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Antonia Janneke Rie Morales (b. 29th August 1964) is a Spanish-Dutch rapper, singer-songwriter, media personality and actress who resides in Kuboia. She started her career as an activist for Kuboian independence, working with Trevor Reef during the Kuboian Independence Movement in the mid-1980s, notably being behind coining the name for the subunit of the nero currency, "rox". After Kuboia became an independent country in 1987, she began to focus more on a musical career to expand her portfolio.
Early life[]
Born to a Spanish father and a Dutch mother on 29th August 1964, Morales spent the first ten years of her life living in Palma de Mallorca. She cites her early childhood as "hard" and "inconsistent", and had trouble making friends and focusing due to arguments between her parents; she admitted that her father "was good at spanking". Her parents eventually divorced in 1975, which caused her and her mother to move to Portugal where Morales claimed she "stuck out like a sore thumb".
Leaving school with only one qualification, Morales opted to move to the Dominion of Kuboia in the hopes of it being a "peaceful" and "mysterious" place that would help her get away from everything that was bothering her. A few years later, she was approached by Trevor Reef, who, asked if she could take part in the Kuboian Independence Movement.
Morales helped with the country's budgeting and town planning, which also involved her giving a speech on Kuboia's future marketing strategies in September 1984, which was broadcast on KBG. The following years, she took part in charity events that raised money to be spent on its economy. Morales was also responsible for naming the subunit of the nero currency, "rox", which she chose based on the silver coins of change she would often carry after taking care of "odd jobs" for her acquaintances. When Kuboia became an independent country in 1987, Morales opted for a media career in order to expand her publicity and "help Kuboia form its own scene".
In 1988, Morales was amongst one of the first few people included in the Kunning Hall of Fame.
Personal life[]
Family[]
As a young adult, Morales was mostly estranged from her family. Her mother's death from pneumonia in 1991 caused her frustration as she felt she "never truly got closure" from her difficult childhood. Her father contacted coronavirus in August 2020, and died four months later at the age of 80.
Relationships and children[]
Morales had an on-and-off relationship with Tuyp van Vilet that lasted from 1988 to 2002. In 1992, Morales gave birth to their son, Vex Morales-Vilet.
After Morales and Vilet separated in 2003, Vilet claimed that Morales was abusive and manipulative towards him, whilst Morales insisted that Vilet was exaggerating how bad it was and was trying to stop her from seeing Vex, who began to develop anxiety and trust issues as a teenager. In 2008, however, Morales revealed that she and Vilet had began to rekindle a more friendly relationship with each other.
Morales' son Vex is a model and social media influencer who has appeared on the front cover of magazines and in several music videos.
Health[]
Morales has been vocal about her addiction to alcohol and drugs. In 2005, Morales began taking counselling due to suicidal ideation, although she later revealed in an interview that she was recovering from her "burnout". In 2006, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a "mild" form of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Morales revealed in a 2001 interview that she doesn't shave her armpits or legs saying "Y'know, trimming takes time and I don't have all day. [...] I haven't touched a razor in years."
Musical style[]
Morales' music takes heavy inspiration from disco music of the 1970s, with several of her songs heavily sampling popular tracks from said era. Morales explained in an interview "I wanted to pay homage to disco music. I was disappointed that it was growing out of style and wanted to bring it back with a modern twist."
Although Morales primarily raps in her songs and hires guest artists to perform the chorus, a few of them also feature her singing herself.
Morales has been critical of the usage of Auto-Tune in pop and dance songs, stating in 2009 that it "makes everybody sound the same", concluding "You'd never hear me use that shit on my songs". When asked about it in 2022, Morales explained that she is not against Auto-Tune on paper, but that she believes that it gets abused by "lazy" musicians.
Controversy and legal issues[]
In February 2004, Morales was arrested after being caught with drugs, with one witness claiming she tried to flee when police arrived at the scene. At her hearing in August, she was charged for possession of cannabis and LSD, and was given a custodial sentence of three months. After her sentence, there was some debate over whether Morales' named should be removed from the Kunning Hall of Fame, though this ultimately did not occur. Morales herself later said in an interview that she felt the sentence was "way too bloody harsh".
In 2006, Morales was criticised for making distasteful remarks about Eastern European and Asian immigrants and imitating them by speaking in broken English during a interview.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Queen of the Dancefloor (1991)
- Dance to This (1996)
Compilation albums[]
- Greatest Hits (1999)
- 25 Years of the Greatest Hits (2012)
Singles[]
- 1988: "NRG"
- 1989: "Move It!"
- 1990: "Dancer"
- 1990: "Forever" (feat. [TBA])
- 1991: "Made for It"
- 1991: "Dizzy" (feat. [TBA])
- 1994: "Magic" (with Northern Project feat. Tone Riddles)"
- 1996: "Can't Dance to This"
- 1996: "Tonight (Atomic)" (feat. [TBA])