Reel 2 Real
Encyclopedia
Reel 2 Real is a house music
and reggae
-influenced duo
which had seven Top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s
.
and DJ
Erick Morillo
from New York City
, who spent a portion of his childhood living in Colombia
and also in Union City
, New Jersey
. The first release as Reel 2 Real was The New Anthem which spent a week at No. 1 in 1992.
Although it peaked at No. 8 on the dance chart, Reel 2 Real is best known for the dancehall reggae-influenced house
track I Like to Move It
, which featured Trinidad and Tobago
native and toaster Mark Quashie, also known as the Mad Stuntman
. The song peaked at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100
in 1994. It was successful in the United Kingdom
, where it peaked at No. 5 on the singles chart, and in France
and the Netherlands
it peaked at No. 1. The song would later be used in 2005 animated film Madagascar
, and was covered by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
but produced by Morillo, making it a hit once again in 2005. In all, The Mad Stuntman was featured on four of Reel 2 Real's top 10 dance hits. Later singles featured Barbara Tucker
, Charlotte Small
, and Proyecto Uno
. The Reel 2 Real alias was abandoned.
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
-influenced duo
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
which had seven Top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
.
Biography
The duo's core member is producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Erick Morillo
Erick Morillo
Erick Morillo is a Colombian-American DJ, 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 is best known for his international work in...
from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, who spent a portion of his childhood living in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and also in Union City
Union City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The first release as Reel 2 Real was The New Anthem which spent a week at No. 1 in 1992.
Although it peaked at No. 8 on the dance chart, Reel 2 Real is best known for the dancehall reggae-influenced house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
track I Like to Move It
I Like to Move It
"I Like to Move It" is a 1994 music track performed by Reel 2 Real , featuring ragga vocals by Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman...
, which featured Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
native and toaster Mark Quashie, also known as the Mad Stuntman
The Mad Stuntman
Mark Quashie , better known by his stage name The Mad Stuntman, is a singer, best known for providing the vocals on "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real. Quashie took his name from the Lee Majors' television series The Fall Guy...
. The song peaked at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1994. It was successful in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where it peaked at No. 5 on the singles chart, and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
it peaked at No. 1. The song would later be used in 2005 animated film Madagascar
Madagascar (2005 film)
Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked...
, and was covered by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
but produced by Morillo, making it a hit once again in 2005. In all, The Mad Stuntman was featured on four of Reel 2 Real's top 10 dance hits. Later singles featured Barbara Tucker
Barbara Tucker
Barbara Tucker , is an African American house, R&B and soul singer, songwriter and choreographer. Her impact on the mainstream music scene has been felt more in Europe, than in her home country....
, Charlotte Small
Charlotte Small
Charlotte Small was the Métis wife of explorer David Thompson . She was the daughter of North West Company partner Patrick Small and an unnamed Cree woman. Her siblings were also involved in the fur trade; Patrick Small, Jr...
, and Proyecto Uno
Proyecto Uno
Proyecto Uno is a Dominican-American merenrap group which helped popularize a style of music which blends merengue with rap, techno, dancehall reggae and hip-hop music. The band was founded in New York City's East Side in 1989 by Nelson Zapata and managed by Porfirio "Popi" Piña...
. The Reel 2 Real alias was abandoned.
Albums
- 1994 Move It!Move It!Move It! is the first album by the house music and reggae-influenced duo Reel 2 Real which had seven top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s.-Track listing:...
- 1995 Reel 2 RemixedReel 2 RemixedReel 2 Remixed, the second album released by the house music and reggae-influenced duo Reel 2 Real, is a remix of their first album, Move It!.-Track listing:...
- 1996 Are You Ready for Some More?Are You Ready for Some More?Are You Ready for Some More? is the third and final album released by the house music and reggae-influenced duo Reel 2 Real. By the end of 1996, the producer, Erick Morillo, had abandoned the alias Reel 2 Real and began establishing himself as an underground DJ.-Track listing:All tracks are...
Singles
- 1993 "The New Anthem"
- 1994 "I Like to Move ItI Like to Move It"I Like to Move It" is a 1994 music track performed by Reel 2 Real , featuring ragga vocals by Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman...
" - 1994 "Go On Move"
- 1994 "Can You Feel It?"
- 1994 "Raise Your Hands"
- 1995 "Conway"
- 1996 "Jazz It Up"
- 1996 "Are You Ready for Some More?"
- 1997 "After the Rain"
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart