D-Rock
Biography
D-Rock, whose real name is René Carolito Phillips, was born on 17 January 1970 in Sint Nicolaas (Aruba). At age six he emigrated to the Netherlands, living in Amsterdam then Utrecht, and moved to Antwerp (Belgium) from 2010.
After spending part of his adolescence in Dayton, Ohio, he returned to the Netherlands at eighteen to pursue music. In 1989 he began under the alias CMC as a rapper with the group Master Rockers (later Mellow MCs) alongside Benny Ferrier (aka Mighty B).
In 1992 he appears on the albums of 24K and King Bee and on the Mellow MCs mini‑album. After meeting his future producers, he recorded the solo single I Can't Believe It's Over, whose raps were later reused on an eponymous track on the first album by 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor.
He officially joined the 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor project for their third single with singer Des’ray, starting a run of ten top‑10 hits. In 1993 he met Brian Busby and in 1995 founded the CMC Records label with him in collaboration with Soul Relations.
Concurrently, he hosted the TV show The Pitch on TMF with rapper Glaze and presented the weekly hip‑hop radio show Tha Bomb on New Dance Radio with DJ Mass and Glaze.
In 2000 he signed a partnership with Edel Records and shifted toward discovering new talent such as singer Keeyel. In 2003 he released a hip‑hop single as Mr. Philips feat. Masta, followed by the mini‑album The Bootleg EP produced by Big Dawg, featuring Richmen Inc., Laquatal, Masta and Karima Lemghari.
He then worked for FunX radio and, in 2004, moved into artist production, scoring a top‑20 hit with the single Too Dangerous! in collaboration with Bas & Joel. In 2006 he served as DJ on FunX Amsterdam Club and performed on stage with Des’ray for the major hits of 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor.
His interest in electronic music resulted in collaborations with the house project Soul Migrantz on Calling Chicago (2007) and Socialize (2008). In 2010, while remaining the official rapper of 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor, he joined the group Sweetcoffee and contributed to their single U-turn.
In 2012 he was invited by James Stefano for a cover of Sweet Dreams. Throughout his career he has also used the aliases René Phillips, Domenico Labarile, M.I.S.T.A., Mr. Phillips and C.M.C..