- Thee Phantom
Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Thee Phantom
Background = MC/Producer
Born = July 11
Birth_name = Jeffrey M. McNeill
Origin =Philadelphia, PA
Genre = Hip-Hop
Label = Invisible Man Productions (Independent)Thee Phantom born Jeffrey McNeill in
Philadelphia on July 11, year unknown, is an artist that specializes in combiningHip-Hop with live orchestration by recording and performing with classically trained musicians, including forming his own "Illharmonic Orchestra". He wrote his first rhyme at the age of 8 and made his first beat by mixing the instrumental from theBeastie Boys ’ Paul Revere withBeethoven ’s FifthSymphony at age 12. Most notably, in 2002 Phantom became the first Hip-Hop artist to perform at Philadelphia’s prestigiousKimmel Center with musical accompaniment from members of the world-renownedPhiladelphia Orchestra andChamber Orchestra of Philadelphia . Phantom was invited back in 2003 to perform at the Kimmel Center’s annual Summer Solstice Celebration. Accompanied by astring quartet ,concert pianist and asitar player, he performed to a capacity crowd in the 650 seat Perelman Theater. In June of 2006, Phantom graced the stage of the Kimmel Center’s 2,500 seat Verizon Hall with a string section, brass section, female vocalist, aDJ and a trio ofbreakdancers . In October of 2006, Phantom made his television debut on Philadelphia's NBC 10 Show, performing with a string trio and a female vocalist named, "The Phoenix".In 2003-2004, Phantom’s independently released single entitled, “Storming the Bastille” b/w "A Million MC's", received airplay on over 300 college and independent radio stations in the U.S., topping the charts at
WGBB and WSIA in New York among others. "Storming" has also reached the airwaves inGermany ,Japan ,Sweden ,Italy ,Spain ,Croatia , theU.K. ,Singapore ,Australia ,Ireland ,Africa andFrance .In 2006, Phantom completed and released his debut album entitled,
Thee Phantom's Hero Complex , on his independent label Invisible Man Productions. Thee Phantom nearly discontinued the album and his career after his best friend, Dr. Jason Porter was murdered inAtlanta . However, after a yearlong hiatus he was convinced to resume recording and to honor Jason’s memory by dedicating the album to him. The album is available in select stores, oniTunes , CDBaby.com and on his website http://www.myspace.com/theephantom.Musicians & Vocalists
Below is a growing list of musicians and vocalists that Thee Phantom has performed and/or recorded with.
Gloria Justen - Violin/Arranger - Phila. Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Phila. - [http://www.gloriajusten.com Website]
Andrea Coln "The Phoenix" - Vocalist
Verso - MC - [http://www.myspace.com/versemega Myspace Page]
Veronica Jurkiewicz - Viola
Joanne Yun - Cello
Jack Drummond Jr - String Specialist - [http://www.myspace.com/Psyte1 Myspace Site]
Monica McIntyre - Cello - [http://www.monicamcintyre.com Website]
Owen "Fiidla" Brown - String Specialist - [http://www.fiidla.com Website]
DJ Kingspin - DJ - MystiQuintet - [http://www.myspace.com/djkingspin Myspace Site]
Kenneth Bean - Trumpet - [http://www.myspace.com/32225325 Myspace Site]
Chuck Treece - Drummer/Musician - [http://www.myspace.com/mcradband Myspace Site]Daniel DeJesus - Violin, Cello
Mike Ireland - Viola
Reef the Lost Cauze - MCSide Effect - MC - [http://www.myspace.com/sideeffect88 Myspace Site]
Verbal Tec - MC - [http://www.myspace.com/verbaltec Myspace Site]
Robert Randolph - Trumpet
Jamal Jones - Trumpet
Richard Magill - Trumpet
Mei-Chen Liao Barnes - Violin - Chamber Orchestra of Phila.
Elizabeth Kaderabek - Violin - Chamber Orchestra of Phila.
James Cooper - Cello - Chamber Orchestra of Phila.
Renard Edwards - Viola - Phila. Orchestra (1st African American Musician to play for the Philadelphia Orchestra)
Adam Lesnick - Brass/Arranger
Angela Cage - Violin - [http://www.myspace.com/en_tunemusic]
Vicki Scotto - Violin
Jeremy Lambert - Viola
Andy Borkowski - Cello
Andrew Siddons - Trombone
Ben Morgan - Sitar
Antonio Stewart - Viola
Yoomi Kwon - Cello
Laura Scalzo - Violin
External links
Phantom's website: http://www.myspace.com/theephantom
Articles & Media for Verification
* http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=entertainment&id=5206915 - ABC News Feature
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaIg7Wj1PqM - Video Documentary Aired on ABC’s “Visions”
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgORRmkSQII - NBC 10 Live Performance
* http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/15275966.htm - Philadelphia Daily News Article
* http://artvoice.com/issues/v6n13/calendar_spotlight/thee_phantom - Buffalo Artvoice Article
* http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2006/12/07/Arts/Thee-Phantom.Beyond.Opera-2526969.shtml - George Washington University Article
* http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2006-05-11/musicpicks.shtml - City Paper Article
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.