For over two decades, writer, producer, and DJ John Morrison has diligently documented Philadelphia’s hip-hop scene. His passion for his city and its music has earned him a reputation as a true spokesperson for the culture. As a writer, his work has appeared in prestigious publications like NPR Music and SPIN. One of his most notable recent projects is a book dedicated to the legendary Philadelphia R&B group, Boyz II Men. Morrison continues to express his love for Philly and hip-hop with his latest musical release, Community Flips.
Bringing together an impressive cast of collaborators, Community Flips features head nodding hip-hop samples sourced from students and faculty from the Community College of Philadelphia, alongside Spring Garden Records artists. Throughout 2023, jam sessions were recorded at the Spring Garden Records studio, complemented by an online portal that allowed individuals to upload raw ideas, sounds, demos, and voice notes to be used for the project. As the samples rolled in, Morrison went to work chopping them up and digging through the virtual crates.
“For as long as I can remember, sampling has been a major part of my creative process. As a kid in the late ’80s, I’d watch my brother and his friends make beats and songs in the back bedroom of our house. I’d watch attentively as they chopped up tiny snippets of James Brown records and layered them with booming drums from the Roland TR-909. As I got older, my brother taught me the same process of beat-making and sampling, and I’ve been using bits of pre-recorded material to make new music ever since. The act of digging for samples and curation on Community Flips became a communal act. What was once a solitary practice with a single producer, their sampler, and record collection now includes an entire community.”
John Morrison
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