Philadelphia natives Jeffrey and Andrea McNeill, known as Thee Phantom and The Phoenix, are leading the world's first hip-hop orchestra. Inspired by Coolio's performance with an orchestra at the 1996 Grammy Awards, Jeffrey McNeill aimed to combine rap and traditional orchestration. With his wife Andrea as his musical collaborator, they have been making music and performing together since 2000.
Philadelphia ns Thee Phantom and The Phoenix , whose real names are Jeffrey and Andrea McNeill, lead the world's first hip-hop orchestra . Like many Black teens in the 1980s, Philadelphia native Jeffrey McNeill was obsessed with hip-hop music and culture. He wrote his first rhyme at 8 years old, and at 12, he mixed the Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere” and Beethoven’s. Years later, Coolio ’s 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” gave McNeill artistic purpose.
The song, built from Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise,” landed the late West Coast rapper a Grammy for. As Coolio, backed by an orchestra, hit the 1996 Grammy stage, McNeill watched in awe. “I pointed to the TV, thinking, ‘That’s it. That’s the idea, and that’s what I want to do,’” he said. “I knew it could work.” The future MC looked to meld the powers of rap and traditional orchestration and play it in concert halls worldwide. And with the By the late 1990s, McNeill was recording and making music, but he wasn’t performing as regularly as he wanted. That changed when he began dating his wife and musical collaborator, Andrea, in 200
Thee Phantom The Phoenix Hip-Hop Orchestra Philadelphia Jeffrey Mcneill Andrea Mcneill Coolio Grammy Awards
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