Tanya Morgan
Encyclopedia
Tanya Morgan is an American hip hop
group from which consists of MCs
Donwill and Ilyas, and MC/producer
Von Pea. Both Donwill and Ilyas are from Cincinnati, Ohio
, while Von Pea is from Brooklyn, New York. Their debut album, Moonlighting, was acclaimed upon its release in 2006 .
message board, decided to work on a full-length album together. Ilyas, who along with Donwill comprised a hip-hop duo known as Ilwill, joined the project as a third member, and producer Brickbeats was brought in to work on the album as well. Since Von Pea lived in Brooklyn and both Donwill and Ilyas lived in Cincinnati, the trio did much of the work on their first album by exchanging files across AOL Instant Messenger
.
Prior to releasing their debut album Moonlighting, Tanya Morgan released an online mixtape
, Sunlighting, and an EP
of original material, Sunset. After Tanya Morgan was featured in XXL
Magazine's "Show and Prove" column, Moonlighting was released on Loud Minority Music. The album received 3.5 mics (out of 5) in The Source
magazine, an entry in the Chairman's Choice column in XXL, and coverage in Wax Poetics
magazine and several other publications and websites.
The group released the first MySpace
-themed video for their single "We Be", and it went on to win MTVu
's Freshman of the Week contest in July 2006. The "We Be" video was resultantly aired on channels such as MTV Jams
, Much Music and nyctv
's The Bridge
.
Tanya Morgan has collaborated with hip-hop acts such as Nicolay
, Fat Jon
, 88 Keys and Drake
. The group performed at Toronto
's NXNE Festival with Nouveau Riche, and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival with Ghostface Killah
, Large Professor
, Consequence
, and others. Tanya Morgan is also a regular at New York's annual CMJ Festival.
Tanya Morgan was voted the winner of the "Show Us What You Got" Hip-Hop Artist Competition, held on October 25, 2007 at the Power Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada
. They were also featured in XXL's "Chairman's Choice" in September 2008, and named in XXLMag.com's Top Ten Artists in July of the same year. 2008 also saw the release of their EP The Bridge. Most recently Tanya Morgan has recorded Brooklynati
, an album and coinciding multi-media project released May 12, 2009 on Interdependent Media.
As of May 2011, Ilyas is no longer a member of Tanya Morgan.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group from which consists of MCs
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
Donwill and Ilyas, and MC/producer
Record 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...
Von Pea. Both Donwill and Ilyas are from Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, while Von Pea is from Brooklyn, New York. Their debut album, Moonlighting, was acclaimed upon its release in 2006 .
History
Tanya Morgan was founded in 2003. Von Pea and Donwill, already regular collaborators after having met on the okayplayer.comOkayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
message board, decided to work on a full-length album together. Ilyas, who along with Donwill comprised a hip-hop duo known as Ilwill, joined the project as a third member, and producer Brickbeats was brought in to work on the album as well. Since Von Pea lived in Brooklyn and both Donwill and Ilyas lived in Cincinnati, the trio did much of the work on their first album by exchanging files across AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
.
Prior to releasing their debut album Moonlighting, Tanya Morgan released an online mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
, Sunlighting, and an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of original material, Sunset. After Tanya Morgan was featured in XXL
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
Magazine's "Show and Prove" column, Moonlighting was released on Loud Minority Music. The album received 3.5 mics (out of 5) in The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
magazine, an entry in the Chairman's Choice column in XXL, and coverage in Wax Poetics
Wax Poetics
Wax Poetics is a bimonthly American music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition; the name of the magazine is itself an allusion to vinyl records....
magazine and several other publications and websites.
The group released the first MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
-themed video for their single "We Be", and it went on to win MTVu
MtvU
mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
's Freshman of the Week contest in July 2006. The "We Be" video was resultantly aired on channels such as MTV Jams
MTV Jams
MTV Jams is a Viacom-owned American hip-hop/urban music video channel that debuted on 1998 as MTVX, then was relaunched in 2002 under its current name...
, Much Music and nyctv
NYCTV
NYC TV is a group of Government-access television broadcast and cable TV channels operated by NYC Media Group, a division of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications...
's The Bridge
The Bridge (TV show)
The Bridge is a TV show chronicling the history of hip hop in New York City. The show airs weekly on NYC TV in the New York City area. The show got its start in 2005 when NYC TV acquired broadcast station WNYE....
.
Tanya Morgan has collaborated with hip-hop acts such as Nicolay
Nicolay
Nicolay may refer to:* Nicolay , Dutch musician* Nicolay de Caveri, Genoese cartographer* Nicolay , an influential French family in the 15th to 18th centuriesPeople with surname Nicolay:...
, Fat Jon
Fat Jon
Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician is an American hip hop producer from Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the four members of Five Deez, alongside Pace Rock, Sonic, and Kyle David...
, 88 Keys and Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
. The group performed at Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's NXNE Festival with Nouveau Riche, and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival with Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...
, Large Professor
Large Professor
Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...
, Consequence
Consequence (rapper)
Dexter Mills , better known as Consequence, is an American rapper. He is the cousin of rapper Q-Tip of the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and was formerly an affiliate of Kanye West's GOOD Music family. Consequence debuted in 1996 on A Tribe Called Quest's album Beats, Rhymes, and Life...
, and others. Tanya Morgan is also a regular at New York's annual CMJ Festival.
Tanya Morgan was voted the winner of the "Show Us What You Got" Hip-Hop Artist Competition, held on October 25, 2007 at the Power Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. They were also featured in XXL's "Chairman's Choice" in September 2008, and named in XXLMag.com's Top Ten Artists in July of the same year. 2008 also saw the release of their EP The Bridge. Most recently Tanya Morgan has recorded Brooklynati
Brooklynati
Brooklynati is the third release from rap group Tanya Morgan, released by Interdependent Media/iM Culture. The album is based on the creation of a fictitious city combining elements from both Cincinnati, Ohio and Brooklyn, New York...
, an album and coinciding multi-media project released May 12, 2009 on Interdependent Media.
As of May 2011, Ilyas is no longer a member of Tanya Morgan.
Albums discography
- 2005: Sunset (EP)
- 2006: Moonlighting
- 2007: Sunlighting (Mixtape)
- 2008: Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group (Mixtape)
- 2008: The Bridge (EP)
- 2009: BrooklynatiBrooklynatiBrooklynati is the third release from rap group Tanya Morgan, released by Interdependent Media/iM Culture. The album is based on the creation of a fictitious city combining elements from both Cincinnati, Ohio and Brooklyn, New York...
- 2010: Don Cusack in High Fidelity (Donwill Solo LP)
- 2010: Pea's Gotta Have It (Von Pea Solo LP) (October 12, 2010)
- 2011: Doppelganger (Donwill Solo EP)
- 2011: You and What Army (EP)