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Artist News
Erick Morillo dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 2 September 2020
DJ and producer Erick Morillo was found dead at his Florida home yesterday. He was 49.
Morillo was due to appear in court later this week on sexual battery charges. He was accused of assaulting another DJ at his home last December, after they both performed at a private party in Miami. He initially denied the accusation, but turned himself in to police after DNA evidence supported his accuser’s allegations. He was formally charged early last month.
Born in New York in 1971, Morillo spent much of his early youth in Colombia, before returning to the US aged eleven – at which point he began DJing at family events. He started DJing in clubs in the early 1990s, while also moving into producing music at around the same time. A 1991 collaboration with Latin reggae star El General, ‘Muevelo’, subsequently became a hit.
Probably his best known track is ‘I Like To Move It’, which he released under the name Reel 2 Real in 1993. A hit in its own right at the time – reaching number five in the UK singles chart in 1994 – the much-synced track has reached new audiences in recent years through its inclusion in the ‘Madagascar’ animated movies.
Concerned that the massive success of ‘I Like To Move It’ had damaged his credibility, Morillo began to distance himself from Reel 2 Real and worked on other projects with a range of collaborators. He also launched the Double Platinum management company and Subliminal record label. As well as this, he became an increasingly prominent figure on the US and international club scenes.
He consistently continued to release new music and remixes throughout his career, up to last year.
No cause of death has yet been announced, but police have said that there were no signs of foul play.
