DRMNGNOW

Neil Morris, known professionally as Drmngnow (stylised in all caps), is an Aboriginal Australian rapper, dancer, artist, and actor.

A Yorta Yorta/Kaieltheban man, Morris' stage name is a contraction of the phrase "dreaming now", referring to the Aboriginal concept of The Dreaming.

Morris grew up on Yorta Yorta Country in Shepparton, a city in rural Victoria, Australia. He was first exposed to music via his parents' record collection that included Michael Jackson, Guns N' Roses, Midnight Oil, and Blondie.

As a teen he discovered hip-hop, collating and trading cassette tapes of hip-hop artists Ice-T, N.W.A., Ice Cube, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wu Tang Clan. He and his friends also played basketball.

After leaving school, he felt lost, feeling pain and grief and using drugs to numb his emotions. In 2001 he moved to the Melbourne's northern suburbs, and started studying for a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on creative writing, at the same time writing poetry. However he started experiencing thoughts of suicide by the end of 2002. He did a traineeship in conservation and land management and through his twenties travelled and worked seasonally in the rural sector.

Morris started making his own music when he started to play guitar in 2005, learning "Come as You Are" by Nirvana, with his brother, and first performed on stage in 2015.

He uses his music as to explore culture, community and country, and provokes discussion and education around Australia's Indigenous history and future. He sings in Yorta Yorta.

In November 2022, he collaborated with other First Nations artists Emma Donovan, Emily Wurramara, DOBBY, and Optamus to create a song in memory of Cassius Turvey, a Noongar-Yamatji boy who had died at the age of 15 the result of an assault by a random attacker when walking home from school in Perth, Western Australia. The song, titled "Forever 15", was played at Turvey's funeral on 18 November 2022 funeral and released three days later on 21 November 2022.

Singles

As lead artist

Other appearances

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.