Reel 2 Real
OriginNew York City, New York, US
GenresBreakbeat, hip house
Years active1992–1997
LabelsStrictly Rhythm
MembersMark Quashie
Past members
Websitehttps://reel2realofficial.com

Reel 2 Real was an American hip house musical project that had seven top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s.

Biography

The duo consisted of American DJ Erick Morillo and Trinidadian rapper Mark Quashie, also known as The Mad Stuntman. The project's core member was producer and DJ Erick Morillo from New York City,[1] 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 on the US Dance Chart in 1992.

Although it peaked at No. 8 on the dance chart, Reel 2 Real is best known for the song "I Like to Move It", which featured Trinidadian toaster Mark Quashie, also known as The Mad Stuntman.[1] The song peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994. It was successful in Germany where it peaked at number 3 on the singles chart, in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 5 and in France and the Netherlands it peaked at number one. The song would later be used in 2005 animated film Madagascar and was covered by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (who voiced King Julien in the film) but produced by Morillo, making it a hit once again in 2005 with it becoming the film series' theme song. 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 in 1997.

Erick Morillo died of an overdose on September 1, 2020, aged 49.[2]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUT
[3] 		FIN
[4] 		GER
[5] 		NED
[6] 		SCO
[7] 		SWI
[8] 		UK
[9]
Move It! 37 29 63 71 28 42 8
Are You Ready for Some More?
  • Released: July 1996
  • Label: Strictly Rhythm, Positiva
 — — — 72 — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Remix albums

Title Album details
Reel 2 Remixed
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Positiva

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[11] 		US
Dance
[12] 		AUS
[13] 		AUT
[3] 		FIN
[4] 		FRA
[14] 		GER
[15] 		NED
[6] 		SWI
[8] 		UK
[9]
1992 "The New Anthem" (featuring Erick Moore) — 1 — — — — — — — — Non-album single
1993 "Go on Move" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) — 6 79 16 4 12 20 11 18 7 Move It!
"I Like to Move It" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) 89 8 6 2 10 1 3 1 4 5
1994 "Can You Feel It?" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) — 3 — 28 7 49 32 20 31 13
"Raise Your Hands" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) — — — — 6 — — — — 14
1995 "Conway" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) — 4 — — 9 — — — — 27
1996 "Jazz It Up" — — 69 — — — — 15 — 7 Are You Ready for Some More?
"Are You Ready for Some More?" — 5 — — — — — — — 24
"Move Your Body (Mueve la Cadera)"
(featuring Proyecto Uno) 		— 3 — — — — — — — —
2018 "Raise Your Hands (Shadow Child Update)" (featuring The Mad Stuntman) — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 283. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
  2. ^ Cardona, Alexi C. (October 13, 2020). "DJ Erick Morillo's Death Ruled Accidental by Medical Examiner". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Austrian chart peaks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  5. ^ German albums:
    • "Move It". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Dutch chart peaks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  7. ^ Scottish albums:
  8. ^ a b "Swiss chart peaks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  9. ^ a b "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Reel 2 Real". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Billboard > Artists / Reel 2 Real > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. ^ US Dance Club Play singles:
  13. ^ Australian (ARIA Charts) peaks:
  14. ^ "French chart peaks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  15. ^ German singles peaks:
  16. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". ARIA. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  17. ^ "French certifictions". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  18. ^ "German Certification". Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Goud/Platina". NVPI (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Reel 2 Real Ft Mad Stuntman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 November 2021.


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