Erick Morillo

Erick Morillo (born in 1971, passed 1 September 2020) was an Colombian-American, 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.

Morillo was born in New York City, and raised in Colombia and Union City, New Jersey, where he attended grammar school at Saint Joseph's and Michael's School, a private Catholic school. His childhood musical influences include exposure to Latin rhythms, reggae, and hip hop.

Morillo began his DJ career at age eleven, DJing on the local party circuit, and paying his dues by "spinning" at weddings for family and friends. After seeing television commercial ad for New York City's Center for the Media Arts, Morillo enrolled at the school to learn audio engineering. While working at a club in nearby Weehawken, Morillo met Latin reggae star El General, with whom Morillo became friends. The two collaborated in 1992 on the single, "Muevelo", a mixture of reggae, house music, and a sample of T99's techno single "Anesthasia". The single went platinum, and Morillo's records and remixes became familiar staples of Latin club music. As a young lad he also first deejayed at Foxes nightclub in Jersey City via introduction by local DJ legend Frankie Fingers.

Morillo decided to branch out musically, and became friends with a then-unknown singer-songwriter Marc Anthony, who introduced Morillo to his partner on the 1992 house anthem "Ride On The Rhythym", Little Louie Vega, who advised Morillo to focus on vocals.