Phillip Morris. A man who has no idea what the word "cool" means, in any sense other than temperature. A revolutionary thinker trapped inside of an emcee’s frame. What began as writing as series of short stories in grammar school had turned into a full blown obsession with writing rhymes by 1997 when he was a freshman at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign. Returning to his hometown of Chicago in 1998, Mister Morris began teaching himself how to produce beats using early versions of ACID and Fruityloops. Originally intent with creating simple backdrops to write to, he soon became obsessed with the intricacies of digital music production and recording. After years of honing his rhyme skills, in 2004 he hit the scene, going to any open mic he could find, and in 2005 he began writing and recording his first album while still frequenting various open mics across Chicago. This led to Phillip receiving a hosting spot at Innjoy's open mic alongside fellow Chicago emcees Awdazcate (pronounced audacity) and Readymade.
The mixture of Phillip's unique voice, complex rhyme schemes, anomalous subject matter, coherent freestyles, and comprehensibility forced the underground hip-hop community to abruptly take notice. Released in early 2006, his debut album (the self-produced "Instrumentality") featured a wide variety of styles and subject matter. It includes the sharp-tongued social commentary of "Divided States", the widely felt ballad for the emotionally battered woman entitled "World of Deceit", and the bewildering combination of lyrical acrobatics & borderline psychosis laced upon "The Nightmare Before Christmas". This timeless piece of art was eagerly received by fans, helping catapult Phillip into a steady cascade of live performances at various bars, venues, and political events. These include events organized by Bands Not Bombs, Peoples Weekly World, Solidarity not Charity, YCL, and performing in front of thousands at the Anti-War rally on October 27th 2007 in Union Park.
Along the way, he began collaborating with Tomorrow Music Orchestra members Matthew Golombisky (bass), Quin Kirchner (drums), Hanna Mathey (violin) and Lilianna Wosko (cello). At one point during the Ears and Eyes festival (December 8th 2007), he was called onstage to freestyle alongside the entire 23 piece orchestra. Always looking to the future, Phillip continues to make original music as far from the norm as possible, keeping crowds entertained with complex rhymes while speaking out about the injustices occurring worldwide. Both avid fans of hip-hop and skeptics alike have (or will soon) become addicted to the cancerous choice.
Phillip Morris Addicts: