commenting, "It's important to recognize those in the community who contribute to our hometown," Union City Mayor Brian Stack said. "We can all be proud to call Erick a part of our community." In December 2019, Morillo and his accuser were working as DJs at a private party on Star Island in Miami Beach, and later went to his Miami Beach home. She told detectives that she got drunk and passed out alone in a bedroom, later waking nude with him standing beside her, also nude. A rape kit test performed on the woman tested positive for Morillo's DNA. Morillo denied the accusation, but turned himself in to police on the advice of his attorney on August 6, 2020. He was due to appear in court on September 4, but was found dead at his home on September 1. The final autopsy report concluded his death was an accident due to "acute ketamine toxicity", while also listing possible COVID-19 infection in the weeks before his death.
Discography
Awards
DJ Awards
Morillo won the DJ Award for "Best International DJ Award" three times, the "Best House DJ Award" three times, and received a total of 15 nominations.
|-
| 1998
| Erick Morillo
| Best House/Garage DJ
|
|-
| 2000
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2001
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2002
| Erick Morillo
| Best International DJ
|
|-
| 2002
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2003
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2004
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2005
| Erick Morillo
| Best International DJ
|
|-
| 2006
| Erick Morillo
| Best International DJ
|
|-
| 2006
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2007
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2008
| Erick Morillo
| Best International DJ
|
|-
| 2009
| Erick Morillo
| Best International DJ
|
|-
| 2010
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
|-
| 2011
| Erick Morillo
| Best House DJ
|
International Dance Music Awards
At the annual Winter Music Conference, Morillo won the "Best American DJ award (2005) and he has been nominated 10 times overall.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Selected awards
!Year
!Award
!Nominated work
!Category
!Result
|-
|2002
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
| Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2003
|rowspan="1"| IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2004
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2005
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2005
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best Full Length Mix CD Subliminal
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2006
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2006
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best Global DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2008
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2009
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2010
|rowspan="1"|IDMA
|Erick Morillo
|Best American DJ
|
|}
Muzik Awards
Muzik was a UK dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003.
|-
| 1999
| Erick Morillo
| Re-mixer of the Year
|
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- The Jersey Sound