Morganics
By Jonathon Valenzuela
Who is he?
Morganics is Morgan Lewis - MC, producer, theatre director and community worker. Sort of a modern day hip hop renaissance man.
Woah, busy! Let's take this one step at a time. MC?
Morganics is a member of seminal Australian crew MetaBass'N'Breath, who have toured all over Australia, as well as the U.S.A. and Canada. He is also a solo performer, and frequent collaborator with the likes of Wire MC, MC Elf Transporter and various others.
Producer?
Any time you hear Morganics rapping over a beat, chances are he produced it himself. He is a frequent beatmaker, using the massive amounts of time he spends traveling to churn out beats on his trusty laptop.
Theatre Director?
Morganics has pioneered a fusion of hip hop and theatre, producing shows like Crouching B-Boy Hidden Dreadlocks, his first solo show, and Survival Tactics, a show about the struggle of existing in an urban metropolis, featuring an all-star line up of MCs and breakdancers.
Community worker?
Remember that song ‘Down River' by the Wilcannia Mob? It won a Deadly award a while back, and then resurfaced on M.I.A.'s latest album? That was Morganics. He has been going into indigenous communities, schools and jails for years now, educating the people about the power of local hip hop. He has also cast his net internationally, working with the likes of the Wayahudi Family, a crew from Tanzania.
Man, this guy has done it all. Where can I hear more?
Check out his album Hip Hop Is My Passport (Invisible Forces/Vitamin), his epic rhythmic odyssey throughout the world.
Hip Hop Is My Passport is out now, and check out Morganics' voluminous activites via www.morganics.info.