Morris Mills

For Black musicians "Rock" is a 4 letter word. The music genre of Rock has a handful of engineering craftsmen who have taken ownership in the art from while being members of the African-American culture. To be Black & a Rock musician is a small exclusive club. Single synonymous names like Prince and Jimi are distinguished not only as talented musicians, but identifiable figures in Rock music. Forerunners such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Thin Lizzy, Shuggie Otis & Ernie Isley opened doors for Rick James, Lenny Kravitz, Fishbone, Ben Harper & Living Colour. This passing of the torch includes the fusion of Jazz, Soul, Funk & Pop. It's a handshake amongst musicians that in this life of Rock is rare but sincere. Morris Mills now adds his name to that book of music. Morris Mills in an acclaimed American singer & songwriter whose diverse musical style has caught the attention of notable industry figures. Morris was born in Texas and migrated to Chicago at the age of 5. Growing up in a mixed family home he quickly gravitated to music as a creative outlet to express his pain of family divorce & transition. Music became a significant part of his life and a thriving factor for survival in Chicago during the 1980's. Morris spent time performing in small clubs throughout Chicago like many musicians during that time and ran in similar circles of R.Kelly (Public Announcement) & others. He again ran parallel with other R&B Soul performers, still keeping a copy of a letter from Columbia Records saying they just signed a similar artist named "Maxwell." The waiting process led to practice and the practice led to shaping his own sound. He also expanded his abilities on keys and guitar during this time period. His love affair with Rock music began during childhood and grew during adulthood. He grew to learn the complexities of Grunge and studied The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day & Stone Temple Pilots. Morris fine tuned his live show with opening performances for Jon B., George Clinton and Sam Salter. His first album, "Love and Coffee" was released in 2005. Initially Love and Coffee was an album and movie, however the movie project was placed on hold to focus on the successful album release. Radio Personality Terry Bello supported this project and helped to get Morris additional national press for "Love and Coffee." Bello included "Steppin' Out Tonight," on the Heineken Soul Star Series, a compilation CD that included well-known artists like Angie Stone, Rashaan Patterson and Anthony David. During this time Morris worked with Lovebrands Records for two years while developing his presence in the music & film industry. In 2011 he began work on his second album. Interscope Records digitally released the single "Beautified" in 2011. The year 2014 provided big opportunities for Morris with a 360 deal from a management company in Los Angeles. Morris signed with the company and moved to LA with plans to continue his path of success. Upon arrival to LA his deal fell through and his management company all but dissolved. Within a matter of days Morris went from having several deals in progress to being homeless in one of the largest cities in America. He lived on the street for a period of time and spent time in homeless shelters. The ruthless deception of his former management company left Morris in a period of reflection and "Do or Die" mentality. He pulled himself up by his own boots and climbed back up performing again within a six months of his arrival. His second album Beautified was finalized in Spring 2016. With his newest album he wanted to move toward featuring a more rock feel, but was worried about what some fans of his first album might think. "I was afraid I was going to lose my soul base, but, at the same time, I wanted to be true to myself," Morris said. In April 2016 Morris began the process of uploading his album to various media outlets for digital download. Unfortunately, each site would not successfully process his album submission. He decided to wait a few days to try uploading Beautified again when the devastating news of the passing of Prince was delivered to the world. Like many people around the world, Morris spent time reflecting upon the loss of his presence in music. In honor of his influence, Morris changed the name of his sophomore album to "Purple." Now more focused than ever, he embraces his roots of musical influence. In his own words: "This is who I am now and I'm more than just a singer. I am all the music I love and my life will reflect that love. I wants my fans to follow me on this journey and know I'll do everything to make them proud."